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Category: quantum physics – Page 191

Nothing makes a mess of quantum physics quite like those space-warping, matter-gulping abominations known as black holes. If you want to turn Schrodinger’s eggs into an information omelet, just find an event horizon and let ‘em drop.

According to theoretical physicists and chemists from Rice University and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US, basic chemistry is capable of scrambling quantum information almost as effectively.

The team used a mathematical tool developed more than half a century ago to bridge a gap between known semiclassical physics and quantum effects in superconductivity. They found the delicate quantum states of reacting particles become scrambled with surprising speed and efficiency that comes close to matching the might of a black hole.

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A research team consisting of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Hyeongwoo Lee, an integrated PhD student, from the Department of Physics at Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) has pioneered an innovative technique in ultra-high-resolution spectroscopy. Their breakthrough marks the world’s first instance of electrically controlling polaritons – hybridized light-matter particles – at room temperature.

This research has been published in Physical Review Letters (“Electrically Tunable Single Polaritonic Quantum Dot at Room Temperature”).

Image depicting the control of polariton particles using electric-field tip-enhanced strong coupling spectroscopy. (Image: POSTECH)

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A national security expert predicts practical quantum computing tools are just three to five years away from integration into the workforce, NextGov is reporting.

Neal Ziring, the Technical Director of the National Security Agency’s (NSA) Cybersecurity Directorate, made the forecast during a recent public sector cybersecurity event hosted by Palo Alto Networks in Palo Alto. As reported by NextGov, Ziring expects the devices to be accessible predominantly through cloud-based platforms.

Ziring added that the impracticality and cost-prohibitive nature of would put on-premise installations for quantum computing systems out of reach for most organizations, including government agencies.

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PRESS RELEASE — Magnetic Shields Limited (MSL) has invented a lightweight and small-scale magnetic shielding system for cryogenic conditions.

The innovation developed by UK-based MSL in collaboration with the University of Nottingham and quantum computer developer SEEQC will revolutionise quantum computing performance and efficiency. The coil shield also has implications for satellites, where payload weight determines launch costs.

The shield is the first to integrate thin metal coils into magnetic shielding to actively cancel out magnetic field interference in temperatures near absolute zero. It eliminates the need for bulky metal housings.

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University of Copenhagen team contributes to an Antarctic large-scale experiment striving to find out if gravity also exists at the quantum level; An extraordinary particle able to travel undisturbed through space seems to hold the answer.

Several thousand sensors distributed over a square kilometer near the South Pole are tasked with answering one of the large outstanding questions in physics: does quantum gravity exist? The sensors monitor neutrinos – particles with no electrical charge and almost without mass – arriving at the Earth from outer space. A team from the Niels Bohr Institute (NBI), University of Copenhagen, has contributed to developing the method that exploits neutrino data to reveal if quantum gravity exists.

“If as we believe, quantum gravity does indeed exist, this will contribute to unite the current two worlds in physics. Today, classical physics describes the phenomena in our normal surroundings such as gravity, while the atomic world can only be described using quantum mechanics. The unification of quantum theory and gravitation remains one of the most outstanding challenges in fundamental physics. It would be very satisfying if we could contribute to that end,” says Tom Stuttard, Assistant Professor at NBI.

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An international team including researchers from the University of Würzburg has succeeded in creating a special state of superconductivity. This discovery could advance the development of quantum computers.

Superconductors are materials that can conduct electricity without electrical resistance – making them the ideal base material for electronic components in MRI machines, magnetic levitation trains, and even particle accelerators. However, conventional superconductors are easily disturbed by magnetism. An international group of researchers has now succeeded in building a hybrid device consisting of a stable proximitized-superconductor enhanced by magnetism and whose function can be specifically controlled.

They combined the superconductor with a special semiconductor material known as a topological insulator. “Topological insulators are materials that conduct electricity on their surface but not inside. This is due to their unique topological structure, i.e. the special arrangement of the electrons,” explains Professor Charles Gould, a physicist at the Institute for Topological Insulators at the University of Würzburg (JMU). “The exciting thing is that we can equip topological insulators with magnetic atoms so that they can be controlled by a magnet.”

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