According to a Simons Foundation press release issued on Wednesday, researchers have created a phase of matter that acts as though it exists in two time dimensions. By flashing a series of laser pulses at atoms inside a quantum computer that were inspired by the Fibonacci numbers, the researchers produced the odd material.
Data that is error-proof
Information stored with the standard setups currently utilized in quantum computers is much less error-proof than information stored in the odd new phase of matter. According to Philipp Dumitrescu, the study’s primary author, the data can last for a lot longer before being jumbled, potentially making quantum computing practical.
Dumitrescu, a research fellow at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics in New York City where he worked on the project, described the usage of a novel “additional” time dimension as “a fundamentally different way of thinking about phases of matter.” I’ve been working on these theory concepts for more than five years, so it’s thrilling to see them actually implemented in trials.
Qubits, which are components used by quantum computers to store and process information, have a drawback. These qubits’ states are altered when they are interacted with, which might result in issues and mistakes.
Dumitrescu remarked, “Even if you tightly regulate all the atoms, they can lose their quantumness by communicating with their surroundings, heating up, or interacting with objects in ways you didn’t expect. The coherence of experimental devices can deteriorate after just a few laser pulses due to the numerous sources of error they have in everyday use.
Therefore, the researchers were trying to find strategies to strengthen these qubits. In order to do such, physicists can employ stable features like “symmetries.”
a quasicrystal being formed in time rather than space
Dumitrescu and his group developed a quasi-periodic laser-pulse schedule based on the Fibonacci sequence by first creating a quasicrystal in time rather than space.
Each part of the sequence in such a case is equal to the total of the two parts that came before it (A, AB, ABA, ABAAB, ABAABABA, etc.). This arrangement is arranged without repetition, precisely like a quasicrystal. It is a 2D design that has been compressed into one dimension, much like a quasicrystal. The system essentially receives a bonus symmetry from an illegitimate additional time dimension, according to the institution’s statement, which detailed how dimensional flattening theoretically results in two time symmetries instead of simply one.
The new phase of matter can serve as a long-term quantum information storage device, according to additional experiments conducted by the researchers. The phase and the computational side of quantum computing still need to be properly integrated, though, by the researchers.
We’re still working on that issue, according to Dumitrescu. If they are successful, it might revolutionize how we think about quantum computing for good.