BiotechMashup

(University of Innsbruck) A team of physicists headed by Christian Roos and Rainer Blatt from the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences realize a quantum walk in a quantum system with up to 23 steps. It is the first time that this quantum process using trapped ions is demonstrated in detail.

A quantum computer based on quantum particles instead of classical bits, can in principle outperform any classical computer. However, it still remains an open question, how fast and how efficient quantum computers really may be able to work. A critical limitation will be given by the velocity with which a quantum signal can spread within a processing unit. For the first time, a group of physicists has succeeded in observing such a process in a solid-state like system.

The entanglement of quantum objects can take surprising forms. Quantum physicists in Austria have investigated several flavors of entanglement in four trapped ions. Their study promotes further developments towards quantum computing and a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics.

A new paradigm in quantum information processing has been demonstrated. Physicists have developed a quantum integrated circuit that implements the quantum von Neumann architecture. In this architecture, a long-lived quantum random access memory can be programmed using a quantum central processing unit, all constructed on a single chip, providing the key components for a quantum version of a classical computer.

Quantum physicists have now achieved controlled entanglement of 14 quantum bits (qubits) and, thus, realized the largest quantum register that has ever been produced. With this experiment the scientists have not only come closer to the realization of a quantum computer but they also show surprising results for the quantum mechanical phenomenon of entanglement.

Raising prospects for building a practical quantum computer, physicists have demonstrated sustained, reliable information processing operations on electrically charged atoms (ions). The new work overcomes significant hurdles in scaling up ion-trapping technology from small demonstrations to larger quantum processors.

A quantum simulator is a variant of a quantum computer that allows us to outperform classical computers in the understanding of complex quantum systems.

Physicists in Germany have developed a quantum interface which connects light particles and atoms. The interface is based on an ultra-thin glass fiber and is suitable for the transmission of quantum information. This is an essential prerequisite for quantum communication which shall be used for secure data transmission via quantum cryptography.

by Antonio A. Lagana, Max A. Lohe, Lorenz von Smekal