quantum computers tagged posts

How Schrödinger’s cat could help improve quantum computers

Schrödinger's cat
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Quantum computers could be made with fewer overall components, thanks to technology inspired by Schrödinger’s cat. A team of researchers from Amazon Web Services has used “bosonic cat qubits,” to improve the ability of quantum computers to correct errors. The demonstration of quantum error correction requiring reduced hardware overheads is reported in a paper published in Nature.

The system uses so-called cat qubits (qubits are the quantum equivalent to classical computing bits), which are designed to be resistant against certain types of noise and errors that might disrupt the output of quantum systems. This approach requires fewer overall components to achieve quantum error correction than other designs.

Quantum computers are prone to errors, ...

Read More

Scientists make Breakthrough in Quantum Materials Research

A “bending station,” a device crafted in the laboratory of Luis Jaurequi, UCI professor of physics and astronomy, can change the electrical characteristics of materials at the atomic scale. Steve Zylius / UCI

The advance will allow researchers to transform everyday materials into conductors for use in quantum computers. Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and Los Alamos National Laboratory, publishing in the latest issue of Nature Communications, describe the discovery of a new method that transforms everyday materials like glass into materials scientists can use to make quantum computers.

“The materials we made are substances that exhibit unique electrical or quantum properties because of their specific atomic shapes or structures,” said Luis A...

Read More

Late not great – Imperfect Timekeeping places Significant Limit on Quantum Computers

Late not great – imperfect timekeeping places significant limit on quantum computers

Quantum physicists show that imperfect timekeeping places a fundamental limit to quantum computers and their applications. The team claims that even tiny timing errors add up to place a significant impact on any large-scale algorithm, posing another problem that must eventually be solved if quantum computers are to fulfill the lofty aspirations that society has for them.

New research from a consortium of quantum physicists, led by Trinity College Dublin’s Dr Mark Mitchison, shows that imperfect timekeeping places a fundamental limit to quantum computers and their applications...

Read More

‘Toggle Switch’ Can Help Quantum Computers Cut Through the Noise

A blue-tinged drawing shows a schematic of the two qubits and resonator above a white rectangle, which represents the SQUID device that controls the connections and relationships among the qubits and resonator elements.
This photo shows the central working region of the device. In the lower section, the three large rectangles (light blue) represent the two quantum bits, or qubits, at right and left and the resonator in the center. In the upper, magnified section, driving microwaves through the antenna (large dark-blue rectangle at bottom) induces a magnetic field in the SQUID loop (smaller white square at center, whose sides are about 20 micrometers long). The magnetic field activates the toggle switch. The microwaves’ frequency and magnitude determine the switch’s position and strength of connection among the qubits and resonator.
Credit: R. Simmonds/NIST

The novel device could lead to more versatile quantum processors with clearer outputs...

Read More