A Memory Effect at Single-Atom Level

The energy behavior of the giant atom shows a memory Lingzhen Guo/Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

The research group, consisting of German, Swedish and Indian scientists, has investigated an artificial quantum system and found new properties.

The experiments were done at Chalmers University of technology (Sweden) and the theory was done by Dr. Lingzhen Guo at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL) in Erlangen. The measured effect has never been observed on a single quantum system.

The giant atom is made up of a so-called superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) loop attached to an antenna: the transmon qubits, which are the quantum computer equivalent of a bit in a classic computer.

Using the piezoelectric effect, the scientists were able to excite the giant atom with acoustic waves. This “earthquake at the nano level” changes the energy state of the system. When the absorbed energy was released, the team observed an incredible phenomenon.

While a normal atom releases its energy quickly after it is excited, the giant artificial atom reacts differently: it appears to have a memory. Lingzhen Guo from Florian Marquardt's division at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light summarizes the observation:

“First the energy level flattens out, only to come back to life a short time later and give off another energy boost. This is a sign that the giant atom interacts with its past from the environment. This is where we observed a memory effect at single-atom level.”

Giant atoms as quantum computer components

The giant atoms could be used to build a quantum computer. These computers, which in theory are unimaginably powerful, have the potential to revolutionize computer technology.

It has been suggested that the intrinsic time-delayed feedback of giant atoms could be exploited to generate cluster states for universal measurement-based quantum computation requiring considerably less hardware resources than gate-based approaches.

The head of the international team is Prof. Per Delsing from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden. He works mainly in the field of artificial atoms and superconducting qubits, with the aim of constructing a quantum computer.

Dr Lingzhen Guo

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41567-019-0605-6

Media Contact

Christina Bornschein Max-Planck-Institut für die Physik des Lichts

More Information:

http://www.mpl.mpg.de

All latest news from the category: Information Technology

Here you can find a summary of innovations in the fields of information and data processing and up-to-date developments on IT equipment and hardware.

This area covers topics such as IT services, IT architectures, IT management and telecommunications.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

High-energy-density aqueous battery based on halogen multi-electron transfer

Traditional non-aqueous lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density, but their safety is compromised due to the flammable organic electrolytes they utilize. Aqueous batteries use water as the solvent for…

First-ever combined heart pump and pig kidney transplant

…gives new hope to patient with terminal illness. Surgeons at NYU Langone Health performed the first-ever combined mechanical heart pump and gene-edited pig kidney transplant surgery in a 54-year-old woman…

Biophysics: Testing how well biomarkers work

LMU researchers have developed a method to determine how reliably target proteins can be labeled using super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Modern microscopy techniques make it possible to examine the inner workings…

Partners & Sponsors