Menu

Blog

Archive for the ‘quantum physics’ category: Page 354

Oct 2, 2020

Finnish researchers claim quantum computing breakthrough

Posted by in categories: particle physics, quantum physics, supercomputing

Scientists have created a device which could make it easier to harness super-fast quantum computers for real-world applications, a team at Finland’s Aalto University said on Wednesday.

Quantum computers are a new generation of machines powered by energy transfers between so-called “”— a fraction of a millimetre across.

Scientists believe the devices will eventually be able to vastly outperform even the world’s most powerful conventional supercomputers.

Oct 1, 2020

Autonomous robotic nanofabrication with reinforcement learning

Posted by in categories: quantum physics, robotics/AI

The ability to handle single molecules as effectively as macroscopic building blocks would enable the construction of complex supramolecular structures inaccessible to self-assembly. The fundamental challenges obstructing this goal are the uncontrolled variability and poor observability of atomic-scale conformations. Here, we present a strategy to work around both obstacles and demonstrate autonomous robotic nanofabrication by manipulating single molecules. Our approach uses reinforcement learning (RL), which finds solution strategies even in the face of large uncertainty and sparse feedback. We demonstrate the potential of our RL approach by removing molecules autonomously with a scanning probe microscope from a supramolecular structure. Our RL agent reaches an excellent performance, enabling us to automate a task that previously had to be performed by a human. We anticipate that our work opens the way toward autonomous agents for the robotic construction of functional supramolecular structures with speed, precision, and perseverance beyond our current capabilities.

The swift development of quantum technologies could be further advanced if we managed to free ourselves from the imperatives of crystal growth and self-assembly and learned to fabricate custom-built metastable structures on atomic and molecular length scales routinely (17). Metastable structures, apart from being more abundant than stable ones, tend to offer attractive functionalities, because their constituent building blocks can be arranged more freely and in particular in desired functional relationships (7).

It is well established that single molecules can be manipulated and arranged using mechanical, optical, or magnetic actuators (8), such as the tips of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs) (912) or optical tweezers (13, 14). With all these types of actuators, a sequence of manipulation steps can be carried out to bring a system of molecular building blocks into a desired target state. The problem of creating custom-built structures from single molecules can therefore be cast as a challenge in robotics.

Oct 1, 2020

New design principles for spin-based quantum materials

Posted by in categories: computing, internet, quantum physics

As our lives become increasingly intertwined with technology—whether supporting communication while working remotely or streaming our favorite show—so too does our reliance on the data these devices create. Data centers supporting these technology ecosystems produce a significant carbon footprint—and consume 200 terawatt hours of energy each year, greater than the annual energy consumption of Iran. To balance ecological concerns yet meet growing demand, advances in microelectronic processors—the backbone of many Internet of Things (IoT) devices and data hubs—must be efficient and environmentally friendly.

Northwestern University materials scientists have developed new design principles that could help spur development of future quantum materials used to advance (IoT) devices and other resource-intensive technologies while limiting ecological damage.

“New path-breaking materials and computing paradigms are required to make more energy-lean in the future,” said James Rondinelli, professor of materials science and engineering and the Morris E. Fine Professor in Materials and Manufacturing at the McCormick School of Engineering, who led the research.

Oct 1, 2020

E-beam atomic-scale 3D ‘sculpting’ could enable new quantum nanodevices

Posted by in categories: engineering, nanotechnology, quantum physics

Based on focused -induced processing (FEBID) techniques, the work could allow production of 2-D/3D complex nanostructures and functional nanodevices useful in quantum communications, sensing, and other applications. For oxygen-containing materials such as graphene oxide, etching can be done without introducing outside materials, using oxygen from the substrate.

“By timing and tuning the energy of the electron , we can activate interaction of the beam with oxygen in the graphene oxide to do etching, or interaction with hydrocarbons on the surface to create carbon deposition,” said Andrei Fedorov, professor and Rae S. and Frank H. Neely Chair in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. “With atomic-scale control, we can produce complicated patterns using direct write-remove processes. Quantum systems require precise control on an atomic scale, and this could enable a host of potential applications.”

