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Google claims its latest quantum algorithm can outperform supercomputers on a real-world task

Researchers from Google Quantum AI report that their quantum processor, Willow, ran an algorithm for a quantum computer that solved a complex physics problem thousands of times faster than the world’s most powerful classical supercomputers. If verified, this would be one of the first demonstrations of practical quantum advantage, in which a quantum computer solves a real-world problem faster and more accurately than a classical computer.

In a new paper published in the journal Nature, the researchers provided details on how their algorithm, called Quantum Echoes, measured the complex behavior of particles in highly entangled . These are systems in which multiple particles are linked so that they share the same fate even when physically separated. If you measure the property of one particle, you instantly know something about the others. This linkage makes the overall system so complex that it is difficult to model on ordinary computers.

The Quantum Echoes algorithm uses a concept called an Out-of-Time-Order Correlator (OTOC), which measures how quickly information spreads and scrambles in a quantum system. The researchers chose this specific measurement because, as they state in the paper, “OTOCs have quantum interference effects that endow them with a high sensitivity to details of the quantum dynamics and, for OTOC, also high levels of classical simulation complexity. As such, OTOCs are viable candidates for realizing practical quantum advantage.”

Record-breaking quantum key distribution transmission distance achieved alongside classical channels

Quantum key distribution (QKD) harnesses the power of quantum mechanics to securely transmit confidential information. When an outside source eavesdrops on a QKD transmission, the quantum states are affected. This dependably alerts the receiver and sender that the transmission is no longer secure.

Unfortunately, there have thus far been limitations in implementing QKD technology. Telecom networks require QKD and classical data to share fiber infrastructure to reduce costs enough to be feasible on a large scale and classical data channels introduce noise that limits the distance and performance of QKD transmissions. Many solutions have been proposed and tested, such as extra filtering or dedicated wavelengths, but these still complicate integration into existing telecom networks.

Now, researchers from Denmark and the Czech Republic may have a better solution that, when tested, broke the record for the longest transmission achieved with QKD and classical data.

Scientists discover elusive solar waves that could power the sun’s corona

Researchers have achieved a breakthrough in solar physics by providing the first direct evidence of small-scale torsional Alfvén waves in the sun’s corona—elusive magnetic waves that scientists have been searching for since the 1940s.

The discovery, published in Nature Astronomy, was made using unprecedented observations from the world’s most powerful solar telescope, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in Hawaii.

The findings could finally explain one of the sun’s greatest mysteries—how its outer atmosphere, the corona, reaches temperatures of millions of degrees while its surface is only around 5,500°C.

Electrohydrodynamics pump and machine learning enable portable high-performance excimer laser

According to a recent study published in APL Photonics, a research team led by Prof. Liang Xu from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has developed an ultra-compact excimer laser roughly the size of a thermos bottle.

Cosmic inflation with standard particle physics repertoire

How did the universe come into being? There are a multitude of theories on this subject. In a Physical Review Letters paper, three scientists formulate a new model: according to this, inflation, the first, very rapid expansion of the universe, would have taken place in a warm environment consisting of known elementary particles.

Isotropic MOF coating reduces side reactions to boost stability of solid-state Na batteries

In recent years, energy engineers have been trying to design new reliable batteries that can store more energy and allow electronics to operate for longer periods of time before they need to be charged. Some of the most promising among these newly developed batteries are solid-state batteries, which contain solid electrolytes instead of liquid ones.

Compared to batteries with liquid electrolytes that are widely used today, solid-state batteries could exhibit higher energy densities (i.e., could store more energy) and longer lifetimes. However, many of these batteries have been found to be unstable, due to unwanted chemical reactions that occur between their high-voltage cathodes (i.e., positive electrodes) and solid electrolytes, which can speed up the degradation of the batteries’ performance over time.

These undesirable side reactions are particularly common in sodium-ion (Na+) solid-state batteries, which use Na+ ions to store and release electrical energy. This is because while Na is more abundant and cheaper than lithium, Na-ion batteries are inherently more chemically reactive than Li-ion batteries.

Double-layer electrode design powers next-gen silicon-based batteries for faster charging and longer range EVs

New research, led by Queen Mary University of London, demonstrates that a double-layer electrode design, guided by fundamental science through operando imaging, shows remarkable improvements in the cyclic stability and fast-charging performance of automotive batteries, with strong potential to reduce costs by 20–30%.

The research, published today in Nature Nanotechnology, was led by Dr. Xuekun Lu, Senior Lecturer in Green Energy at Queen Mary University of London.

In the study, the researchers introduce an evidence-guided double-layer design for silicon-based composite electrodes to tackle key challenges in the Si-based — a breakthrough with strong potential for next-generation high-performance batteries.

Pressure turns Ångström-thin semiconducting bismuth into a metal, expanding options for reconfigurable electronics

Two-dimensional (2D) materials, sparked by the isolation of Nobel-prize-winning graphene in 2004, has revolutionized modern materials science by showing that electrical, optical, and mechanical behaviors can be tuned simply by adjusting the thickness, strain, or stacking order of such 2D materials. From transistors and flexible display to neuromorphic chips, the future of electronics is expected to be significantly empowered by 2D materials.

In a new study published in Nano Letters titled “Pressure-Driven Metallicity in Ångström-Thickness 2D Bismuth and Layer-Selective Ohmic Contact to MoS2,” researchers led by SUTD have discovered that a gentle squeeze is enough to make bismuth—one of the heaviest elements in the periodic table—switch its electrical personality.

Using state-of-the-art density functional theory (DFT) simulations, the team showed that when a single layer of bismuth, only a few atoms thick, is compressed or “squeezed” between surrounding materials, the atoms reorganize from a slightly corrugated (or buckled) structure into a perfectly flat one. This structural flattening, though subtle, has dramatic electronic consequences: it eliminates the energy band gap and allows electrons to move freely, turning the material metallic.

Open-source software reveals complete 3D architecture of brain cells

The neurons in our brain that underlie thought connect to each other using tiny branch-like structures on their surfaces known as dendritic spines. Now scientists at Columbia’s Zuckerman Institute and their colleagues have come up with powerful new software driven by artificial intelligence that can automatically map these dendritic spines in pictures of neurons, a tool the researchers are making freely available.

A paper detailing the work, “A deep learning pipeline for accurate and automated restoration, segmentation, and quantification of ,” is published in Cell Reports Methods.

“Dendritic spines are usually the first site that are implicated in such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s,” said Sergio Bernal-Garcia, a graduate student in the lab of Franck Polleux, Ph.D., and lead author of the paper. “So understanding more about them is vitally important.”

Light reshapes ferroelectric thin films for wireless sensors and micro-devices

The potential of using low-energy light to shape ferroelectric thin films for micro devices is advancing with an international team of researchers most recently reporting success with “photostriction.”

Light-induced nonthermal deformation of materials, or photostriction, has the advantage of directly converting into mechanical motion, offering exciting possibilities for wireless, light-powered sensors and optomechanical devices, says Flinders University researcher Dr. Pankaj Sharma.

Since its discovery in the 1960s, scientists have explored photostriction in a wide range of materials—from semiconductors and oxides to ferroelectrics and polymers. However, many of these systems face challenges.

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