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Category: quantum physics – Page 50

Time crystals arise from quantum interactions once thought to prevent their formation

Nature has many rhythms: the seasons result from Earth’s movement around the sun, the ticking of a pendulum clock results from the oscillation of its pendulum. These phenomena can be understood with very simple equations. However, regular rhythms can also arise in a completely different way—by themselves, without an external clock, through the complex interaction of many particles. Instead of uniform disorder, a fixed rhythm emerges—this is referred to as a “time crystal.”

Calculations by TU Wien (Vienna) now show that such time crystals can also be generated in a completely different way than previously thought. The quantum physical correlations between the particles, which were previously thought to be harmful for the emergence of such phenomena, can actually stabilize time crystals. This is a surprising new insight into the quantum physics of many-particle systems.

The findings are published in the journal Physical Review Letters.

New tool steers AI models to create materials with exotic quantum properties

The artificial intelligence models that turn text into images are also useful for generating new materials. Over the last few years, generative materials models from companies like Google, Microsoft, and Meta have drawn on their training data to help researchers design tens of millions of new materials.

But when it comes to designing materials with exotic quantum properties like superconductivity or unique magnetic states, those models struggle. That’s too bad, because humans could use the help. For example, after a decade of research into a class of materials that could revolutionize , called quantum spin liquids, only a dozen material candidates have been identified. The bottleneck means there are fewer materials to serve as the basis for technological breakthroughs.

Now, MIT researchers have developed a technique that lets popular generative materials models create promising quantum materials by following specific design rules. The rules, or constraints, steer models to create materials with unique structures that give rise to quantum properties.

Quantum memories reach new milestone with secure quantum money protocol

Integration into a quantum money protocol shows that memories can now handle very demanding applications for quantum networking.

Researchers at the Kastler Brossel Laboratory (Sorbonne Université, CNRS, ENS-Université PSL, Collège de France), together with colleagues from LIP6 (Sorbonne Université, CNRS), have taken a major step forward in : for the first time, they have integrated an optical quantum memory into a cryptographic protocol. This achievement, based on Wiesner’s unforgeable quantum money scheme, demonstrates that quantum memories are now mature enough to operate under very demanding conditions for networking.

In a study published on September 19 in Science Advances, the Paris team implemented Wiesner’s quantum money, a foundational idea in that relies on the no-cloning theorem to prevent counterfeiting. Unlike previous demonstrations that bypassed storage, this experiment incorporated an intermediate memory step—an essential capability for real-world applications where quantum data must be held and released on demand.

The Hunt for Dark Matter Has a New, Surprising Target

Dark Matter remains one of the biggest mysteries in fundamental physics. Many theoretical proposals (axions, WIMPs) and 40 years of extensive experimental search have not explained what Dark Matter is. Several years ago, a theory that seeks to unify particle physics and gravity introduced a radically different possibility: superheavy, electrically charged gravitinos as Dark Matter candidates.

A recent paper in Physical Review Research by scientists from the University of Warsaw and the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics shows that new underground detectors, in particular the JUNO detector that will soon begin taking data, are well-suited to detect charged Dark Matter gravitinos even though they were designed for neutrino physics. Simulations that bridge elementary particle physics with advanced quantum chemistry indicate that a gravitino would leave a signal in the detector that is unique and unambiguous.

In 1981, Nobel Prize laureate Murray Gell-Mann, who introduced quarks as fundamental constituents of matter, observed that the particles of the Standard Model—quarks and leptons—appear within a purely mathematical theory formulated two years earlier: N=8 supergravity, noted for its maximal symmetry. N=8 supergravity includes, in addition to the Standard Model matter particles of spin 1/2, a gravitational sector with the graviton (of spin 2) and 8 gravitinos of spin 3/2. If the Standard Model is indeed connected to N=8 supergravity, this relationship could point toward a solution to one of the hardest problems in theoretical physics — unifying gravity with particle physics. In its spin ½ sector, N=8 supergravity contains exactly 6 quarks (u, d, c, s, t, b) and 6 leptons (electron, muon, taon and neutrinos), and it forbids any additional matter particles.

Proposed framework describes physics from perspective of quantum reference frames

In an article published in Communications Physics, researchers from the Université libre de Bruxelles and the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information in Vienna present a new framework for describing physics relative to quantum reference frames, unveiling the importance of previously unrecognized “extra particles.”

In any experiment, specifying a physical quantity of interest always relies on a . For example, identifying the time at which an event happens only makes sense relative to a clock. Similarly, the position of a particle is usually defined relative to other particles. Reference frames are typically treated as classical systems, that is, they are assumed to have definite values when measured relative to other reference frames.

However, as far as we know, every system is ultimately quantum. As such, it can, in principle, exist in indefinite states called quantum superpositions. What does the physical world look like when described from the perspective of a reference frame that can be in a quantum superposition? Can we define consistent rules for changing between different perspectives?

Quantum Space Acquires Phase Four’s Propulsion Tech

Alabama spacecraft manufacturer Quantum Space is already putting its $40M Series A extension round to work, announcing the acquisition of Phase Four’s multi-modal propulsion tech on Monday for an undisclosed amount.

Quantum has also taken over ownership of Phase Four’s integration and test facility in Hawthorne, CA, which can churn out up to 100 engines per year.

Paying in gold: The deal opens the door for Quantum to integrate Phase Four’s unique propulsion capabilities to fuel Quantum’s Golden Dome ambitions. Phase Four’s multi-modal propulsion system uses chemical and electric propulsion to perform high thrust or high efficiency maneuvers, depending on the mission.

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Lasers just made atoms dance, unlocking the future of electronics

Scientists at Michigan State University have discovered how to use ultrafast lasers to wiggle atoms in exotic materials, temporarily altering their electronic behavior. By combining cutting-edge microscopes with quantum simulations, they created a nanoscale switch that could revolutionize smartphones, laptops, and even future quantum computers.

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