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Category: computing

Laser method unlocks 3,000-Kelvin thin-film synthesis for quantum materials

Thin films might not come up in conversation every day, but they are all around us. Take the metallic plastic films of chip bags, for example, or the anti-reflective coatings on eyeglasses. Even the coatings on pills that make them easier to swallow are thin films. Depositing extremely thin layers of materials in a consistent and uniform way is also crucial to the production of semiconductors, which are the foundation of modern electronics.

Not all materials can be easily deposited in such thin layers, such as materials with very high melting points. Now, Caltech researchers led by Austin Minnich, professor of mechanical engineering and applied physics, and deputy chair of the Division of Engineering and Applied Science, have demonstrated a laser-based method for generating thin films of materials, such as niobium. The work could directly impact superconducting electronics used in quantum computers.

The team recently described the work in a paper published in the journal Applied Physics Letters.

Confirming altermagnetism in an abundant mineral

Also known as magnetoelectronics, spintronics rely on electron spin rather than electron charge, as found in traditional electronics. Although spintronics is still an emerging field, spintronic technologies are already found in hard disk drives and giant magnetoresistance sensors used in industrial and automotive applications. Once the right foundational materials are discovered and verified, including economical materials for altermagnets, spintronics could advance technologies from wireless communication to quantum computing.

Researchers using neutrons at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) discovered that hematite, essentially rust, can help design energy-efficient spintronics.

The team’s findings, published in Physical Review Letters, confirmed a key signature of altermagnetism (a new type of magnetism discovered in 2022) in hematite. Altermagnets are magnetic materials in which electron spins align in opposite directions, allowing pure spin currents to flow without a net electric charge—ideal conditions for spintronics. The team measured spin waves, which move through a material’s magnetic order similar to how sound waves move through air. They discovered that these waves show a clear separation in energy, a unique signature that confirms the material’s altermagnetic nature.

Quantum Fourier transform reaches 52 qubits, shattering the previous 27-qubit record

The spin-off company ParityQC has implemented the largest quantum Fourier transform ever reported using an IBM quantum computer, thereby setting a new milestone on the path toward the industrial application of quantum computers. The quantum Fourier transform is a cornerstone algorithm with applications in cryptography, financial modeling, and materials science.

Innsbruck-based quantum architecture company ParityQC performed a quantum Fourier transform using 52 superconducting qubits on an IBM Heron quantum processor. This surpasses the previous record of 27 qubits, which was set two years ago using an ion-trap quantum computer. The results were published this week on the arXiv preprint server.

“This milestone was only possible through the synergy of IBM’s latest quantum hardware and the ParityQC Architecture, which unlocked an exponential improvement in efficiency,” say Wolfgang Lechner and Magdalena Hauser, Co-CEOs of ParityQC. “What we are witnessing is European quantum innovation taking a global lead in translating theoretical potential into real-world performance.”

Spatiotemporal light pulses could secure optical communication by masking data

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have developed a new approach to secure optical communication that hides information in the physical structure of light, making it difficult for unauthorized parties to intercept or decode. The study addresses a growing challenge: advances in quantum computing are expected to weaken many of today’s encryption methods. While most security solutions rely on complex mathematical algorithms, this research adds protection earlier in the process—during the transmission of the signal itself.

The research was led by Dr. Judith Kupferman and Prof. Shlomi Arnon from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. The findings were published in Optical and Quantum Electronics.

The researchers propose a communication method based on specially shaped light pulses, known as spatiotemporal optical vortices. These light beams are designed so that their key features are not visible in standard measurements.

Quantum simulations reveal spin transport in 1D materials

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s Quantum Science Center (QSC) headquartered at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) have achieved a significant milestone by demonstrating the first digital quantum simulations of how spin currents change over time in a 1-D model of a quantum spin material. The results, now published in Physical Review Letters, establish a new, programmable way to use quantum computers to study the transport of spin—a fundamental quantum variable—in materials.

Spin transport measurements are a cornerstone of condensed matter physics, providing important insight into how quantum materials carry energy and information. In this work, QSC researchers, led by Purdue University’s Arnab Banerjee, demonstrated how a quantum computer can simulate spin transport behavior across ballistic, diffusive, and superdiffusive—meaning a faster and farther spread than typical diffusion—motion.

These different cases of spin transport represent fundamental changes in how the material responds to experimental probes. The simulation results make a direct comparison with experimental materials and open new avenues for understanding complex quantum phenomena such as coherence and energy flow in quantum materials.

Self-propulsion or slow diffusion: How bacteria, cells, and colloids respond to stimuli

What physical processes govern the movement of microscopic structures capable of interacting with their environment? The answer lies in two mechanisms: self-propulsion, to escape unfavorable locations; and slow diffusion, to move toward more advantageous ones. This is the finding of scientists Jacopo Romano and Andrea Gambassi from SISSA-Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati in their new study published in Physical Review Letters.

In their work, the researchers combined computer simulations with mathematical calculations, taking inspiration from nature. It is well known that feedback-driven motion underlies the behavior of various microorganisms, which analyze incoming and outgoing signals and adapt their direction of movement accordingly. The study reproduces the physical behavior of natural and synthetic agents in two distinct scenarios: when a specific destination must be avoided based on signals, and when it must instead be reached.

The researchers found that in the first case, a process of “superdiffusion” occurs, with accelerated motion, while in the second case a subdiffusive process takes place, with much slower movement. These findings provide important insights for the design of smart particles capable of moving at the microscale, with potential applications in medicine, particularly for more efficient drug delivery.

Why this single-chip LED advance could shrink AR glasses and boost quantum links

Researchers at The University of Osaka, in collaboration with ULVAC, Inc. and Ritsumeikan University, have developed a new LED structure that generates circularly polarized light from a single chip. By combining a semipolar InGaN light-emitting structure with a stripe-shaped silicon nitride metasurface, the team created a compact light source that reduces energy-conversion loss and operates at room temperature.

This advancement could help bring ultra-compact, durable light sources closer to practical use in AR/VR, 3D displays, quantum communication, and optical security. The work is published in the journal Optical Materials Express.

Circularly polarized light is useful for a wide range of next-generation technologies. However, previous circularly polarized LEDs have struggled to combine high polarization, high efficiency, durability, and scalable manufacturing. In many previous designs, only one circular polarization component can be extracted from unpolarized light, placing a theoretical limit of 50% on conversion efficiency.

“You Have To Iterate, You Have To Fail, You Have To Quickly Pick Yourself Up”: Genome Loaded Onto Quantum Computer For First Time

The achievement marks a milestone in the quest to use quantum computing to unlock the full complexity of human genetic diversity, with implications for cancer, drug design, and personalised medicine.

We Can Now Simulate a Human Brain, Scientists Show

Go to https://ground.news/sabine to get 40% off the Vantage plan and see through sensationalized reporting. Stay fully informed on events around the world with Ground News.

Over the years, computer scientists have used cutting-edge processors to simulate the brains of increasingly more complex animals. They’ve already simulated worm and fruit fly brains, and are now working on mice. But according to a new paper, they’ve made a breakthrough that might allow them to simulate human brains, which contain 80 billion neurons compared to a fruit fly’s 140,000. Let’s take a look.

Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.

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