Date Time
Quantum Experiment in Science Raises Questions
Jülich, 27 May 2021 – Quantum systems are considered extremely fragile. Even the smallest interactions with the environment can result in the loss of sensitive quantum effects. In the renowned journal Science, however, researchers from TU Delft, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich now present an experiment in which a quantum system consisting of two coupled atoms behaves surprisingly stable under electron bombardment. The experiment provide an indication that special quantum states might be realised in a quantum computer more easily than previously thought.
The so-called decoherence is one of the greatest enemies of the quantum physicist. Experts understand by this the decay of quantum states. This inevitably occurs when the system interacts with its environment. In the macroscopic world, this exchange is unavoidable, which is why quantum effects rarely occur in daily life. The quantum systems used in res
E-Mail
IMAGE: Artist s impression of the experiment, where an electric pulse is applied to a titanium atom. As a result, its magnetic moment suddenly flips around. A neighbouring titanium atom (right) reacts. view more
Credit: TU Delft/Scixel
How materials behave depends on the interactions between countless atoms. You could see this as a giant group chat in which atoms are continuously exchanging quantum information. Researchers from Delft University of Technology in collaboration with RWTH Aachen University and the Research Center Jülich have now been able to intercept a chat between two atoms. They present their findings in
Science on 28 May.
Quantum systems are considered extremely fragile. Even the smallest interactions with the environment can result in the loss of sensitive quantum effects. In the renowned journal Science, however, researchers from TU Delft, RWTH Aachen University and Forschungszentrum Jülich now present an experiment in which a quantum system consisting of two coupled atoms behaves surprisingly stable.
Physicists Caught Two Atoms Talking to Each Other
Illustration: TU DELFT/SCIXEL
A team of physicists in the Netherlands and Germany recently placed a bunch of titanium atoms under a scanning tunneling microscope. Those atoms were in constant, quiet interaction with each other through the directions of their spins. In a clever feat, the researchers were able to home in on a single pair of atoms, zapping one with an electric current in order to flip its spin. They then measured the reaction of its partner.
Advertisement
When two atoms have spins that are interdependent, they are considered quantumly entangled. That entanglement means that the behavior of one atom has a direct impact on the other, and theory says this should remain true even when they are separated by great distances. In this case, the titanium atoms were a little over a nanometer (a millionth of a millimeter) apart, close enough for the two particles to interact with one another but far enough away that the inter