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Category: quantum physics – Page 131

‘Magic-wavelength optical tweezers’ achieve quantum entanglement of molecules

Harnessing molecular connections: unlocking long-lasting quantum entanglement.

Quantum entanglement—the mysterious connection that links particles no matter the distance between them—is a cornerstone for developing advanced technologies like quantum computing and precision measurement tools. While significant strides have been made in controlling simpler particles such as atoms, extending this control to more complex systems like molecules has remained challenging due to their intricate structures and sensitivity to their surroundings.

In a groundbreaking study, researchers have achieved long-lived quantum entanglement between pairs of ultracold polar molecules using a highly controlled environment known as “magic-wavelength optical tweezers.” These tweezers manipulate molecules with extraordinary precision, stabilizing their complex internal states, such as vibrations and rotations, while enabling detectable, fine-scale interactions.

The team successfully created a “Bell state,” a hallmark of quantum entanglement, with pairs of molecules. While some minor errors reduced the initial fidelity of the entangled state, correcting for these issues revealed that the entanglement could persist for remarkably long times—measured in seconds. This is a significant achievement, as second-scale lifetimes are exceptional in the quantum realm.

This breakthrough has far-reaching implications. Long-lived molecular entanglement could enhance quantum sensing technologies, provide new avenues for exploring chemical reactions at ultracold temperatures, and expand the potential of molecules as quantum bits (qubits) in simulations and memory storage for quantum computing. By unlocking the ability to precisely control and entangle molecules, scientists are paving the way for novel applications across quantum science, leveraging the rich internal dynamics of molecular systems.

Researchers at Durham University have successfully demonstrated long-lasting quantum entanglement between molecules, opening new doors for future advancements in quantum computing, sensing, and fundamental physics. The paper is published in the journal Nature.

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Tuning magnetism with voltage opens a new path to spintronic neuromorphic circuits

A team of researchers has discovered a new way to control the magnetic behavior of quantum materials using applied voltages. Specifically, the material lanthanum strontium manganite (LSMO), which is magnetic and metallic at low temperatures but non-magnetic and insulating when relatively warm, can be influenced by voltage.

The work is published in the journal Nano Letters.

Quantum materials like LSMO are materials that possess special properties because of the rules of quantum mechanics. Researchers discovered that applying voltage to LSMO in its magnetic phase causes the material to split into regions with distinct magnetic properties. The magnetic properties of these regions depend on the applied voltage. This is important because normally, don’t respond to voltage.

Orderly State of Electrons Melts on Camera

A cryogenic microscope reveals the atomic-scale processes that disrupt the charge-ordered state in a material as the temperature rises.

Many of the exotic materials being investigated for next-generation technologies exhibit charge order, a state in which the electrons arrange themselves into a periodic pattern, such as stripes of high and low electron density. Researchers have now shown that they can track the evolution of this state as it warms up and melts away by using a cryogenic electron microscope [1]. Their experimental approach offers a new way to explore the interactions between different phases of quantum materials, which could inform the development of future electronic and data storage devices.

In certain materials with strongly interacting electrons, charge order appears—usually below room temperature—as an electron density that varies periodically in a pattern of stripes, a checkerboard, or a more complicated 3D structure. Researchers want to understand this phase because it coexists and interacts with other states and properties of the material, many of which are useful for novel devices and technologies. In high-temperature superconductors, for example, charge order is known to suppress the material’s superconducting behavior. In other materials, strong coupling between charge order and ferromagnetism can trigger colossal magnetoresistance, a property that could be exploited in magnetic storage devices.

Scientists achieve direct experimental realization of dual-type entangling gates

To develop scalable and reliable quantum computers, engineers and physicists will need to devise effective strategies to mitigate errors in their quantum systems without adding complex additional components. A promising strategy to reduce errors entails the use of so-called dual-type qubits.

These are qubits that can encode in a system across two different types of quantum states. These qubits could increase the flexibility of quantum computing architectures, while also reducing undesirable crosstalk between qubits and enhancing a system’s operational fidelity.

Researchers at Tsinghua University and other research institutes in China recently realized an entangling gate between dual-type qubits in an experimental setting.

NVIDIA GTC 2025: Quantum Day to Illuminate the Future of Quantum Computing

It’s expected that the technology will tackle myriad problems that were once deemed impractical or even impossible to solve. Quantum computing promises huge leaps forward for fields spanning drug discovery and materials development to financial forecasting.

But just as exciting as quantum computing’s future are the breakthroughs already being made today in quantum hardware, error correction and algorithms.

NVIDIA is celebrating and exploring this remarkable progress in quantum computing by announcing its first Quantum Day at GTC 2025 on Thursday, March 20. This new focus area brings together leading experts for a comprehensive and balanced perspective on what businesses should expect from quantum computing in the coming decades — mapping the path toward useful quantum applications.