In 2024, Empa researchers and their partners successfully for the first time realized a so-called one-dimensional alternating Heisenberg model with a synthetic material. This theoretical quantum-physical model, known for nearly a century, describes a linear chain of spins — a type of quantum magnetism. Now, the researchers led by RomanContinue Reading
By taking two flakes of special materials that are just one atom thick and twisting them at high angles, researchers at the University of Rochester have unlocked unique optical properties that could be used in quantum computers and other quantum technologies. In a new study published in Nano Letters, theContinue Reading
Much of our waste is far too valuable to simply be incinerated. If it is recycled in a carefully controlled way, not only can thermal energy be generated, but the resulting gas can also be used to produce valuable chemicals — from hydrogen to methane or methanol. However, the gasContinue Reading
The ability to conduct heat is one of the most fundamental properties of matter, crucial for engineering applications. Scientists know well how conventional materials, such as metals and insulators, conduct heat. However, things are not as straightforward under extreme conditions such as temperatures close to absolute zero combined with strongContinue Reading
Quantum computers have the potential to solve complex problems that would be impossible for the most powerful classical supercomputer to crack. Just like a classical computer has separate, yet interconnected, components that must work together, such as a memory chip and a CPU on a motherboard, a quantum computer willContinue Reading
What happens when a quantum physicist is frustrated by the limitations of quantum mechanics when trying to study densely packed atoms? At EPFL, you get a metamaterial, an engineered material that exhibits exotic properties. That frustrated physicist is PhD student Mathieu Padlewski. In collaboration with Hervé Lissek and Romain FleuryContinue Reading
The standard model of particle physics is our best theory of the elementary particles and forces that make up our world: particles and antiparticles, such as electrons and positrons, are described as quantum fields. They interact through other force-fields, such as the electromagnetic force that binds charged particles. To understandContinue Reading
Researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa (Wits University) in collaboration with Huzhou University in China have discovered a way to protect quantum information from environmental disruptions, offering hope for more reliable future technologies. In a study published in Nature Communications, scientists have shown how certainContinue Reading
Scientists have long sought to unravel the mysteries of strange metals — materials that defy conventional rules of electricity and magnetism. Now, a team of physicists at Rice University has made a breakthrough in this area using a tool from quantum information science. Their study, published recently in Nature Communications,Continue Reading
Applied physicists at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have created a photon router that could plug into quantum networks to create robust optical interfaces for noise-sensitive microwave quantum computers. The breakthrough is a crucial step toward someday realizing modular, distributed quantum computing networksContinue Reading