Oct 1, 2020

For the First Time Ever, Scientists Caught Time Crystals Interacting

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics, time travel

That’s big news for the most mysterious phase of matter—and maybe physics as we know it.


For the first time, scientists have observed an interaction of a rare and baffling form of matter called time crystals. The crystals look at a glance like “regular” crystals, but they have a relationship to time that both intrigues and puzzles scientists because of its unpredictability. Now, experts say they could have applications in quantum computing.“regular” crystals, but they have a relationship to time that both intrigues and puzzles scientists because of its unpredictability. Now, experts say they could have applications in quantum computing.

🤯 You love time travel. So do we. Let’s nerd out over it together.

Continue reading “For the First Time Ever, Scientists Caught Time Crystals Interacting” »

Oct 1, 2020

Trapped-ion quantum computer sets new mark for quantum volume

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Fewer qubits but higher fidelity, and a promise of rapid advances.

Sep 30, 2020

New detector breakthrough pushes boundaries of quantum computing

Posted by in categories: computing, quantum physics

Physicists at Aalto University and VTT Technical Research Center of Finland have developed a new detector for measuring energy quanta at unprecedented resolution. This discovery could help bring quantum computing out of the laboratory and into real-world applications. The results have been published today in Nature.

The type of detector the team works on is called a , which measures the energy of incoming radiation by measuring how much it heats up the detector. Professor Mikko Möttönen’s Quantum Computing and Devices group at Aalto has been developing their expertise in bolometers for over the past decade, and have now developed a device that can match current state-of-the-art detectors used in quantum computers.

“It is amazing how we have been able to improve the specs of our bolometer year after year, and now we embark on an exciting journey into the world of quantum devices,” says Möttönen.

Sep 29, 2020

‘Schrödinger’s Web’ offers a sneak peek at the quantum internet

Posted by in categories: biotech/medical, computing, government, internet, quantum physics

Quantum computers, which harness the strange probabilities of quantum mechanics, may prove revolutionary. They have the potential to achieve an exponential speedup over their classical counterparts, at least when it comes to solving some problems. But for now, these computers are still in their infancy, useful for only a few applications, just as the first digital computers were in the 1940s. So isn’t a book about the communications network that will link quantum computers — the quantum internet — more than a little ahead of itself?

Surprisingly, no. As theoretical physicist Jonathan Dowling makes clear in Schrödinger’s Web, early versions of the quantum internet are here already — for example, quantum communication has been taking place between Beijing and Shanghai via fiber-optic cables since 2016 — and more are coming fast. So now is the perfect time to read up.

Dowling, who helped found the U.S. government’s quantum computing program in the 1990s, is the perfect guide. Armed with a seemingly endless supply of outrageous anecdotes, memorable analogies, puns and quips, he makes the thorny theoretical details of the quantum internet both entertaining and accessible.

Continue reading “‘Schrödinger’s Web’ offers a sneak peek at the quantum internet” »

Sep 29, 2020

D-Wave announces Leap 2, its cloud service for quantum computing applications

Posted by in categories: business, computing, quantum physics

D-Wave today launched its next-generation quantum computing platform available via its Leap quantum cloud service. The company calls Advantage “the first quantum computer built for business.” In that vein, D-Wave today also debuted Launch, a jump-start program for businesses that want to begin building hybrid quantum applications.

“The Advantage quantum computer is the first quantum computer designed and developed from the ground up to support business applications,” D-Wave CEO Alan Baratz told VentureBeat. “We engineered it to be able to deal with large, complex commercial applications and to be able to support the running of those applications in production environments. There is no other quantum computer anywhere in the world that can solve problems at the scale and complexity that this quantum computer can solve problems. It really is the only one that you can run real business applications on. The other quantum computers are primarily prototypes. You can do experimentation, run small proofs of concept, but none of them can support applications at the scale that we can.”

Continue reading “D-Wave announces Leap 2, its cloud service for quantum computing applications” »

Sep 29, 2020

D-Wave’s 5,000-qubit quantum computing platform handles 1 million variables

Posted by in categories: business, computing, quantum physics

D-Wave has launched next-gen quantum computing platform Advantage, and Launch, a service to help businesses build hybrid quantum applications.