Swinburne researchers have discovered unexpected and entirely new quantum behaviors that only occur in one-dimensional systems, such as electrical current. Their new paper, published in Physical Review Letters, explores a fundamental question in quantum physics: what happens when a single “impurity” particle, such as an atom or electron, is introduced into a tightly packed crowd of identical particles.
Nearly every material in the world contains small imperfections or extra particles; understanding how these “outsiders” interact with their environment is key to figuring out how materials conduct electricity, create light, or respond to external forces.
A team at the Center for Quantum Technology Theory at Swinburne studied this in the setting of a one-dimensional optical lattice (a kind of artificial crystal made with laser light) using a well-known theoretical framework called the Fermi-Hubbard model.
Recently, a group of researchers discovered a novel way to achieve spin-valve effects using kagome quantum magnets.
“This approach uses a prototype device made from the kagome magnet TmMn₆Sn₆,” explained Associate Prof. XU Xitong, “This breakthrough eliminates the need for the complex fabrication techniques traditionally required by spin-valve structures.”
The findings were published in Nature Communications. The team was led by Prof. Qu Zhe from the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with Prof. Chang Tay-Rong from National Cheng Kung University.
A quantum computer can solve optimization problems faster than classical supercomputers, a process known as “quantum advantage” and demonstrated by a USC researcher in a paper recently published in Physical Review Letters.
The study shows how quantum annealing, a specialized form of quantum computing, outperforms the best current classical algorithms when searching for near-optimal solutions to complex problems.
“The way quantum annealing works is by finding low-energy states in quantum systems, which correspond to optimal or near-optimal solutions to the problems being solved,” said Daniel Lidar, corresponding author of the study and professor of electrical and computer engineering, chemistry, and physics and astronomy at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
*Apply to join Foresight Intelligent Cooperation program:* https://foresight.org/intelligent-cooperation/ A group of scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs in computer science, ML, cryptocommerce, and related fields who leverage those technologies to improve voluntary cooperation across humans, and ultimately AIs.
*Maarten Boudry | Will Humanity Be Subjugated by Superintelligent AIs?* Abstract: Some people are worried that if we ever create superintelligent AIs, they might turn against us—trying to subjugate humanity, wrest control, and grab resources, much like living creatures shaped by evolution. Dan Hendrycks from the Center for AI Safety has argued that AI systems are already undergoing a form of natural selection, facing ruthless market competition in the current AI race. Will this endow them with the instinctive drives for self-preservation and dominance typical of evolved creatures? In this talk, I push back against this evolutionary doom scenario, using the framework of “Darwinian spaces” by Peter Godfrey-Smith. A better analogy for AI evolution might be the domestication of animals. Just as humans have bred dogs to be friendly and obedient, we might shape AIs in similar ways, selecting for desirable traits like helpfulness and non-aggression. Even in a highly competitive AI race, AIs are unlikely to become selfish or power-hungry. That said, we do agree with the AI doomers on one point: if we allow AIs to “go feral” and be subjected to truly blind evolution—like wild animals competing in nature—that could become very dangerous.
Bio: Dr. Maarten Boudry is a philosopher of science and first holder of the Etienne Vermeersch Chair of Critical Thinking at Ghent University. He published over 50 academic papers and two edited volumes: Science Unlimited? (2018) and Philosophy of Pseudoscience (2013). He wrote six trade books in Dutch on science and philosophy, the latest one being The Betrayal of Enlightenment (Het verraad aan de verlichting, 2025). He’s also a Roots of Progress fellow and a regular contributor to Quillette, The Conversation, The Independent and Human Progress. Substack for English writings: maartenboudry.substack.com.
Bio: Simon Friederich is an associate professor of philosophy of science at the University of Groningen, the Netherlands. He is currently focused on the philosophy of quantum theory, trying to solve the quantum measurement problem along the lines envisioned by Einstein before advanced AI makes his efforts redundant. He has also worked on the philosophy of technology, notably on nuclear energy, sustainability, and advanced AI. His thoughts on these topics have been featured in German and Dutch media. With his wife and five kids he lives in a village in the North of the Netherlands.
