Physicists at the University of Oxford have set a new global benchmark for the accuracy of controlling a single quantum bit, achieving the lowest-ever error rate for a quantum logic operation — just 0.000015%, or one error in 6.7 million operations. This record-breaking result represents nearly an order of magnitudeContinue Reading
One of the current hot research topics is the combination of two of the most recent technological breakthroughs: machine learning and quantum computing. An experimental study shows that already small-scale quantum computers can boost the performance of machine learning algorithms. This was demonstrated on a photonic quantum processor by anContinue Reading
Using advanced computational modelling, a research team led by the University of Oxford, working in partnership with the Instituto Superior Técnico in the University of Lisbon, has achieved the first-ever real-time, three-dimensional simulations of how intense laser beams alter the ‘quantum vacuum’ — a state once assumed to be empty,Continue Reading
Quantum materials exhibit remarkable emergent properties when they are excited by external sources. However, these excited states decay rapidly once the excitation is removed, limiting their practical applications. A team of researchers from Harvard University and the Paul Scherrer Institute PSI have now demonstrated an approach to stabilize these fleetingContinue Reading
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
