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Category: quantum physics – Page 82

Physicists Stunned: Lead-208’s Shape Just Broke a Fundamental Rule of Nuclear Physics

For decades, scientists believed that lead-208, a “doubly magic” and highly stable atomic nucleus, was perfectly spherical. However, groundbreaking new research has shattered this assumption, revealing that its nucleus is actually elongated, much like a rugby ball.

By using an advanced gamma-ray spectrometer and high-speed particle collisions, researchers uncovered unexpected quantum behavior that contradicts long-standing nuclear theory. This revelation forces physicists to rethink fundamental principles of nuclear structure, potentially reshaping our understanding of heavy elements and their formation in the universe.

Lead-208: A Surprising Discovery

Spinning Electrons Just Solved a Decades-Old Semiconductor Mystery

A major breakthrough in organic semiconductors.

Semiconductors are materials with electrical conductivity that falls between conductors and insulators, making them essential for modern electronics. They are typically crystalline solids, the most common of which is silicon, used extensively in the production of electronic components such as transistors and diodes. Semiconductors are unique because their conductivity can be altered and controlled through doping—adding impurities to the material to change its electrical properties. This property allows them to serve as the foundation for integrated circuits and microchips, powering everything from computers and smartphones to advanced medical devices and renewable energy technologies. The behavior of semiconductors is also crucial in the development of various electronic, photonic, and quantum devices.

Quantum entanglement wins: Researchers report quantum advantage in a simple cooperation game

Quantum systems hold the promise of tackling some complex problems faster and more efficiently than classical computers. Despite their potential, so far only a limited number of studies have conclusively demonstrated that quantum computers can outperform classical computers on specific tasks. Most of these studies focused on tasks that involve advanced computations, simulations or optimization, which can be difficult for non-experts to grasp.

Researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Sevilla recently demonstrated a over a classical scenario on a cooperation task called the odd-cycle game. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, shows that a team with can win this game more often than a team without.

“There is a lot of talk about quantum advantage and how will revolutionize entire industries, but if you look closely, in many cases, there is no mathematical proof that classical methods definitely cannot find solutions as efficiently as quantum algorithms,” Peter Drmota, first author of the paper, told Phys.org.

Researchers discover ‘topological Kerr effect’ in two-dimensional quantum magnets

In a recent collaboration between the High Magnetic Field Center of the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the University of Science and Technology of China, researchers introduced the concept of the topological Kerr effect (TKE) by utilizing the low-temperature magnetic field microscopy system and magnetic force microscopy imaging system supported by the steady-state high magnetic field experimental facility.

The findings, published in Nature Physics, hold significant promise for advancing our understanding of topological magnetic structures.

Originating in , skyrmions represent unique topological excitations found in condensed matter . These structures, characterized by their vortex or ring-like arrangement of spins, possess non-trivial properties that make them potential candidates for next-generation magnetic storage and logic devices.

Physicists develop energy filter technology to stabilize single-electron qubits

The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS) has developed a technology that controls the energy of single electrons in the desired form. This technology reduces the instability of electrons caused by external environments and enables stable quantum state implementation, making it a foundational technology to enhance the performance of single-electron qubits.

The research was conducted in collaboration with Jeonbuk National University, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), and Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST), and the results were published in Nano Letters.

Electrons are fundamental particles that make up atoms, and when their paths are divided, they exhibit the quantum superposition phenomenon, passing through both paths (0 and 1) simultaneously.

Unveiling Quantum Gravity

Imagine a universe where gravity isn’t a mysterious curvature of spacetime but an emergent force born directly from quantum mechanics. In a bold new paper, we take a journey that challenges our traditional view of gravity by deriving a four-dimensional force — a relativistic extension of the de Broglie-Bohm quantum force — that could reproduce gravitational phenomena even in the weak-field limit of General Relativity.

A new protocol to image wave functions in continuous space

In recent years, physicists have been trying to better understand the behavior of individual quantum particles as they move in space. Yet directly imaging these particles with high precision has so far proved challenging, due to the limitations of existing microscopy methods.

Researchers at CNRS and École Normale Supérieure in Paris, France, have now developed a new protocol to directly image the evolution of a single-atom wave packet, a delocalized quantum state that determines the probability that an associated atom will be found in a specific location. This imaging technique, introduced in Physical Review Letters, could open exciting possibilities for the precise study of complex quantum systems in continuous space.

“Our group is interested in the study of ultracold atoms, the coldest systems in the universe, just a few billionths of degrees above absolute zero, where matter displays fascinating behaviors,” Tarik Yefsah, senior author of the paper, told Phys.org. “One of these behaviors is the so-called superfluidity, a remarkable state of matter, where particles flow without friction.

First operating system for quantum networks paves the way for practical internet applications

Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA) researchers at TU Delft, QuTech, University of Innsbruck, INRIA and CNRS recently announced the creation of the first operating system designed for quantum networks: QNodeOS. The research, published in Nature, marks a major step forward in transforming quantum networking from a theoretical concept to a practical technology that could revolutionize the future of the internet.

“The goal of our research is to bring quantum network technology to all. With QNodeOS we’re taking a big step forward. We’re making it possible—for the first time—to program and execute applications on a quantum network easily,” says Prof. Dr. Stephanie Wehner, Professor of Quantum Computer Science at TU Delft’s quantum technology research institute QuTech, who led the study. “Our work also creates a framework opening entirely new areas of quantum computer science research.”

Scientists take important step toward mitigating errors in analog quantum simulations of many-body problems

Simulations of quantum many-body systems are an important goal for nuclear and high-energy physics. Many-body problems involve systems that consist of many microscopic particles interacting at the level of quantum mechanics. They are much more difficult to describe than simple systems with just two particles. This means that even the most powerful conventional computers cannot simulate these problems.

Quantum computing has the potential to address this challenge using an approach called quantum simulation. To succeed, these simulations need theoretical approximations of how quantum computers represent many-body systems. In research on this topic, at the University of Washington developed a new framework to systematically analyze the interplay of these approximations. They showed that the impact of such approximations can be minimized by tuning simulation parameters.

The study is published in the journal Physical Review A.