Quantum mechanics

Scientists succeed in measuring electron spin qubit without demolishing it

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A group of scientists from the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Japan have succeeded in taking repeated measurements of the spin of an electron in a silicon quantum dot (QD), without changing the spin in the process. This type of “non-demolition” measurement is important for creating quantum computers that are fault tolerant. Quantum … Read more Scientists succeed in measuring electron spin qubit without demolishing it

Study puts spin into quantum technologies

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A team of international scientists investigating how to control the spin of atom-like impurities in 2D materials have observed the dependence of the atom’s energy on an external magnetic field for the first time. The results of the study, published in Nature Materials, will be of interest to both academic and industry research groups working on … Read more Study puts spin into quantum technologies

Entangled laser beams improve the resolution of gravitational-wave detectors

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Quantum noise is a limiting issue in high-precision measurements of gravitational waves. Physicists lead by Prof. Roman Schnabel at the “Quantum Universe” Excellence cluster at the University of Hamburg proved in a test experiment that quantum entanglement of laser light can increase the sensitivity of gravitational-wave observatories. The results of their studies where published in … Read more Entangled laser beams improve the resolution of gravitational-wave detectors

Using sound and light to generate ultra-fast data transfer

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Researchers have made a breakthrough in the control of terahertz quantum cascade lasers, which could lead to the transmission of data at the rate of 100 gigabits per second – around one thousand times quicker than a fast Ethernet operating at 100 megabits a second. What distinguishes terahertz quantum cascade lasers from other lasers is … Read more Using sound and light to generate ultra-fast data transfer

Quantum fluctuations stabilize high-temperature superconductors

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An international team of researchers from Spain, Italy, France, Germany, and Japan show that the crystal structure of the record superconducting LaH10 compound is stabilized by nuclear quantum fluctuations. Their result suggests that superconductivity approaching room temperature may be possible in hydrogen-rich compounds at much lower pressures than previously expected. The results are published today … Read more Quantum fluctuations stabilize high-temperature superconductors

New quantum switch turns metals into insulators

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Most modern electronic devices rely on tiny, finely-tuned electrical currents to process and store information. These currents dictate how fast our computers run, how regularly our pacemakers tick and how securely our money is stored in the bank. In a study published in Nature Physics, researchers at the University of British Columbia have demonstrated an … Read more New quantum switch turns metals into insulators

IoP physicists cool an atom-ion mixture to the quantum regime

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Over the past years, physicists have developed techniques to create extremely cold atoms and ions. These ultra-cold particles have many uses; for example, they can be used as building blocks for quantum computers and highly precise clocks. Ideally, for such applications, one would also have mixtures of very cold atoms and ions at one’s disposal, … Read more IoP physicists cool an atom-ion mixture to the quantum regime

A quantum of solid

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It is well known that quantum properties of individual atoms can be controlled and manipulated by laser light. Even large clouds of hundreds of millions of atoms can be pushed into the quantum regime, giving rise to macroscopic quantum states of matter such as quantum gases or Bose-Einstein condensates, which nowadays are also widely used … Read more A quantum of solid

How sensitive can a quantum detector be?

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Quantum physics is moving out of the laboratory and into our everyday lives. Despite the big headline results about quantum computers solving problems impossible for classical computers, technical challenges are standing in the way of getting quantum physics into the real world. New research published in Nature Communications from teams at Aalto University and Lund University hopes … Read more How sensitive can a quantum detector be?

Tuning optical resonators gives researchers control over transparency

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In the quantum realm, under some circumstances and with the right interference patterns, light can pass through opaque media. This feature of light is more than a mathematical trick; optical quantum memory, optical storage and other systems that depend on interactions of just a few photons at a time rely on the process, called electromagnetically … Read more Tuning optical resonators gives researchers control over transparency