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A new kind of 3D optical lattice traps atoms using focused laser spots replicated in multiple planes and could eventually serve as a quantum computing platform.

Researchers have produced 3D lattices of trapped atoms for possible quantum computing tasks, but the standard technology doesn’t allow much control over atom spacing. Now a team has created a new type of 3D lattice by combining optical tweezers—points of focused light that trap atoms—with an optical phenomenon known as the Talbot effect [1]. The team’s 3D tweezer lattice has sites for 10,000 atoms, but with some straightforward modifications, the system could reach 100,000 atoms. Such a large atom arrangement could eventually serve as a platform for a quantum computer with error correction.

3D optical lattices have been around for decades. The standard method for creating them involves crossing six laser beams to generate a 3D interference pattern that traps atoms in either the high-or low-intensity spots (see Synopsis: Pinpointing Qubits in a 3D Lattice). These cold-atom systems have been used as precision clocks and as models of condensed-matter systems. However, the spacing between atoms is fixed by the wavelength of the light, which can limit the control researchers have over the atomic behavior.

Google is using its enormous Chrome browser testing base to help examine the prospect of continuing the security of the digital age into the uncertainty of the quantum one.

Physicists have achieved a significant milestone in the world of quantum physics by recreating the famous double-slit experiment in time.

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated a prototype lidar system that uses quantum detection technology to acquire 3D images while submerged underwater. The high sensitivity of this system could allow it to capture detailed information even in extremely low-light conditions found underwater.

“This technology could be useful for a wide range of applications,” said research team member Aurora Maccarone, a Royal Academy of Engineering research fellow from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom. “For example, it could be used to inspect underwater installations, such as underwater wind farm cables and the submerged structure of the turbines. Underwater lidar can also be used for monitoring or surveying submerged archaeology sites and for security and defense applications.”

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The state of perfect stillness known as absolute zero is one of the Universe’s impossible achievements. As close as we can get, the laws of physics will always prevent us from hitting thermal rock bottom.

An international team of researchers has now identified a new theoretical route to reach the mythical mark of zero Kelvin, or-273.15 degrees Celsius (−459.67 degrees Fahrenheit). No, it’s not more likely to break any laws and remove every last shimmer of heat, but the framework could inspire new ways of exploring matter at low temperatures.

As a consequence of the third law of thermodynamics, the removal of increments of heat energy from a group of particles to cool them to absolute zero will always take an infinite number of steps. As such, it requires an infinite amount of energy to achieve. Quite the challenge.

Inside the proton are elementary particles called quarks. Quarks and protons have an intrinsic angular momentum called spin. Spin can point in different directions. When it is perpendicular to the proton’s momentum, it is called a transverse spin. Just like the proton carries an electric charge, it also has another fundamental charge called the tensor charge. The tensor charge is the net transverse spin of quarks in a proton with transverse spin.

The only way to obtain the tensor charge from experimental data is using the theory of quantum chromodynamics (QCD) to extract the “transversity” function. This universal function encodes the difference between the number of quarks with their spin aligned and anti-aligned to the proton’s spin when it is in a transverse direction. Using state-of-the-art data science techniques, researchers recently made the most precise empirical determination of the tensor charge.

Due to the phenomenon known as confinement, quarks are always bound in the proton or other hadrons (particles with multiple quarks). The challenge is to connect the theory of quark interactions (QCD) to experimental measurements of high-energy collisions involving hadrons.

Graphene is a special material. Among its many talents, it can act as a superconductor, generate a super-rare form of magnetism, and unlock entirely new quantum states.

Now graphene has another amazing credit: it can record levels of magnetoresistance without a need to push the temperature down towards absolute zero.

High magnetoresistance – a material’s ability to change its electrical resistance in response to a magnetic field – is relatively rare, yet materials that can shift their properties in this fashion are useful in computers, cars, and medical equipment.

Author and Wordsmith Kel Richards says Quantum computing will do “astonishing things” but the current problem is trying to make them operate at a higher temperature than “below zero centigrade”.

“Quantum computing is apparently … amazingly fast and will do all kinds of astonishing things … the problem at the moment is they have to operate below zero centigrade, otherwise they don’t work, so they’re trying to work out how you can make these really tiny, really fast computers operate at room temperature,” Mr Richards said.

“There is work to be done and if Australia could be in the front of this … brilliant for us.”

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become commonplace, and quantum computing is set to alter the landscape radically. The potential of quantum computers to process vast amounts of data at unprecedented speeds could render existing AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, obsolete.

The intricacies of quantum computing intertwine with understanding the evolution of artificial intelligence. This journey reveals the convergence of two transformative technologies, uncovers challenges, opens opportunities, and underscores the vital role of safeguarding innovations through patent law.

Continue reading “Quantum Computing Supremacy Unleashed: AI Chatbots Are Doomed” »