Nanotechnology Now

Our NanoNews Digest Sponsors
Heifer International



Home > Press > The quantum middle man

A crystal made of manganese and other elements that provides a strong hyperfine interaction between the nucleus and electrons is just a few millimeters wide. It is shown next to a 100 Yen coin for scale.
CREDIT: OIST
A crystal made of manganese and other elements that provides a strong hyperfine interaction between the nucleus and electrons is just a few millimeters wide. It is shown next to a 100 Yen coin for scale.

CREDIT: OIST

Abstract:
Researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) have identified a system that could store quantum information for longer times, which is critical for the future of quantum computing. This study was recently published in Physical Review Letters.

The quantum middle man

Okinawa, Japan | Posted on July 2nd, 2015

Quantum computing -- which aims to use particles on the atomic scale to make calculations and store the results -- has the potential to solve some key problems much faster than current computers.

To make quantum computing a reality, scientists must find a system that remains stable long enough to make the calculations. While this is an extremely short time frame, only thousandths of a second, the particles involved are so small that they are easily influenced by their surroundings. If the motion of the particles is disturbed, even a little, it throws off the whole calculation.

Nuclei are promising contenders for quantum memory because they are not easily influenced by their surroundings. However, that also makes them extremely difficult to manipulate. Many quantum physicists have tried with little success.

"In usual materials it is very difficult to control nuclei directly," said Prof. Denis Konstantinov, who runs the Quantum Dynamics Unit at OIST.

Instead of trying control the nucleus directly, the researchers focused on a "middle man" of sorts - the electrons orbiting the nucleus.

The nucleus has a tiny internal magnet, called a "magnetic moment," and the electrons orbiting around it also have magnetic moments that are about 1,000 times larger. Those magnets interact with each other, which is called the "hyperfine interaction."

The hyperfine interaction is stronger in some materials than others. The researchers found that a crystal made of manganese and some other elements has a strong hyperfine interaction. This enabled them to manipulate the nuclei by first targeting the electrons.

Information in quantum computing is conveyed by photons, which are individual particles of light, which also make up other nonvisible electromagnetic waves, such as ultraviolet and microwaves. The information transmitted is actually the quantum state of the photon. The quantum state of the photon needs to be transferred to another particle so it will last long enough for the computation to take place.

In this experiment, the researchers beamed microwaves through a manganese carbonate crystal. The magnetic field of the microwaves interacted with the magnetic moments of the electrons that are orbiting around the nuclei of the manganese atoms. The electrons' movements started to change, which in turn altered the movement of the nuclei because they are connected by the hyperfine interaction. The quantum state of the microwave photon was transferred to the nuclei when the nuclei's internal magnets flipped to point in the opposite direction.

This all has to happen very quickly before the quantum state of the photon changes. To transmit the information and flip the nuclei fast enough, there has to be a strong connection between the microwaves and nuclei via the electrons.

"To our knowledge, our experiment is the first demonstration of the strong coupling between microwave photons and nuclear spins," said Leonid Abdurakhimov, a post-doctoral scholar at OIST and first author of the paper.

Next, the team plans to cool down the system to nearly -273 C, or -500 F, to see if they can strengthen the connection and extend the time information can be stored by minimizing temperature fluctuations.

"We are making the first and important steps towards using an ensemble of nuclear spins for quantum memory," Konstantinov said. "We now have a whole class of materials that can be used for this purpose. Future experiments promise to be quite exciting."

####

For more information, please click here

Contacts:
Kaoru Natori

81-989-662-389

Copyright © Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate Univers

If you have a comment, please Contact us.

Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.

Bookmark:
Delicious Digg Newsvine Google Yahoo Reddit Magnoliacom Furl Facebook

Related Links

The study:

Related News Press

News and information

Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024

Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024

Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024

Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024

Chip Technology

New material to make next generation of electronics faster and more efficient With the increase of new technology and artificial intelligence, the demand for efficient and powerful semiconductors continues to grow November 8th, 2024

Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024

New discovery aims to improve the design of microelectronic devices September 13th, 2024

Groundbreaking precision in single-molecule optoelectronics August 16th, 2024

Memory Technology

Utilizing palladium for addressing contact issues of buried oxide thin film transistors April 5th, 2024

Interdisciplinary: Rice team tackles the future of semiconductors Multiferroics could be the key to ultralow-energy computing October 6th, 2023

Researchers discover materials exhibiting huge magnetoresistance June 9th, 2023

Rensselaer researcher uses artificial intelligence to discover new materials for advanced computing Trevor Rhone uses AI to identify two-dimensional van der Waals magnets May 12th, 2023

Quantum Computing

New quantum encoding methods slash circuit complexity in machine learning November 8th, 2024

Quantum researchers cause controlled ‘wobble’ in the nucleus of a single atom September 13th, 2024

Researchers observe “locked” electron pairs in a superconductor cuprate August 16th, 2024

Physicists unlock the secret of elusive quantum negative entanglement entropy using simple classical hardware August 16th, 2024

Discoveries

Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules November 8th, 2024

Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024

Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024

Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024

Announcements

Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024

Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024

Turning up the signal November 8th, 2024

Nanofibrous metal oxide semiconductor for sensory face November 8th, 2024

Interviews/Book Reviews/Essays/Reports/Podcasts/Journals/White papers/Posters

Beyond wires: Bubble technology powers next-generation electronics:New laser-based bubble printing technique creates ultra-flexible liquid metal circuits November 8th, 2024

Nanoparticle bursts over the Amazon rainforest: Rainfall induces bursts of natural nanoparticles that can form clouds and further precipitation over the Amazon rainforest November 8th, 2024

Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024

Exosomes: A potential biomarker and therapeutic target in diabetic cardiomyopathy November 8th, 2024

NanoNews-Digest
The latest news from around the world, FREE




  Premium Products
NanoNews-Custom
Only the news you want to read!
 Learn More
NanoStrategies
Full-service, expert consulting
 Learn More











ASP
Nanotechnology Now Featured Books




NNN

The Hunger Project