Photonics researchers from Tampere University, Finland, and Kastler-Brossel Laboratory, France, have demonstrated how self-imaging of light, a phenomenon known for nearly two centuries, can be applied to cylindrical systems, facilitating unprecedented control of light’s structure with great potential for advanced optical communication systems. In addition, a new type of space-time duality was explored for powerful analogies bridging different fields of optics.
In 1836, Henry F. Talbot performed an experiment, where he observed light patterns that naturally reappear after some propagation without the use of any lenses or imaging optics—a self-imaging phenomenon nowadays of then termed the Talbot effect.
Recently, researchers interested in sculpting light from the Experimental Quantum Optics Group (EQO) in Tampere University, as well as the Complex Media Optics group at Kastler Brossel Laboratory, in Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, have teamed up and investigated the self-imaging Talbot effect in cylindrical systems in greater depth than ever before. The presented interesting fundamental physics and powerful applications in optical communications have now been published in the journal Nature Photonics.
A breakthrough in quantum computing that could threaten crypto is still years away, but a new chip from Microsoft might have shortened that timeline, says Bitcoin platform River.
‘Quantum Supremacy’ author Dr. Michio Kaku discusses the future of quantum computing on ‘Making Money.’ #foxbusiness #makingmoney.
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“Retrocausality” by Antonella Vannini and Ulisse Di Corpo Book Link: https://amzn.to/3X6UGhx. “Time Loops: Precognition, Retrocausation, and the Unconscious” by Eric Wargo Book Link: https://amzn.to/4bdmWVV “Psychology and Retrocausality: How the Future Determines Love, Memory, Evolution, Learning, Depression, Death, and What It Means to Be Human” by Mark Hatala Book Link: https://amzn.to/4k7kdBj.
The exploration of retrocausality challenges classical views of time and causality, suggesting that effects can precede their causes, influencing our understanding of quantum mechanics, consciousness, and free will. Retro causality offers potential resolutions to issues like non-locality in quantum physics by allowing communication between particles to travel backward in time, which could eliminate the need for higher dimensional configuration spaces and reconcile quantum theory with special relativity. Experimental investigations into retro-causality involve analyzing subtle effects, such as heart rate variations, and require careful methodologies to distinguish genuine retrocausal phenomena from experimental artifacts, while theoretical frameworks explore how retrocausality might address paradoxes and be compatible with concepts like time symmetry. Thinkers in physics and philosophy are increasingly considering retrocausality as a potential framework to address foundational issues, including the measurement problem and the reconciliation of quantum mechanics with general relativity, potentially impacting our comprehension of time, causality, and the nature of reality itself. Discussions around retrocausality extend into areas like decision theory, existential risk, and the nature of consciousness, with some researchers exploring goal-oriented approaches and the potential for retrocausality to enhance artificial intelligence and our understanding of human cognition. Some notable scientists involved: • Roger Penrose is noted for his views aligning with retrocausal concepts and his work on the science of consciousness with Stuart Hameroff. • Yakir Aharonov is cited regarding time in quantum mechanics and weak value amplification. • Ruth Kastner is mentioned in the context of retrocausality and the transactional interpretation of quantum mechanics. • Hu Price’s work is at the center of the study of existential risk. • Ken Wharton is a professor of physics and astronomy working on time-symmetric and causally neutral models of physics. • Matthew Leifer is mentioned regarding block universe ontological models and frameworks for theories with retrocausality. • Daniel Rohrlich is mentioned for his work on fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics and his views on retrocausality. • Richard Feynman is mentioned in the context of interaction with the absorber as the mechanism of radiation. • Simon Shnoll is mentioned for his work showing that the assumption of normal distribution is only mathematical, and that in life sciences and also in physics it is false. • David Lucas is mentioned in the context of trapped-ion processing modules.
