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Category: quantum physics – Page 25

Neutron detector mobilizes muons for nuclear, quantum material

In a collaboration showing the power of innovation and teamwork, physicists and engineers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a mobile muon detector that promises to enhance monitoring for spent nuclear fuel and help address a critical challenge for quantum computing.

Similar to neutrons, scientists use muons, fundamental subatomic particles that travel at nearly the speed of light, to allow scientists to peer deep inside matter at the atomic scale without damaging samples. However, unlike neutrons, which decay in about 10 minutes, muons decay within a couple of microseconds, posing challenges for using them to better understand the world around us.

The new detector achieves an important step toward ensuring the safety and accountability of nuclear materials and supports the development of advanced nuclear reactors that will help address the challenges of waste management. It also acts as a key step toward developing algorithms and methods to manage errors caused by cosmic radiation in qubits, the basic units of information in quantum computing. The development of the muon detector at ORNL reflects the lab’s strengths in discovery science enabled by multidisciplinary teams and powerful research tools to address national priorities.

Controlling electron interference in time with chirped laser pulses

In quantum mechanics, particles such as electrons act like waves and can even interfere with themselves—a striking and counterintuitive feature that defies our classical view of reality. We know this kind of interference happens in space, where different paths can overlap and combine, but what if we could take it further? What if we could control quantum interference in time, where electrons created at different moments interfere?

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, a team of researchers developed a novel technique—chirped laser-assisted dynamic interference—to manipulate temporal during photoionization.

By using extreme-ultraviolet pulses with time-varying central frequency, in combination with intense infrared laser fields, they guided electron motion with unprecedented precision.

Quantum scars boost electron transport and drive the development of microchips

Quantum physics often reveals phenomena that defy common sense. A new theory of quantum scarring deepens our understanding of the connection between the quantum world and classical mechanics, sheds light on earlier findings and marks a step forward toward future technological applications.

Quantum mechanics describes the behavior of matter and energy at microscopic scales, where randomness seems to prevail. Yet even within seemingly chaotic systems, hidden order may lie beneath the surface. Quantum scars are one such example: they are regions where prefer to travel along specific pathways instead of spreading out uniformly.

Researchers at Tampere University and Harvard University previously demonstrated in their article published in “Quantum Lissajous Scars” that quantum scars can form strong, distinctive patterns in nanostructures, and that their shapes can even be controlled. Now, the Quantum Control and Dynamics research group at Tampere University’s Physics Unit is taking these findings further. In their new article, the researchers report that quantum scars significantly enhance electron transport in open quantum dots connected to electrodes. The work is published in the journal Physical Review B.

Measuring the quantum W state

Kyoto, Japan — The concept of quantum entanglement is emblematic of the gap between classical and quantum physics. Referring to a situation in which it is impossible to describe the physics of each photon separately, this key characteristic of quantum mechanics defies the classical expectation that each particle should have a reality of its own, which gravely concerned Einstein. Understanding the potential of this concept is essential for the realization of powerful new quantum technologies.

Engineers Bring Quantum Internet to Commercial Fiber for the First Time

A new integrated chip demonstrates how quantum networks could communicate using today’s internet protocols over existing commercial fiber-optic cables. In a groundbreaking experiment, engineers at the University of Pennsylvania successfully extended quantum networking beyond the laboratory by tra

CEA-Leti to Present Breakthrough Toward Ultra-Compact, High-Resolution AR/VR Displays at MicroLED Connect Conference

Interesting.

GRENOBLE, France – Sept. 16, 2025 – CEA-Leti and the Centre for Research on Heteroepitaxy and its Applications (CRHEA) today announced R&D results that have cleared a path toward full-color microdisplays based on a single material system, a long-standing goal for augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies.

The project, presented in a paper published in Nature Communications Materials, developed a technique for growing high-quality InGaN-based quantum wells on sub-micron nanopyramids, enabling native emission of red, green, and blue (RGB) light from a single material system. Titled “Regular Red-Green-Blue InGaN Quantum Wells With In Content Up To 40% Grown on InGaN Nanopyramids”, the paper will be presented at the MicroLED Connect Conference on Sept. 24, in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.

Microdisplays for immersive devices require bright RGB sub-pixels smaller than 10 × 10 microns. According to the paper, “the use of III-nitride materials promises high efficiency micro-light emitting diodes (micro-LEDs) compared to their organic counterparts. However, for such a pixel size, the pick and place process is no longer suitable for combining blue and green micro-LEDs from III-nitrides and red micro-LEDs from phosphide materials on the same platform.” Red-emitting phosphide micro-LEDs also suffer from efficiency losses at small sizes, while color conversion methods face challenges in deposition precision and stability.

‘Like talking on the telephone’: Quantum computing engineers get atoms chatting long distance

UNSW engineers have made a significant advance in quantum computing: they created ‘quantum entangled states’—where two separate particles become so deeply linked they no longer behave independently—using the spins of two atomic nuclei. Such states of entanglement are the key resource that gives quantum computers their edge over conventional ones.

The research is published in the journal Science, and is an important step toward building large-scale quantum computers—one of the most exciting scientific and technological challenges of the 21st century.

Lead author Dr. Holly Stemp says the achievement unlocks the potential to build the future microchips needed for quantum computing using existing technology and manufacturing processes.

Magnetic tunnel junctions mimic synapse behavior for energy-efficient neuromorphic computing

The rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) poses challenges to today’s computer technology. Conventional silicon processors are reaching their limits: they consume large amounts of energy, the storage and processing units are not interconnected and data transmission slows down complex applications.

As the size of AI models is constantly increasing and they are having to process huge amounts of data, the need for new computing architectures is rising. In addition to quantum computers, focus is shifting, in particular, to neuromorphic concepts. These systems are based on the way the works.

This is where the research of a team led by Dr. Tahereh Sadat Parvini and Prof. Dr. Markus Münzenberg from the University of Greifswald and colleagues from Portugal, Denmark and Germany began. They have found an innovative way to make computers of tomorrow significantly more energy-efficient. Their research centers around so-called magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), tiny components on the nanometer scale.

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