Lifeboat Foundation

Despite the Harvard 48 logical #qubits paper is perhaps the biggest leap in #quantum technologies, still the final circuit is classically simulable.

Politics makes strange bedfellows, apparently so does quantum benchmarking.

In a surprising development, IBM Quantum and IonQ researchers teamed up to reveal an alternative classical simulation algorithm for an impressive error correction study conducted by a Harvard and QuEra team and published recently in Nature. IBM is a leader in superconducting quantum computers, while IonQ is noted as a pioneer in trapped ion devices.

Continue reading “IBM and IonQ Researchers Design Classical Algorithm to Tackle Recent Harvard-Led Study’s Computational Task” »

QuEra aims to unleash a new era of innovation and discovery.

Based on the differently oriented MAPbBr₃ single-crystal wafers, this study presents innovative findings primarily in two aspects. First, utilizing polarization-dependent ultrafast time-resolved spectroscopy, the anisotropic dynamics of photoexcited carriers on the picosecond timescale was first revealed. This discovery provides a deeper understanding of the ultrafast carrier relaxation pathways from the perspective of crystal orientation. It holds significant implications for exploring and expanding the potential of perovskite single crystals in polarization-sensitive and ultrafast optoelectronics applications, such as optical modulators, high-speed light polarization sensors, and ballistic transistors, which require both polarization sensitivity and high-field running capability simultaneously. However, a comprehensive understanding to correlate the observed polarization-dependent dynamics with the crystallographic structures has not been achieved yet due to limitations in current excited-state experimental techniques. Further progress will rely on employing more advanced ultrafast probing techniques, in combination with theoretical simulations, to comprehensively elucidate the observed carrier dynamics behind the underlying excited structure.

Second, by employing femtosecond laser processing, luminescent patterns with a remarkable three-order-of-magnitude PL enhancement on the bulk single crystals were achieved. The observed enhancement can be ultimately attributed to the synergy of three factors: the limited carrier diffusion length, the increase in shallow trap-assisted recombination centers, and the passivation of deep traps within the femtosecond laser-induced tentacle-like microstructures. In addition to offering a convenient top-down strategy for enhancing the photoluminescence intensity of bulk crystals, this study has also provided an in-depth understanding of the luminescence mechanism from multiple spatial (bulk and micro/nanoscale) and temporal (steady and transient-state) dimensions.

Angstrom age is right around the corner – for state-of-the-art chips, anyway.

Reconfigurable massively parallel computer.

Shared with Dropbox.

Dr. Janice Brahney: “Only recently have we started to see troubling outbreaks of toxic algal blooms in mountain environments. So, these changes are happening fast and are really concerning. It’s important we get to the bottom of this.”

What impact does atmospheric dust have on algae? This is what a recent study published in Global Change Biology hopes to address as a team of researchers from Utah State University (USU) investigated how increased dust concentrations in the Earth’s atmosphere could lead to larger algae blooms, impacting life on both land and in the oceans. This study holds the potential to help scientists better understand the acceptable amounts of dust and algae on the Earth and their impact on aquatic life, specifically in mountain ranges across the globe. The reason mountain headwater regions were the focus of the study was because they provide approximately 50% of the world’s population with fresh water.

“Only recently have we started to see troubling outbreaks of toxic algal blooms in mountain environments,” said Dr. Janice Brahney, who is an associate professor in the Watershed Sciences Department at USU and a co-author on the study. “So, these changes are happening fast and are really concerning. It’s important we get to the bottom of this. Toxic blooms in mountain lakes like the ones we’ve seen recently in remote mountain lakes are unprecedented.”

Continue reading “Algae Growth Linked to Atmospheric Dust: Insights from Pioneering Research” »

Seven quantum hardware companies have been awarded multimillion-pound contracts to build a series of quantum testbeds at the National Quantum Computing Centre by March 2025.

Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Los Alamos National Laboratory, publishing in the latest issue of Nature Communications, describe the discovery of a new method that transforms everyday materials like glass into materials scientists can use to make quantum computers.

“The materials we made are substances that exhibit unique electrical or quantum properties because of their specific atomic shapes or structures,” said Luis A. Jauregui, professor of physics & astronomy at UCI and lead author of the new paper. “Imagine if we could transform glass, typically considered an insulating material, and convert it into efficient conductors akin to copper. That’s what we’ve done.”

Conventional computers use silicon as a conductor, but silicon has limits. Quantum computers stand to help bypass these limits, and methods like those described in the new study will help quantum computers become an everyday reality.

Apple’s latest gadget, the Apple Vision Pro, is a mixed-reality headset that promises to immerse users in a new dimension of spatial computing. But what makes this device so special, and how does it work?

To find out, the folks at iFixit did what they do best: they took it apart. In their usual fashion, they documented the process in a video and an article, giving us a glimpse of the inner workings of Apple’s most advanced hardware ever.

Continue reading “Apple Vision Pro teardown reveals the secrets of its mixed-reality magic” »