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Category: quantum physics

Bizarre Hawking radiation may smooth the jagged hearts of black holes

It’s a longstanding pain point for physicists: Their theory of gravity, general relativity, predicts that a black hole must contain a singularity, a point where space and time are infinitely warped and the laws of physics break down.

Many researchers hope that a theory combining gravity and quantum mechanics—if it can ever be discovered—will someday remove the thorn. However, a full-fledged theory of quantum gravity may not be necessary, two theorists argue independently.

A pinch of quantum mechanics—in the form of an effect called Hawking radiation—may suffice, enabling a black hole to form, age, and evaporate without creating a singularity.

Hawking’s signature prediction may prevent vexing singularities from forming.

Tapping your genome with AI and quantum computing could deliver on the promise of personalized medicine — but practical and ethical hurdles remain

Combining AI with quantum computing could enable doctors and researchers to analyze the human body at an unprecedented molecular level, unlocking breakthroughs in personalized medicine. Yet significant quantum technology hurdles remain before this vision becomes reality.

Asymmetry Control in a Parametric Oscillator for the Quantum Simulation of Chemical Activation

Researchers have demonstrated a superconducting quantum circuit that simulates tunneling in chemical reactions, revealing unexpected quantum effects in state transitions.

The work enables controlled study of quantum dynamics in chemistry-like energy landscapes and highlights superconducting circuits as powerful tools for exploring chemical processes.

Read more in PRX Quantum.

A continuously driven Kerr parametric oscillator simulates a dissipative quantum system with applications to reactions in quantum chemistry.

Is consciousness more fundamental to reality than quantum physics?

The idea that everything that exists can be built from the bottom up has long held sway among physicists. Now, a new kind of science is under construction that centres conscious experience – and might unravel the universe’s biggest mysteries.

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan

Scientists create electronic devices that function reliably at extreme temperatures from 500 degrees Celcuis to absolute zero — advanced semiconductor material unlocks new possibilities in space tech and quantum computing

The technology has massive potential in space technology and quantum computing

Atomic Clocks: Exquisite Sensors for More Than Just Time

Atomic clocks use the quantum energy levels of atoms to tell time more accurately and precisely than any other kind of clock. (Learn more about how atomic clocks work.)

But atomic clocks can be used for more than timekeeping. They can serve as quantum sensors. Indeed, companies already use portable atomic clocks to detect oil deposits under the ocean. As these clocks become even more accurate and precise, their sensing capabilities become increasingly powerful.

To understand how atomic clocks work as sensors, we need to know a bit about Einstein’s theory of general relativity. Relativity tells us that time ticks more slowly in stronger gravity. Here on Earth, for example, a clock ticks slightly more slowly at sea level than it would on the top of a mountain, because gravity is stronger at sea level. For similar reasons, clocks in space speed up relative to those on Earth.

This ultracold quantum device turns electricity into something far stranger that could unlock sound-based lasers

Researchers at McGill University have developed a novel device that generates sound-like particles known as phonons at extremely cold temperatures. The technology could be used to create phonon lasers, with possible applications in communications and medical diagnostics.

“Modern communication is largely based on light, including electromagnetic waves and electrical currents. In a medium such as oceans, sound can travel, whereas light and electrical currents cannot,” said Michael Hilke. “In the human body, sound waves can also be a useful tool.”

Hilke is Associate Professor of Physics and co-author of the study published in Physical Review Letters. The device was built and analyzed at McGill and the National Research Council of Canada. The material was synthesized at Princeton University.

Single X-ray photons reveal hidden light-matter interactions in 50-nanometer double slits

A rainbow reveals with colors what otherwise remains hidden: light is “refracted” by transparent matter, in this case water droplets. This same physical effect underlies many everyday technologies, like LCD screens and broadband connections based on fiber-optic cables. Light refraction is caused by an interaction between light and the atoms of matter. This brings the light waves slightly out of sync, so to speak. “X-ray light” is “refracted,” too. But the effect is difficult to measure here.

A miniature device now offers a novel approach: Researchers from the Universities of Göttingen and Hamburg, together with partners, have built the world’s smallest X-ray interferometer, to their knowledge. It has enabled them to precisely measure, for the first time, the refraction of X-rays confined to a few nanometers, and to deduce how they interact with atomic nuclei. The study was published in the journal Nature Photonics.

The new X-ray interferometer is based on the famous double-slit experiment, which Nobel laureate Richard Feynman said “has in it the heart of quantum mechanics.”

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