Scientists from the Center for Computational Quantum Physics at the Flatiron Institute in New York have created a new, never seen before phase of matter. Its peculiarity is that atoms have two time dimensions, although they exist in our single time stream.
Physicists have created this strange phase of matter by firing a laser with a pulse based on the Fibonacci sequence at the atoms used inside a quantum computer. They argue that this could be a breakthrough in quantum computing because it can protect stored information from the errors that occur in current quantum storage methods. Data degradation is still happening, but at a much slower rate.
The paper’s lead author Philippe Dumitrescu said he’s been working on the theory for over five years, but this is the first time it’s been “realized” in practical experiments.
“[This dynamic topological phase] is a completely different way of thinking about the phases of matter,” Dumitrescu said.
The researchers implemented their theory by illuminating ytterbium element ions with laser pulses in quantum computers. When they collided with ions in a standard repeating pattern (AB, AB, AB…), the resulting qubits remained quantum for 1.5 seconds, which they noted was an incredible improvement.
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However, when they bombarded the ions with pulses according to the Fibonacci sequence (A, AB, ABA, ABAAB, ABAABABA…), the qubits remained in a superstate for 5.5 seconds. The results are remarkable considering that the average lifespan of a qubit is about 500 nanoseconds (0.00000005 seconds). This short life is due to the fact that the qubit leaves its superstate (where it exists simultaneously as 1 and 0) whenever it is observed or measured. Even interactions with other qubits are enough to destroy this quantum state.
The physical processes underlying the experiment can be illustrated with the Penrose tiling pattern. Like typical crystals, this quasicrystal has a stable lattice but a structure that does not repeat. This pattern is a 2D representation of a 5D square grid.
The researchers wanted to create the same symmetrical structure, but built it not in space, but in time. Physicists have used a pulsed Fibonacci laser to create a higher-dimensional qubit with “time symmetry.” When pressed into our four-dimensional space, the resulting qubit has two time dimensions. This extra dimension protects the qubit from quantum degradation to some extent. However, it only applies to the outer “edges” of a series of 10 ytterbium ions (the first and tenth qubits).
While physicists have shown that this method creates much more reliable qubits, they acknowledge that they still have a lot of work ahead of them. This new phase of matter could lead to long-term storage of quantum information, but only if they can somehow integrate it into a quantum computer.
Source: techspot
