John Martinis has already revolutionised quantum computing twice. Now, he is working on another radical rethink of the technology that could deliver machines with unrivalled capabilities
Category: computing
Why Planets Around Two Suns Are Surprisingly Uncommon
“Two things can happen: Either the planet gets very, very close to the binary, suffering tidal disruption or being engulfed by one of the stars, or its orbit gets significantly perturbed by the binary to be eventually ejected from the system,” said Dr. Mohammad Farhat.
Why is it so rare to find exoplanets orbiting two stars, also called circumbinary planets (CBPs)? This is what a recent study published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the celestial processes responsible for the formation and evolution of CBPs. This study has the potential to help scientists better understand solar system and planetary formation and evolution, which could narrow the search for life beyond Earth.
For the study, the researchers used a combination of computer models and Einstein’s theory of relativity to simulate the formation and evolution of CBPs. For example, the researchers explored the interaction between the CBP and its binary star, resulting in one of three outcomes: stable orbit, ejection, or consumption by the binary star. The reason Einstein’s theory of relativity was used as part of the study was because it calls for objects to have their orbit perturbed the closer they orbit to a larger object, like a star.
A common example that’s used for the theory is of a trampoline with objects falling inward when a large body is in the middle of it. Essentially, stars have “instability zones” where planets get consumed if they orbit too close. In the case of CBPs, the astronomers found that of the 14 known CBPs out of more than 6,000 confirmed exoplanets, 12 orbit just beyond the instability zone and none of the 14 have orbits less than seven days. The researchers concluded that a common phenomenon in astronomy called the three-body problem is responsible for the lack of CBPs.
91-qubit Processor Accurately Simulates Many-Body Quantum Chaos
Quantum chaos describes chaotic classical dynamical systems in terms of quantum theory, but simulations of these systems are limited by computational resources. However, one team seems to have found a way by leveraging error mitigation and specialized circuits on a 91-qubit superconducting quantum processor. Their results are published in Nature Physics.
While useful quantum simulations require an ability to eliminate errors, full quantum error correction requires large overheads in qubits and control. Previous work has gotten around this problem by simulating limited quantum many-body systems mostly at smaller scales or with integrable—or less chaotic—models.
The research team involved in the new study opted for a different method. Instead, they used error mitigation, which accepts noise and then corrects errors later, saving computational resources in the process.
A clearer look at critical materials, thanks to refrigerator magnets
With an advanced technology known as angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), scientists are able to map out a material’s electron energy-momentum relationship, which encodes the material’s electrical, optical, magnetic and thermal properties like an electronic DNA. But the technology has its limitations; it doesn’t work well under a magnetic field. This is a major drawback for scientists who want to study materials that are deployed under or even actuated by magnetic fields.
Inspired by refrigerator magnets, a team of Yale researchers may have found a solution. Their study was featured recently on the cover of The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.
Quantum materials —such as unconventional superconductors or topological materials—are considered critical to advancing quantum computing, high-efficiency electronics, nuclear fusion, and other fields. But many of them need to be used in the presence of a magnetic field, or even only become activated by magnetic fields. Being able to directly study the electronic structure of these materials in magnetic fields would be a huge help in better understanding how they work.
Natural magnetic materials can control light in unprecedented ways
Imagine shining a flashlight into a material and watching the light bend backward—or in an entirely unexpected direction—as if defying the law of physics. This phenomenon, known as negative refraction, could transform imaging, telecommunications, and countless other technologies. Now, a team of scientists has managed to use a natural magnetic material called CrSBr to achieve negative refraction—without the need for complicated artificial structures. The study, published in Nature Nanotechnology, opens the door to ultra-compact lenses, super-high-resolution microscopes, and reconfigurable optical devices that can be controlled with magnets.
The researchers used a very thin layer of CrSBr, a material that has a unique magnetic structure—its magnetic atoms align in different ways within and between layers. This magnetic order changes how the material interacts with light. When the magnetic order is active, it causes light to bend “the wrong way,” creating negative refraction.
By guiding light into this material on a tiny chip, the team visually confirmed the backward bending of light. They also built a miniature “hyperlens” —a device that can focus light into extremely small spots—an essential step for future high-precision imaging and data processing.
Focusing and defocusing light without a lens: First demonstration of the structured Montgomery effect in free space
Applied physicists in the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have demonstrated a new way to structure light in custom, repeatable, three-dimensional patterns, all without the use of traditional optical elements like lenses and mirrors. Their breakthrough provides experimental evidence of a peculiar natural phenomenon that had been confined mostly to theory.
Researchers from the lab of Federico Capasso, the Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics and Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering, report in Optica the first experimental demonstration of the little-known Montgomery effect, in which a coherent beam of light seemingly vanishes, then sharply refocuses itself over and over, in free space, at perfectly placed distances. This lensless, repeatable patterning of light could lay the groundwork for powerful new tools in many areas including microscopy, sensing, and quantum computing.
This effect had been predicted mathematically in the 1960s but never observed under controlled lab conditions. The new work underscores not only that the effect is real, but that it can be precisely engineered and tuned.
Real-time single-event position detection using high-radiation-tolerance GaN
Silicon semiconductors are widely used as particle detectors; however, their long-term operation is constrained by performance degradation in high-radiation environments. Researchers at University of Tsukuba have demonstrated real-time, two-dimensional position detection of individual charged particles using a gallium nitride (GaN) semiconductor with superior radiation tolerance.
Silicon (Si)-based devices are widely used in electrical and electronic applications; however, prolonged exposure to high radiation doses leads to performance degradation, malfunction, and eventual failure. These limitations create a strong demand for alternative semiconductor materials capable of operating reliably in harsh environments, including high-energy accelerator experiments, nuclear-reactor containment systems, and long-duration lunar or deep-space missions.
Wide-bandgap semiconductors, characterized by strong atomic bonding, offer the radiation tolerance required under such conditions. Among these materials, gallium nitride (GaN)—commonly employed in blue light-emitting diodes and high-frequency, high-power electronic devices—has not previously been demonstrated in detectors capable of two-dimensional particle-position sensing for particle and nuclear physics applications.
Russian hackers exploit recently patched Microsoft Office bug in attacks
Ukraine’s Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) says that Russian hackers are exploiting CVE-2026–21509, a recently patched vulnerability in multiple versions of Microsoft Office.
On January 26, Microsoft released an emergency out-of-band security update marking CVE-2026–21509 as an actively exploited zero-day flaw.
CERT-UA detected the distribution of malicious DOC files exploiting the flaw, themed around EU COREPER consultations in Ukraine, just three days after Microsoft’s alert.