Tightly guided atoms could enable low-power quantum navigation when GPS fails

Within tiny halos of light clinging to a vanishingly thin wisp of optical fiber, scientist Jongmin Lee guides atoms like marbles through a narrow pipe. Rock the fiber and the atoms shift side by side; they just don’t fall off. But don’t be deceived by the seemingly delicate nature of his experiment. Lee is exploring […]

Ultra-cold quantum sensors cut X-ray uncertainty, improving nuclear material assessments

To monitor the amount and type of nuclear material at power plants and weapons facilities, scientists look for a special signal—the unique pattern of gamma rays emitted by specific radioactive elements. However, some of these elements also emit X-rays in the same energy range as the gamma-ray emissions, masking the signal and making nuclear stockpiles […]

Bringing hidden optical imperfections to light

Tiny manufacturing imperfections in optical components normally go unnoticed. Yet they can alter light in surprisingly significant ways. An international research team led by TU Darmstadt has shown that such imperfections can affect not only polarization—the direction in which light oscillates—but also the spatial shape of a light beam.

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1,000 times faster operations bring reliable quantum computing a step closer

So far, quantum computers have been held back by their extreme sensitivity to errors and external disturbances. The longer a quantum operation takes, the greater the risk of computational errors.

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New pulse-train method aims to improve precision in quantum control

Quantum technologies are poised to transform fields ranging from medicine and sensing to computing and communications by manipulating the energy states of atoms and molecules. These manipulations are achieved by controlling quantum states with laser pulses.

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Helium-3 lifts new quantum computing concept with faster tunneling rates

Helium—the lightest atom that can be laser-cooled and controlled—powers a new design for high-powered, stable quantum computers.

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Could quantum protocols make electronic voting more secure?

Electronic voting, the use of electronic systems to cast, record or count votes, could potentially simplify the process of electing new political leaders or other representatives. While some countries have already started using internet-connected devices or electronic voting machines at polling stations, the trustworthiness, security and anonymity of electronic voting systems are still widely debated. […]

Physics-aware benchmark reveals why similar materials AI models can predict thermal conductivity differently

Material properties such as sound insulation, resistance to extreme heat and thermal expansion originate from how the zillions of microscopic building blocks (nuclei and electrons) interact at equilibrium and respond to perturbations. Atoms are typically about one ten-billionth of a meter across, so there can be a lot of parts to keep track of—a task […]

Superfluid qubit could help scale up quantum computers

Superfluid helium could offer a new way to tackle one of the biggest challenges in scaling up quantum computers, say researchers from the University of Surrey. The research team has introduced a conceptual design for a new type of qubit that could be much less vulnerable to errors.

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A new game demonstrates quantum advantage with provable classical limits

For decades, physicists have worked to prove the strange predictions of quantum mechanics with real experiments. As quantum computers have grown more powerful, researchers have devised increasingly sophisticated ways to test whether these machines are truly harnessing quantum effects—but every method so far has run into limits.

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A photon that challenges Einstein: According to current physics, it should never have reached Earth

How did a photon survive a journey of more than 2 billion light-years when, according to known physics, it should have been absorbed long before reaching Earth? This is the question at the heart of a new study by Giorgio Galanti (INAF) and Marco Roncadelli (INFN), accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters.

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Entangled particles revive a 35-year-old test of the Standard Model

Physicists at the BESIII Collaboration have breathed new life into a decades-old test of one of the Standard Model’s most important ideas, using a technique that had gone almost untouched by experimenters for 35 years.

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Reversible electric control unlocks persistent chiral phonon states

Atoms in a material are rarely still. They jiggle back and forth in collective lattice vibrations known as phonons. Their motion can also carry a rotational element: In 2023, scientists at PSI experimentally proved the existence of chiral phonons, which exhibit handedness depending on which way they rotate.

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Dark plasma regions reveal overlooked source of reactive atomic oxygen

Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have found a way to make plasma more effective for its wide-ranging uses, from antimicrobial applications to surface conditioning in the semiconductor industry. They mapped the production of atomic oxygen, a key ingredient of oxygen plasma, while a high voltage was applied across oxygen gas.

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Tiny polymer particles keep water jets stable for longer

Tiny, soft polymer particles—known as microgels—can help to stabilize extremely thin liquid jets. How this works is the finding of a study led by researchers at TU Darmstadt, which has been published in Nature Communications. The findings could be of interest for the development of needle-free medical injection systems.

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