A new theoretical approach allows the alteration of α-RuCl₃’s magnetic properties through quantum fluctuations in an optical cavity, providing a laser-free avenue for material manipulation.

Researchers in Germany and the USA have produced the first theoretical demonstration that the magnetic state of an atomically thin material, α-RuCl_3, can be controlled solely by placing it into an optical cavity. Crucially, the cavity vacuum fluctuations alone are sufficient to change the material’s magnetic order from a zigzag antiferromagnet into a ferromagnet. The team’s work has been published in the scientific journal npj Computational Materials.

Advancements in Material Physics.

Cooper pairs are pairs of electrons in superconducting materials that are bound to each other at low temperatures. These electron pairs are at the root of superconductivity, a state where materials have zero resistance at low temperatures due to quantum effects. As quantum systems that can be relatively large and easy to manipulate, superconductors are highly useful for the development of quantum computers and other advanced technologies.

Researchers at Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) recently demonstrated the controllable splitting of a Copper pair into its two constituent electrons within a hybrid quantum dot system, holding onto them after the split. Their paper, published in Physical Review Letters, could open new avenues for the study of superconductivity and entanglement in quantum dot systems.

“This research was motivated by the fact that Cooper pairs, the fundamental ingredients of superconductivity that carry electrical current with no resistance, are formed by pairs of electrons that are expected to be perfectly quantum entangled,” Christian Prosko, one of the authors of the paper, told Phys.org.

Breakthrough realized for retaining quantum information in a single-electron quantum bit.