Quantum computer: A Dual-Laser revolution

Quantum physicists face a significant challenge in creating a quantum computer that is powerful enough to solve problems beyond our current computer capabilities. Quantum simulators, a specific type of quantum computer, have the potential to unlock new discoveries about the workings of the world at the smallest levels. Natalia Chepiga, a quantum scientist from Delft University of Technology, has published a guide on how to upgrade these machines to enable the simulation of even more complex quantum systems, in the Physical Review Letters.

“Creating useful quantum computers and quantum simulators is one of the most important and debated topics in quantum science today, with the potential to revolutionize society,” says researcher Natalia Chepiga. Quantum simulators are a type of quantum computer, Chepiga explains: “Quantum simulators are meant to address open problems of quantum physics to further push our understanding of nature. Quantum computers will have wide applications in various areas of social life, for example in finances, encryption, and data storage.”

Steering Wheel

“A key ingredient of a useful quantum simulator is the possibility to control or manipulate it,” says Chepiga. “Imagine a car without a steering wheel. It can only go forward but cannot turn. Is it useful? Only if you need to go in one particular direction, otherwise the answer will be ‘no!’. If we want to create a quantum computer that will be able to discover new physics phenomena in the near future, we need to build a ‘steering wheel’ to tune into what seems interesting. In my paper, I propose a protocol that creates a fully controllable quantum simulator.”

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Protocol

The recipe for a quantum simulator is known as a protocol, which outlines the necessary ingredients for tuning. In a typical quantum simulator setup, a laser is directed at rubidium (Rb) or cesium (Cs) atoms. This causes the particles to absorb electrons, leading to an increase in energy and excitement. “I show that if we were to use two lasers with different frequencies or colors, thereby exciting these atoms to different states, we could tune the quantum simulators to many different settings,” Chepiga explains.

An extra layer of simulation possibilities is provided by the protocol. “Imagine that you have only seen a cube as a sketch on a flat piece of paper, but now you get a real 3D cube that you can touch, rotate, and explore in different ways,” Chepiga continues. “Theoretically we can add even more dimensions by bringing in more lasers.”

Simulating Many Particles

“The collective behavior of a quantum system with many particles is extremely challenging to simulate,” Chepiga explains. “Beyond a few dozen particles, modeling with our usual computer or a supercomputer has to rely on approximations.” It becomes overwhelming for a computer to perform all the necessary calculations when factoring in the interaction of multiple particles, temperature, and motion.

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Quantum simulators are made up of quantum particles and therefore they exhibit entanglement. This entanglement is a form of mutual information that quantum particles share among themselves. This intrinsic property of the simulator allows it to overcome the computational bottleneck.

This news is a creative derivative product from articles published in famous peer-reviewed journals and Govt reports:

References:
1. Chepiga, N. (2024). Tunable Quantum Criticality in Multicomponent Rydberg Arrays. Physical Review Letters, 132(7), 076505.
2. Khang, A. (Ed.). (2024). Applications and Principles of Quantum Computing. IGI Global.
3. Shuford, J. (2024). Quantum Computing and Artificial Intelligence: Synergies and Challenges. Journal of Artificial Intelligence General science (JAIGS) ISSN: 3006-4023, 1(1).
4. Pal, S., Bhattacharya, M., Lee, S. S., & Chakraborty, C. (2024). Quantum computing in the next-generation computational biology landscape: From protein folding to molecular dynamics. Molecular biotechnology, 66(2), 163-178.

One thought on “Quantum computer: A Dual-Laser revolution

  1. With the dual-laser revolution in quantum computing, exciting days are ahead! This discovery may quicken developments and open the door to previously unimaginable computing capacity.

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