Lifeboat Foundation

Researchers have managed to coax a quantum computer to pulse with a rhythm unlike any before—a rhythm that defies conventional physics. For the first time, scientists have transformed a quantum processor into a robust time crystal, a bizarre state of matter that ticks endlessly without external energy.

This achievement, the work of physicists from China and the United States, could mark a turning point for quantum computing. By stabilizing the delicate systems that underpin this cutting-edge technology, the experiment hints at a path toward practical quantum computers capable of solving problems far beyond the reach of traditional machines.

Unlike conventional phases, such as solids or liquids, time crystals exist in a state of perpetual motion. Let me explain.

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Ten years ago, physicists discovered an anomaly that was dubbed the “ATOMKI anomaly”. The decays of certain atomic nuclei disagreed with our current understanding of physics. Particle physicists assigned the anomaly to a new particle, X17, often described as a fifth force. The anomaly was now tested by a follow-up experiment, but this is only the latest twist in a rather confusing story.

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Quantum computers operate using quantum gates, but the complexity and large number of these gates can diminish their efficiency. A new “hybrid” approach reduces this complexity by utilizing natural system interactions, making quantum algorithms easier to execute.

This innovation helps manage the inherent “noise” issues of current quantum systems, enhancing their practical use. The approach has been effectively demonstrated with Grover’s algorithm, enabling efficient searches of large datasets without extensive error correction.

Challenges of Quantum Computing.

Researchers have successfully created electrically defined quantum dots in zinc oxide (ZnO) heterostructures, marking a significant milestone in the development of quantum technologies.

Details of their breakthrough were published in the journal Nature Communications on November 7, 2024.

Quantum dots, tiny semiconductor structures that can trap electrons in nanometer-scale spaces, have long been studied for their potential to serve as qubits in quantum computing. These dots are crucial for quantum computing because they allow scientists to control the behavior of electrons, similar to how a conductor might control a current of water flowing through pipes.

Integrated Information Theory (IIT) offers an explanation for the nature and source of consciousness. Initially proposed by Giulio Tononi in 2004, it claims that consciousness is identical to a certain kind of information, the realization of which requires physical, not merely functional, integration, and which can be measured mathematically according to the phi metric.

The theory attempts a balance between two different sets of convictions. On the one hand, it strives to preserve the Cartesian intuitions that experience is immediate, direct, and unified. This, according to IIT’s proponents and its methodology, rules out accounts of consciousness such as functionalism that explain experience as a system operating in a certain way, as well as ruling out any eliminativist theories that deny the existence of consciousness. On the other hand, IIT takes neuroscientific descriptions of the brain as a starting point for understanding what must be true of a physical system in order for it to be conscious. (Most of IIT’s developers and main proponents are neuroscientists.) IIT’s methodology involves characterizing the fundamentally subjective nature of consciousness and positing the physical attributes necessary for a system to realize it.

In short, according to IIT, consciousness requires a grouping of elements within a system that have physical cause-effect power upon one another. This in turn implies that only reentrant architecture consisting of feedback loops, whether neural or computational, will realize consciousness. Such groupings make a difference to themselves, not just to outside observers. This constitutes integrated information. Of the various groupings within a system that possess such causal power, one will do so maximally. This local maximum of integrated information is identical to consciousness.

A research team, led by Professor Jung-Woo Yoo from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at UNIST has unveiled a new type of magnetic memory device, designed to reduce power consumption and heat generation in MRAM semiconductors. The work was published in Nature Communications on October 10, 2024.

Magnetic random access memory (MRAM) represents the next generation of memory technology, combining the strengths of NAND flash and DRAM. It is a non-volatile storage solution, meaning data is preserved even when the device is powered off, while also achieving speeds comparable to DRAM. MRAM has already seen commercialization in sectors requiring fast and reliable data access.

Traditional MRAM devices rely on electric current to write and erase data. In these devices, when the magnetization directions of the two magnetic layers are aligned (parallel), the resistance is low; when they are opposite (antiparallel), the resistance is high. Data is then represented as binary states (0 and 1) based on these configurations. However, changing the magnetization direction necessitates a current exceeding a critical threshold, which leads to significant power consumption and heat generation.

Researchers have achieved high gate fidelities up to 99.98% using a new double-transmon coupler. This development enhances quantum computing performance and supports the advancement toward fault-tolerant systems.

Researchers from the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing and Toshiba have developed a quantum computer gate using a double-transmon coupler (DTC), a device previously proposed in theory to enhance the fidelity of quantum gates significantly. With this innovation, the team achieved a fidelity of 99.92% for a two-qubit device known as a CZ gate and 99.98% for a single-qubit gate.

This milestone, part of the Q-LEAP project, not only improves the performance of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices but also lays the groundwork for fault-tolerant quantum computation through more effective error correction.

PRESS RELEASE —-Toshiba Corporation (Toshiba) has confirmed a technology that they claimed promises to advance progress toward the development of higher-performance quantum computers through an investigation of a potential advance in quantum computing. Experiments conducted by a joint research group from Toshiba and RIKEN, one of Japan’s largest comprehensive research institutions, have successfully realized a Double-Transmon Coupler, a solution for superconducting quantum computers initially proposed by Toshiba. The researchers achieved a world-class fidelity of 99.90% for a two-qubit gate, which is at the heart of quantum computation. Fidelity is a standard performance indicator for quantum gates, quantifying how close an operation is to the ideal in a range from 0% to 100%, with higher percentages indicating greater accuracy in the quantum gate’s operation.

Originally proposed by Toshiba in a paper from September 2022, the Double-Transmon Coupler is a tunable coupler that holds the key to improving the performance of superconducting quantum computers. In successful experimental realization, Toshiba and RIKEN have confirmed its theoretical superiority over conventional tunable couplers in suppressing the long-standing problem of unnecessary residual coupling and enabling high-speed, high-fidelity two-qubit gates.

To improve the performance of two-qubit gates, the coherence time, the period for which the quantum superposition state can be maintained — critical in quantum computers — must be extended. Gates must also be executed quickly and the strength of residual coupling must be suppressed to reduce the errors it causes. The Toshiba-RIKEN team achieved a world-class coherence time for the transmon qubit, a short gate time of 48 ns, and reduced the residual coupling strength to as low as 6 kHz, thereby achieving a fidelity of 99.90%.

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