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OAKLAND, Calif. Nov 17 (Reuters) — A new quantum computer startup born from researchers at Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) called QuEra Computing said on Wednesday it raised $17 million from investors, including Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc (4755.T).

It’s the latest quantum computer hardware maker to come out of the lab at a time when funding for the nascent technology is booming. read more

While there are various technologies for creating so-called quantum bits or qubits where the computations happen, QuEra’s qubits use neutral atoms in a vacuum chamber and use lasers to cool and control them.

MIT physicists and colleagues have demonstrated an exotic form of superconductivity in a new material the team synthesized only about a year ago. Although predicted in the 1960s, until now this type of superconductivity has proven difficult to stabilize. Further, the scientists found that the same material can potentially be manipulated to exhibit yet another, equally exotic form of superconductivity.

The work was reported in the Nov. 3 issue of the journal Nature.

The demonstration of finite momentum superconductivity in a layered crystal known a natural superlattice means that the material can be tweaked to create different patterns of superconductivity within the same sample. And that, in turn, could have implications for and more.

In quantum mechanics, counterfactual behaviours are generally associated with particles being affected by events taking place where they can’t be found. Here, the authors consider extended quantum Cheshire cat scenarios where a particle can be influenced in regions where only its disembodied property has entered.

A group of scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has developed computational quantum algorithms that are capable of efficient and highly accurate simulations of static and dynamic properties of quantum systems. The algorithms are valuable tools to gain greater insight into the physics and chemistry of complex materials, and they are specifically designed to work on existing and near-future quantum computers.

Scientist Yong-Xin Yao and his research partners at Ames Lab use the power of advanced computers to speed discovery in condensed matter physics, modeling incredibly complex quantum mechanics and how they change over ultra-fast timescales. Current high performance computers can model the properties of very simple, small quantum systems, but larger or more rapidly expand the number of calculations a computer must perform to arrive at an , slowing the pace not only of computation, but also discovery.

“This is a real challenge given the current early-stage of existing quantum computing capabilities,” said Yao, “but it is also a very promising opportunity, since these calculations overwhelm classical computer systems, or take far too long to provide timely answers.”

IBM says it has built a quantum processor that it says cannot be simulated by a classical computer.

If true, the processor would represent a major breakthrough in quantum computing, which its proponents say could lead to radical changes in how we are able to deal with information.

The company says that the quantum processor is so capable that to simulate its capabilities with a traditional computer, one would require more bits than there are atoms in every person in existence.

Nanoscale machinery has many uses, including drug delivery, single-atom transistor technology, or memory storage. However, the machinery must be assembled at the nanoscale, which is a considerable challenge for researchers.

For nanotechnology engineers the ultimate goal is to be able to assemble functional machinery part-by-part at the nanoscale. In the macroscopic world, we can simply grab items to assemble them. It is not impossible to “grab” single anymore, but their quantum nature makes their response to manipulation unpredictable, limiting the ability to assemble molecules one by one. This prospect is now a step closer to reality, thanks to an international effort led by the Research Centre Jülich of the Helmholtz society in Germany, including researchers from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Warwick.

In the paper, “The stabilization potential of a standing molecule,” published today, 10 November 2021 in the journal Science Advances, an international team of researchers has been able to reveal the generic stabilization mechanism of a single standing molecule, which can be used in the rational and of three-dimensional at surfaces.

IBM has created a quantum processor able to process information so complex the work can’t be done or simulated on a traditional computer, CEO Arvind Krishna told “Axios on HBO” ahead of a planned announcement.

Why it matters: Quantum computing could help address problems that are too challenging for even today’s most powerful supercomputers, such as figuring out how to make better batteries or sequester carbon emissions.

Driving the news: IBM says its new Eagle processor can handle 127 qubits, a measure of quantum computing power. In topping 100 qubits, IBM says it has reached a milestone that allows quantum to surpass the power of a traditional computer.