Physicists have made an astonishing discovery in quantum computing. Scientists observed a new phase of matter that appeared to occupy two different time dimensions instead of one by shining pulsed lights on qubits, the quantum theory equivalent of computer bits. This new phase of matter makes qubits much more stable. The scientists discovered that the qubits did not degrade over the course of the experiment. Qubit stability is a significant step toward creating an error-free quantum computer.
“I’ve been working on these theory ideas for over five years, and seeing them come to fruition in experiments is exciting,” said Flatiron Institute’s Philipp Dumitrescu. Dumitrescu worked with scientists from Canada and the United States to publish the paper in Nature on July 20.
The researchers’ quantum computer is made up of ten ions of the element ytterbium. These ten ions are held and controlled by an ion trap while being manipulated or measured by laser pulses. While computer bits store data in the form of 1s and 0s, due to quantum superposition, a qubit can exist in both states at the same time. Another quantum phenomenon, known as quantum entanglement, governs how the qubits’ interactions influence their unknown state. To make matters more complicated, the qubits can entangle with almost everything else, introducing errors.
“Even if you keep all the atoms under strict control, they can lose their quantumness by communicating with their surroundings, heating up, or interacting with things in unexpected ways. In practice, experimental devices are riddled with flaws that can degrade coherence after only a few laser pulses “Dumitrescu elaborated.
To achieve coherence and eliminate many errors, the scientists introduced symmetry in the qubits across the time dimension rather than the space dimension. Despite the fact that the work was successful in making the qubits far more stable than before, it is still a long way from being integrated into a working quantum computer. The work, however, is critical in the development of a working large-scale quantum computer, according to the scientists.
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