Quantum computing will never be the same again. Join host Konstantinos Karagiannis for a special onsite interview at Microsoft Azure Quantum labs, where he was invited to see the launch of Majorana 1, the world’s first quantum processor powered by topological qubits. On the day this episode is posted, Nature will release a paper validating how Microsoft was able to create a topoconductor, or new material stack of indium arsenide and aluminum, built literally one atom at a time, to bring quantum particles called Majoranas into usable form. The resulting topological qubits have a unique shape called a tetron and can be accurately measured with lower errors than other modalities. Starting with a 4×2 grid of qubits, this same tiny device will hold 1 million qubits in a few years because of its unique system of wiring and measurement. This interview with Chetan Nayak from Microsoft happened a few feet away from a working Majorana 1 system.
Visit Microsoft Azure Quantum here to learn about quantum computing for free https://quantum.microsoft.com/?ocid=2… https://quantum.microsoft.com/en-us/e… Topological quantum computing is a brand new form of quantum computing being developed by Microsoft as they enter the race to build the world’s first useful quantum computer. In this video I visited Microsoft’s quantum labs to see how they are making their topological quantum computers and learn how topology helps their quantum devices avoid noise by harnessing the power of Majorana quasiparticles which are made from an exotic form of superconductivity where the electrons behave like there is a Majorana particle there which has the special properties of topology.
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Physicists have performed a groundbreaking simulation they say sheds new light on an elusive phenomenon that could determine the ultimate fate of the Universe.
Pioneering research in quantum field theory around 50 years ago proposed that the universe may be trapped in a false vacuum — meaning it appears stable but in fact could be on the verge of transitioning to an even more stable, true vacuum state. While this process could trigger a catastrophic change in the Universe’s structure, experts agree that predicting the timeline is challenging, but it is likely to occur over an astronomically long period, potentially spanning millions of years.
In an international collaboration between three research institutions, the team report gaining valuable insights into false vacuum decay — a process linked to the origins of the cosmos and the behaviour of particles at the smallest scales. The collaboration was led by Professor Zlatko Papic, from the University of Leeds, and Dr Jaka Vodeb, from Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany.
In today’s AI news, Mercor, the AI recruiting startup founded by three 21-year-old Thiel Fellows, has raised $100 million in a Series B round, the company confirmed to TechCrunch. Menlo Park-based Felicis led the round, valuing Mercor at $2 billion — eight times its previous valuation. Existing investors Benchmark and General Catalyst, as well as DST Global and Menlo Ventures participated.
In other advancements, GPT-4.5 could arrive as soon as next week, as Microsoft gets ready to host OpenAI’s latest artificial intelligence models.
Microsoft engineers are currently readying server capacity for OpenAI’s upcoming GPT-4.5 and GPT-5 models. While OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged recently that GPT-4.5 will launch within a matter of weeks.
Then, OpenAI’s astounding growth rate potential is luring possible investors as questions loom over whether the startup will go public. “In terms of a multiple to pay for stock like ours, there’s incredible interest at the moment,” finance chief Sarah Friar told CNBC’s David Faber on Thursday. Its future growth potential has also enabled OpenAI to “achieve valuations that are on par with the growth rate of the scale” it is reaching.
S internal testing, it could mark a meaningful step forward for an all-purpose multimodal AI that can operate interactively in both real and digital spaces. + In videos, Figure is introducing Helix, a generalist Vision-Language-Action (VLA) model that unifies perception, language understanding, and learned control to overcome multiple longstanding challenges in robotics. A detailed report on Helix can be found in text accompanying the video.
Quantum computers, which operate leveraging quantum mechanics phenomena, could eventually tackle some optimization and computational problems faster and more efficiently than their classical counterparts. Instead of bits, the fundamental units of information in classical computers, quantum computers rely on qubits (quantum bits), which can be in multiple states at once.
Silicon-based quantum dots, semiconductor-based structures that trap individual electrons, have been widely used as qubits, as the spin state of the electrons they confine can be leveraged to encode information. Despite their promise, many quantum computers developed so far are susceptible to decoherence, which entails the disruption of qubit states due to their interaction with the surrounding environment.
Researchers at the University of Rochester recently set out to experimentally realize a so-called nuclear-spin dark state, a condition that has been theorized to improve the performance of quantum computers, suppressing undesirable interactions and thus reducing decoherence. Their paper, published in Nature Physics, demonstrates the potential of this state for reducing decoherence in quantum systems and thus potentially improving control over quantum information processing.