RIKEN physicists have devised a theoretical method to probe elusive Majorana fermions in topological superconductors by leveraging their unique electromagnetic responses, paving the way for breakthroughs in quantum material science. A new theoretical approach for exploring exotic particles on the
To those unfamiliar with quantum mechanics, the achievement might seem minor. Yet in the world of quantum research, this moment is transformative. With the ability to create quantum entanglement between two light sources, a host of commercial technologies could soon become reality.
Control over multiple quantum light sources forms the bedrock of quantum networks. Entanglement —where two light sources are linked, no matter the distance—remains a pillar of quantum physics. Without it, building fast quantum computers and developing next-generation encryption would stay out of reach.
The findings, recently published in Science, spotlight just how far the field has come. Researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute underscored the breakthrough’s major impact on the future of quantum technologies.
Long before human minds contemplated their own existence, information was already flowing. Not as bits in silicon, but as a fundamental flux of differentials in the fabric of reality itself. The universe, at its most elemental level, may be understood not merely as matter and energy, but as a vast information-processing system — a perspective that opens new avenues for understanding the enigma of consciousness. The question that has bedeviled philosophers and scientists alike is not simply what consciousness is, but how it emerges, and whether it represents something unique in the cosmic landscape or is merely a sophisticated expression of processes inherent to reality itself.
Panpsychism — the view that consciousness is fundamental and ubiquitous throughout the universe — has experienced a renaissance in recent philosophical discourse. Yet despite its elegant simplicity, it leaves crucial questions unanswered, particularly regarding the mechanism by which consciousness manifests in systems of varying complexity. This essay proposes that consciousness can be more productively understood as an autonomous region of information processing within a general field of information, a perspective that synthesizes insights from systems theory, information dynamics, the science of living systems, and recent research on microtubular functions to transcend traditional panpsychist frameworks.
To appreciate consciousness as an emergent property of information processing, we must first recognize information’s fundamental role in the universe. Wheeler’s famous dictum “it from bit” suggests that physical reality emerges from information (Wheeler, 1990). This perspective has been substantiated by advances in quantum information theory, which demonstrates that information is not merely about reality but constitutive of it. As Vedral (2010, p. 3) argues, “Quantum physics requires us to abandon the distinction between information and reality.” The quantum world reveals itself not as a collection of things but as potentialities and relationships — informational patterns that coalesce into what we perceive as physical reality.
Consciousness cannot be separated from reality. In this profound reflection, physicist Basil Hiley explains why classical physics tried to exclude the subject…
Why do the two most fundamental theories of the universe contradict each other? In this mind-bending segment from Quantum Convergance, we explore how Einstein’s general relativity and quantum mechanics—despite their opposing principles—both point toward one astonishing truth: the universe is not made of separate parts, but of undivided wholeness.
Using powerful metaphors like the whirlpool and grounded scientific insight from David Bohm and Einstein, this video unravels how the illusion of separateness may be the greatest misunderstanding in modern physics. Relativity describes the universe as a smooth, local continuum, while quantum theory insists on jumps, discontinuity, and entanglement.
But what if both are right… and incomplete?
🔹 Narrated by David Bohm. 🔹 From the full documentary: Quantum Convergance.
In the future, quantum computers could rapidly simulate new materials or help scientists develop faster machine‐learning models, opening the door to many new possibilities.
But these applications will only be possible if quantum computers can perform operations extremely quickly, so scientists can make measurements and perform corrections before compounding error rates reduce their accuracy and reliability.
The efficiency of this measurement process, known as readout, relies on the strength of the coupling between photons, which are particles of light that carry quantum information, and artificial atoms, units of matter that are often used to store information in a quantum computer.
