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Category: quantum physics – Page 9

Microsoft Announces 1000x Better Quantum Chip

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Microsoft just announced the Majorana 2 — a topological quantum chip with qubits 1,000 times more reliable than its predecessor. I got exclusive access to Microsoft’s quantum lab in Copenhagen and sat down with Chetan Nayak (Director of Quantum Hardware at Microsoft) to find out what actually changed, whether the results hold up, and what this means for the timeline to a useful quantum computer.

0:00 — Microsoft Announce Majorana 2
1:07 — How Quantum Computers Actually Work.
3:12 — The Case for Topological Qubits.
4:10 — How to Build a Topological Qubit.
8:06 — Ad break.
9:45 — What Changed in Majorana 2
13:05 — Why Lead Beats Aluminium.
14:33 — When Are We Getting a Quantum Computer?

Microsoft Announcement: https://quantum.microsoft.com/en-us/i… Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.03884 A note Microsoft shared with me on the retracted 2018 paper: “In 2018, an independent university research paper that drew funding from several sources including Microsoft, was retracted by Nature. The research was not conducted by Dr. Chetan Nayak or any members of the Microsoft team leading the work on the Majorana 1.” My Patreon:🚀 / drbenmiles My Instagram: / drbenmiles My TikTok: / drbenmiles My Newsletter: https://drbenmiles.substack.com/ My Merch: https://www.rockstarscientist.org/ 🔗 Linktree: https://linktr.ee/drbenmiles MY GEAR 📷 Sony A7III https://amzn.to/3OWrmGd 🔎 Sigma 402,965 16 mm F1.4 https://amzn.to/49BNJdq 🎤 Shure SM7B https://amzn.to/4sF3ngx 🎤 Zoom H4n Pro https://amzn.to/3OXsklB 🎤 Sennheiser AVX https://amzn.to/4geWnBi.
arXiv Paper: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.

A note Microsoft shared with me on the retracted 2018 paper: \.

Enhancing the Quantum Oscillation Toolbox

A new experiment probes the quantum geometry of electronic wave functions involved in a nonlinear Hall response.

The transport properties of quantum materials often vary periodically with the strength of an applied magnetic field. These quantum oscillations have long provided physicists with an indispensable tool for extracting subtle, otherwise-inaccessible information on electronic phases of matter [1]. Now an experiment by Jinrui Zhong of the Beijing Institute of Technology and his colleagues has revealed a novel kind of quantum oscillation in moiré systems [2]. These are materials made from stacked monolayers that are twisted with respect to each other to create, in effect, atomic lattices with much wider unit cells. The experiment pointed to a special mechanism for facilitating the novel periodic fluctuations: the emergence of so-called Brown-Zak fermions.

Bidirectional manipulation of gate-free quantum electronic states via semiconductor interface engineering

A recent study published in Nature Communications demonstrates precise control over electron spatial arrangement in two directions simultaneously—without any applied voltage—through interface engineering between semimetal bismuth (Bi) thin films and two-dimensional semiconductor MoS₂

Researchers found that in the horizontal direction, the Moiré potential generated by small-angle twisted bilayer MoS₂ confines electrons to specific sites; in the vertical direction, tuning the bismuth film thickness modulates the electron effective mass, enabling switching between two distinct configurations—thinner films favor electron clustering into a trimer (molecular-like bonding) arrangement, while thicker films drive electrons apart into a periodic Kagome-like configuration.

Requiring no external voltage to induce electron confinement, this material system offers a critical foundation for developing charge qubits and ultra-low-power devices, potentially opening new design pathways for next-generation quantum computing and energy-efficient semiconductor chips.

Abstract algebra unlocks distinguishable states for quantum systems

Researchers around the world are racing to develop new quantum-based systems for sensing, communication, computing and control that have the promise of outperforming traditional systems. Creating stable, measurable, distinguishable quantum states—which would be the heart of any such system—is a daunting task.

Quantum states possess unique properties that can be exploited to develop novel information-processing systems. Two key properties, stability and distinguishability, are hard to achieve, however. Extracting information from a quantum system depends on the distinguishability of quantum states, an intrinsic property associated with a property known as orthogonality. Nevertheless, no two Gaussian states (a widely studied class of quantum states) are orthogonal, and this yields an unavoidable error when attempting to distinguish them.

In addition, present quantum devices tend to remain stable only for a fraction of a second and require complex protocols to distinguish states. Now, researchers at MIT and the University of Ferrara have found a new approach for creating easily distinguishable states that could help enable the development of these new quantum-based devices.

Passive quantum error correction doubles qubit lifetime, reaching break-even point

A team of U.S. researchers has designed a passive quantum error correction technique that enables qubits to correct their own errors. Demonstrated by Shruti Shirol and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the protocol transforms the inevitable dissipation of energy in qubit systems from a hindrance into an advantage, offering a promising route toward practical quantum computing outside the lab. The research has been published in Physical Review X.

As the building blocks of quantum computers, qubits aren’t limited to being either a 0 or a 1, like the classical bits that computers use today. Instead, they can exist in quantum superpositions of these states, offering new ways of storing and processing information.

However, these states are notoriously fragile. As they interact with vibrations and impurities in their surroundings, they can easily be destroyed, resulting in energy being dissipated from the system. To date, this poses one of the biggest roadblocks to building quantum computers in realistic settings outside the lab.

Quasi-1D material unlocks electric control of charge waves beyond standard limits

The ability to control the movement of negatively charged particles (i.e., electrons) is central to the functioning of all modern electronic devices. This control is typically attained using a gate, an electrode via which an applied electric field alters a material’s electrical properties.

In many electronic devices, the effectiveness of electrical gating depends on a device’s capacitance (i.e., a measure of how much electric charge can be induced or stored for a given voltage). Recently, however, electronics engineers have been exploring the potential of new materials that exhibit unusual collective electron behaviors, which could be leveraged to surpass the gating performance of contemporary electronics.

Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of California, Riverside (UCR) recently demonstrated the potential of a new quasi-one-dimensional (1D) quantum material, showing that it can dramatically enhance the electrical control of collective electronic states known as charge density waves (CDWs).

Ultrafast laser pulses reveal a material’s hidden state of matter

What would it take to instantly transform a material from an electrical insulator into a conductive state without ever touching it? Using ultrafast laser pulses and powerful X-rays, scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II)—a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory—developed a methodology to generate “hidden” phases and understand why they work.

This research not only reveals a hidden state of matter and its fundamental interactions but also points toward new ways to control materials for future electronics and quantum technologies. Their work was recently published in Physical Review X.

At the heart of the research is an interesting class of quantum materials called magnetoresistive manganites. Under the right conditions, their properties and behaviors can change completely with external stimuli. In this case, the team used short bursts of laser light lasting 100 femtoseconds (one hundred quadrillionths of a second) to “switch” a material from an insulating state, where electricity cannot flow, to a conductive one.

The Quantum Frontier: How Quantum Computing Is Reshaping Our Future

Quantum computing was once considered a distant scientific project that could revolutionize computing. That discussion has shifted drastically today. Quantum technologies have progressed beyond lab trials and theory. Emerging quantum capabilities include commercial quantum platforms, quantum networking projects, quantum sensor advancements, and powerful quantum processors.

Advances in recent years suggest we are entering the Quantum Frontier Era. National security, science, economic competitiveness, and cybersecurity will all feel the impact. The quantum age has begun. It’s started.

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