Share

Subscribe | Login

Biology

Geology

Space

Physics

Chemistry

Health

Paleontology

Earth

Weird

Distant artificial atoms cooperate by sharing light: researchers

Quantum physicists have long theorized this effect, but it has never before been observed in an experiment.

Science Recorder | Jonathan Marker | Friday, November 15, 2013

According to a November 14 news release from the University of Calgary, an international team of researchers has demonstrated for the first time that atoms can work collectively to share light.  Quantum physicists have long theorized this effect, but it has never before been observed in an experiment.

The researchers, hailing from ETH Zürich, Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, and the University of Calgary, revealed the sharing of light or “photon-mediated interaction” between artificial atoms confined to a one-dimensional quantum system.

The findings appear in this week’s issue of Science, in an article entitled, “Photon-mediated interactions between distant artificial atoms.”

“It’s an unobserved effect that has been discussed for decades, and we see it with excellent agreement between theory and experiment,” said coauthor Barry Sanders, professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Calgary and iCORE Chair of Quantum Information Science.

Said lead author Arjan van Loo, a PhD student in the Quantum Device Lab at ETH Zürich, the two artificial atoms “showed a coherent exchange interaction, something not seen before for distant quantum systems in an open environment.”

“Systems like ours are expected to be useful for routing quantum information along quantum communication lines (one-dimensional waveguides) on devices used for quantum information processing or quantum communication,” said coauthor Andreas Wallraff, professor of Solid-State Physics at ETH Zürich.

The new research proves that “man-made electrical circuits can now be engineered in such a way to exhibit [behavior] that is not possible in ‘natural’ quantum systems,” said coauthor Alexandre Blais, associate professor of Physics at Université de Sherbrooke.

Coaxing artificial atoms to work cooperatively could lead to control of microwave fields in superconducting circuits with benefits, as well as methods to shield quantum information against “noise” or impairment to the signal.

The key to the research team’s methodology was to perform the experiment in one dimension, rather than in three dimensions, where the collaboration between atoms is weak and deteriorates considerably with distance.

“In our experiment, we surpassed these limitations by specially engineering the critical properties of our artificial quantum systems,” said coauthor Arkady Fedorov, a postdoc at ETH Zürich, now at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, when the experiment was done.

The researchers restricted two artificial atoms to one dimension using a waveguide, which significantly amplified the likelihood of the two systems interacting, and facilitated the researchers to measure this interaction.

The Canadian theorists used the “Mammouth” supercomputer, part of a national high-performance computing platform organized by Compute Canada, to solve analytical equations, and understand the physical interactions occurring during the experiment.

Did we miss something? Send us tips, press releases, or ideas for stories: [email-masked]

13 Stunning Facts About The Sun

The 10 Most Powerful Asteroid Impacts in history

17 Images that will change how you view the universe

The 12 Most Extreme Places on the Planet

14 Photos that will change your view of Earth

The 21 Strangest Planets

Scientists examine evolution of 'Little Red Riding Hood'

World's most 'irreplaceable' protected areas identified by IUCN

Asthma may delay pregnancy, study finds

Researchers develop novel hologram technology

Wolves domesticated over 18,000 years ago by hunter-gatherers in Europe

Home - About Us - Contact - Terms of Service - Privacy Policy

© Science Recorder News. All Rights Reserved.