Does string theory offer an all-encompassing alternative to the Standard Model — or is this one-dimensional approach fraying at the edges?
Category: quantum physics
The smallest-scale events have giant consequences, and quantum physics showed us how strange and varied those consequences can be in 2019.
The theoretical notion of a ‘quantum heat engine’ has been around for several decades. It was first introduced around sixty years ago by Scovil and Schulz-DuBois, two physicists at Bell Labs who drew an analogy between three-level masers and thermal machines.
As 2019 winds to a close, the journey towards fully realised quantum computing continues: physicists have been able to demonstrate quantum teleportation between two computer chips for the first time.
Put simply, this breakthrough means that information was passed between the chips not by physical electronic connections, but through quantum entanglement – by linking two particles across a gap using the principles of quantum physics.
We don’t yet understand everything about quantum entanglement (it’s the same phenomenon Albert Einstein famously called “spooky action”), but being able to use it to send information between computer chips is significant, even if so far we’re confined to a tightly controlled lab environment.
From the first black hole image to the first image of quantum entanglement, mankind achieved a lot in 2019!
Integrated optics provides a versatile platform for quantum information processing and transceiving with photons1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8. The implementation of quantum protocols requires the capability to generate multiple high-quality single photons and process photons with multiple high-fidelity operators9,10,11. However, previous experimental demonstrations were faced by major challenges in realizing sufficiently high-quality multi-photon sources and multi-qubit operators in a single integrated system4,5,6,7,8, and fully chip-based implementations of multi-qubit quantum tasks remain a significant challenge1,2,3. Here, we report the demonstration of chip-to-chip quantum teleportation and genuine multipartite entanglement, the core functionalities in quantum technologies, on silicon-photonic circuitry. Four single photons with high purity and indistinguishablity are produced in an array of microresonator sources, without requiring any spectral filtering. Up to four qubits are processed in a reprogrammable linear-optic quantum circuit that facilitates Bell projection and fusion operation. The generation, processing, transceiving and measurement of multi-photon multi-qubit states are all achieved in micrometre-scale silicon chips, fabricated by the complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor process. Our work lays the groundwork for large-scale integrated photonic quantum technologies for communications and computations.
It seemed as if AWS was lagging behind Google, Microsoft, and IBM when it comes to quantum computing but they’ve finally taken a step forward with their latest announcement.
AWS has officially announced the preview launch of its first-ever quantum computing service known as Braket. However, AWS is still not building their own quantum computer. Instead, they chose to partner with IonQ, Rigetti, and D-Wave in providing computing services through the cloud.
Read writing from Amelie Schreiber in Towards Data Science. CEO & Founder of The Singularity: Quantum Machine Learning Hiring, Business Integration, and R&D Consultant.
Cancer stem cells (CSC) are believed to be the driving force of cancer metastases and are a rare population of self‐renewing cells that contribute majorly to the poor outcomes of cancer therapy. The detection of CSC is of utmost importance to shed light on the indestructible nature of certain solid tumors and their metastatic ability. However, tumors tend to harbor CSCs in a specialized niche, making the detection process difficult. Currently, there is no method available to detect CSCs. The significance of this work is twofold. First, to the best of the knowledge, it is the first time that the detection of CSC is demonstrated. This approach simultaneously detects both the phenotypic and the metabolic state of the cell, thus enabling universal detection of CSC with high accuracy. Second, to the best of the knowledge, for the first time, light is shed on cell chemistry of CSC in their dedicated niche to facilitate a better understanding of the key players involved in the metabolic rewiring of CSC. This work will enable a better understanding of the fundamentals of CSCs, which are critical for the early diagnosis of cancer and the development of therapies for the cure of cancer.