| Date | 23rd, Jun 2020 |
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In a paper published in Nature Communications (and one to appear in Physical Review X), researchers from the University of Rochester and Purdue University present new findings indicating that quantum teleportation could take place not only between photons, but also between electrons.
The research could turn out to be crucial for improving quantum computing which, in turn, is expected to revolutionise technology, medicine, and science in the future by enabling the development of faster and more efficient sensors and processor units.
Unlike bits, i.e., the billions of transistors present in the computers we have today, individual qubits can occupy both positions of a binary, as represented by “0” and “1”, at the same time, which accounts for the potential of quantum computers to outclass their non-quantum counterparts.
Researchers demonstrate quantum teleportation between individual electrons, which could be used for transmitting information in semiconductors. Image: Steve Jurvetson via flickr.com, CC BY 2.0
Just last year, scientists have demonstrated quantum teleportation by using electromagnetic photons to create remotely entangled pairs of qubits. Now, the research team behind the two papers has shown that entanglement can also be achieved in electrons.
“Individual electrons are promising qubits because they interact very easily with each other,” said John Nichol, assistant professor of physics at the University of Rochester. “Reliably creating long-distance interactions between electrons is essential for quantum computing.”
To demonstrate quantum teleportation using electrons, the researchers employed a recently developed technique based on the principles of Heisenberg exchange coupling. This allowed the team to distribute entangled pairs of electrons and teleport their spin states.
“We provide evidence for ‘entanglement swapping’, in which we create entanglement between two electrons even though the particles never interact, and ‘quantum gate teleportation’, a potentially useful technique for quantum computing using teleportation,” Nichol said. “Our work shows that this can be done even without photons.”
The team hopes that their findings will inspire further research on harnessing the spin states of all matter (not just photons) for quantum computing, as well as the useful capabilities of individual electrons in qubit semiconductors.
Source: rochester.edu
