Category Physics

Breakthrough Proof Clears Path for Quantum AI

Prx Fig (1)
A novel proof that certain quantum convolutional networks can be guaranteed to be trained clears the way for quantum artificial intelligence to aid in materials discovery and many other applications.

Novel theorem demonstrates convolutional neural networks can always be trained on quantum computers, overcoming threat of ‘barren plateaus’ in optimization problems. Convolutional neural networks running on quantum computers have generated significant buzz for their potential to analyze quantum data better than classical computers can. While a fundamental solvability problem known as “barren plateaus” has limited the application of these neural networks for large data sets, new research overcomes that Achilles heel with a rigorous proof that guarantees scalability.

“The way you cons...

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Intelligent Optical Chip to Improve Telecommunications

Intelligent optical chip to improve telecommunications
Experimental setup for the optical pulse shaping. SDL, split-and-delay line; MLL, mode-locked laser; PD, photodiode; FM, Faraday mirror; TBPF, tunable bandpass filter; HNLF, highly nonlinear fiber; EDFA, erbium-doped fiber amplifier; OFC, optical fiber coupler. Inset (a) Optical FWM spectrum after HNLF; inset (b) sampling characterization: sampled waveform from the oscilloscope after calibration (in blue), retrieved waveform from the sampling (pink area), and autocorrelation trace (solid black line, measured with a Femtochrome FR-103XL autocorrelator). The autocorrelation factor (i.e., 0.707) has been applied to the presented time axis. Hence, both displayed values show the FWHM pulse width. Credit: Institut national de la recherche scientifique – INRS

From the internet, to fiber or sa...

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Quarks and Antiquarks at High Momentum Shake the Foundations of Visible Matter

Quarks in deuterium
Artistic rendering of quarks in deuterium. Credit: Ran Shneor

New results on nucleon structure. Two independent studies have illuminated unexpected substructures in the fundamental components of all matter. Preliminary results using a novel tagging method could explain the origin of the longstanding nuclear paradox known as the EMC effect. Meanwhile, authors will share next steps after the recent observation of asymmetrical antimatter in the proton.

Both groups will discuss their experiments at DOE’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility and Fermilab during the 2021 Fall Meeting of the APS Division of Nuclear Physics.

One study presents new evidence on the EMC effect, identified nearly 40 years ago when researchers at CERN discovered something surprising: Protons and neu...

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Resurrecting Quasicrystals: Findings make an Exotic Material Commercially Viable

An X-ray tomography visualization shows a top-down view of two quasicrystals as they start to meld together during cooling. Image credit: Shahani Group, University of Michigan

Self-healing phenomenon could reduce defects that rendered quasicrystals impractical. A class of materials that once looked as if it might revolutionize everything from solar cells to frying pans — but fell out of favor in the early 2000s — could be poised for commercial resurrection, findings from a University of Michigan-led research team suggest.

Published in Nature Communications, the study demonstrates a way to make much larger quasicrystals than were possible before, without the defects that plagued past manufacturers and led quasicrystals to be dismissed as an intellectual curiosity.

“One reason why ...

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