PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

A new twist for quantum systems

2013-04-18
(Press-News.org) To maneuver a car into a parking spot parallel to the road can be quite a challenge. It would be an easy task, of course, if only the vehicle could move sideways. As this is not possible, the sideways motion must be pieced together – sometimes elegantly, sometimes less so – in a series of forward and backward movements and turns on the steering wheel. Such a finely tuned sequence of movements also enables cats to almost always land on their feet after a free fall. Researchers at ETH Zurich have now used a similar principle for steering a quantum system into a desired state. This new type of control should be useful in situations in which quantum systems must be precisely controlled, not least in the context of quantum computers.

Big quantum world

For their research, scientists in the group of Andreas Wallraff, a professor at the Department of Physics, use "artificial atoms" made of electronic circuits, which they control with microwave pulses. These circuits comprise superconducting components – that is, components in which electric currents can flow without resistance—and typically measure fractions of a millimeter. "For a quantum physicist, these circuits are enormously large objects, but they display behavior that is very similar to that of atoms," explains Wallraff.

Unlike in natural quantum systems, such as atoms, electrons or photons, the design and properties of the quantum circuits can be changed and adapted to different applications. Moreover, the fragile quantum states can survive for several microseconds in these superconducting circuits – a relatively long time for quantum objects. During this time the state can be manipulated with microwave pulses, in order to study the quantum state itself or to make use of it in a quantum computation.

Finding the right twist

These favorable properties notwithstanding, the quantum circuits are highly sensitive to external disturbances (caused, for example, by imperfect shielding), just as natural quantum systems. Under the direction of Stefan Filipp, a scientist in the Wallraff group, the ETH Zurich researchers have now found a possible way to render the quantum states more robust against disturbances. They make use of the geometry of so-called Hilbert spaces; these abstract spaces are the 'natural habitat' of any quantum system. Similarly as a car is driven through a two-dimensional space, a quantum system is steered through its Hilbert space.

Both for parallel parking and for controlling quantum systems, the specific sequence of operations is important. For example, when a motorist first performs all steering-wheel movements and then all forward and backward movements, then she or he will hardly end up in the parking spot. The situation is comparable for the physicists' artificial atoms, which they control with microwave pulses. "We obtain different results depending on the order in which we apply the individual pulses, even if the pulses have an identical shape, the same energy and the same length. This can only be explained by the different routes the system takes through its Hilbert space," says Stefan Filipp.

Path towards a quantum computer

"This is the first time that somebody obtained this specific type of control over an isolated quantum object and was able to study the process in detail," adds Abdufarrukh Abdumalikov, scientist in the Wallraff group. An important factor for the ETH physicists' success was that they could work with relatively short microwave pulses. "This allowed us to perform operations quickly, before the quantum state was irrevocably destroyed," says Abdumalikov.

The researchers expect that their method may provide a viable path towards a practical quantum computer. The development of such devices, which use the laws of quantum mechanics to tackle computational tasks, is a very active field of current study. Quantum physics opens up a whole range of new possibilities for information processing, and one day quantum computers may help solve problems that are computationally too complex for any conventional computer to solve within reasonable time.



INFORMATION:



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Famous performers and sportsmen tend to have shorter lives, new study reports

2013-04-18
Fame and achievement in performance-related careers may be earned at the cost of a shorter life, according to a study published online today in QJM: An International Journal of Medicine. Based on the premise that an obituary in the New York Times (NYT) usually implies success in one's career, Professor Richard Epstein and Catherine Epstein analysed 1000 consecutive obituaries published in the NYT during 2009-2011 in terms of gender, age, occupation, and cause of death. They separated subjects into four broad occupational categories: performance/sport (including actors, ...

Reducing the pain of movement in intensive care

2013-04-18
Monitoring pain and providing analgesics to patients in intensive care units (ICUs) during non-surgical procedures, such as turning and washing, can not only reduce the amount of pain but also reduce the number of serious adverse events including cardiac arrest, finds new research in BioMed Central's open access journal Critical Care. Although pain at rest is routinely noted, pain during procedures is less regularly reported and its effect on patients unknown. To assess this missing information and to implement techniques to help better control pain where necessary, ...

Fishing for solutions

2013-04-18
Equipped with the zebrafish genome, researchers have designed a method to assay the function of each and every gene and to explore the effects genetic variation has on zebrafish. So far the team has generated one or more mutations in almost 40% of all zebrafish genes. The resource will be a comprehensive catalogue of how changes to our genes can have physical and biochemical consequences, giving other researchers the tools to understand human disease. Many genes are similar between the human genome and those of less complex animals. As a vertebrate, the zebrafish (Danio ...

Family ties: Relationship between human and zebrafish genomes

2013-04-18
Researchers demonstrate today that 70 per cent of protein-coding human genes are related to genes found in the zebrafish and that 84 per cent of genes known to be associated with human disease have a zebrafish counterpart. Their study highlights the importance of zebrafish as a model organism for human disease research. The team developed a high-quality annotated zebrafish genome sequence to compare with the human reference genome. Only two other large genomes have been sequenced to this high standard: the human genome and the mouse genome. The completed zebrafish genome ...

DREAM and Sage Bionetworks tap the wisdom of the crowd to impact breast cancer prognosis

2013-04-18
ABOUT THE DREAM PROJECT The Dialogue on Reverse Engineering Assessment and Methods Project (DREAM Project), founded in 2006 by Andrea Califano (Columbia University) and Gustavo Stolovitzky (IBM), was originally conceived as an initiative to advance thenascent field of network biology through the organization of Challenges on network reconstruction and pathway inference. Since the first set of network inference challenges of 2007 (DREAM2) the concept of using collaborative-competitions as a vehicle to carry on a meaningful dialogue in the computational biology community ...

Genome sequencing of the living coelacanth sheds light on the evolution of land vertebrate

2013-04-18
An historic fish, with an intriguing past, now has had its genome sequenced, providing a wealth of information on the genetic changes that accompanied the adaptation from an aquatic environment to land. A team of international researchers led by Chris Amemiya, PhD, Director of Molecular Genetics at the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason (BRI) and Professor of Biology at the University of Washington, will publish "The African coelacanth genome provides insights into tetrapod evolution" April 18 as the cover article in Nature. The coelacanth genome was sequenced ...

Bear baiting may put hunting dogs at risk from wolves

2013-04-18
Bear hunters will tell you that a good way to attract a bear is to put out bait. And in 10 states, including Michigan and Wisconsin, that's perfectly legal. Hunting dogs are another useful technique in the bear-hunter's toolkit, and 17 states say that's just fine. But who else likes bear bait? Gray wolves, that's who. And wolves that are feeling territorial about a bear bait stash can—and sometimes do—kill hunting dogs released at the bait site. Like most interactions between wildlife and human beings, wolf attacks on hunting dogs illustrate a tangled trade-off: ...

Scientists produce best image yet of atoms moving in real time

2013-04-18
VIDEO: Mapping molecular motions -- the "magic " of chemistry revealed. Despite the enormous number of possible arrangements of atoms during a structural transition, such as occurs with changes in charge distribution... Click here for more information. TORONTO, ON – Call it the ultimate nature documentary. Scientists at the University of Toronto have recorded atomic motions in real time, offering a glimpse into the very essence of chemistry and biology at the ...

Discovery may help prevent HIV 'reservoirs' from forming

2013-04-18
April 17, 2013 — (BRONX, NY) — Researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have discovered how the protein that blocks HIV-1 from multiplying in white blood cells is regulated. HIV-1 is the virus that causes AIDS, and the discovery could lead to novel approaches for addressing HIV-1 "in hiding" – namely eliminating reservoirs of HIV-1 that persist in patients undergoing antiretroviral therapy. The study was published today in the online edition of the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Antiretroviral therapy can reduce blood levels of HIV-1 until ...

Blood pressure out of control at safety-net clinics

2013-04-18
Federally funded safety-net clinics for the uninsured lag behind other health care providers in controlling blood pressure among the low-income patients who rely on them for care, a new Michigan State University analysis suggests. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular complications including heart disease and stroke, and is especially common and dangerous for patients with diabetes, said lead researcher Adesuwa Olomu, associate professor in the MSU Department of Medicine. In recent decades, a growing share of the 67 million ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Underserved youth less likely to visit emergency department for concussion in Ontario, study finds

‘Molecular shield’ placed in the nose may soon treat common hay fever trigger

Beetles under climate stress lay larger male eggs: Wolbachia infection drives adaptive reproduction strategy in response to rising temperature and CO₂

Groundbreaking quantum study puts wave-particle duality to work

Weekly injection could be life changing for Parkinson’s patients

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

[Press-News.org] A new twist for quantum systems