Category archives: Quantum physics

Correlated electron-phonon physics in nanotube quantum simulators

Correlated electron-phonon physics in nanotube quantum simulators

DIPC Quantum SystemsQuantum physics

By DIPC

In the search for novel materials, the simulation of quantum matter is an extremely demanding computational task, which is expected to profit substantially from the surge of quantum technologies. Quantum algorithms for programmable quantum computers offer the most flexible approaches, but tailor-made quantum simulators are particularly well suited for large-scale simulations. For instance, tremendous efforts […]

Quantum interference between dissimilar particles

Quantum interference between dissimilar particles

PhysicsQuantum physics

By César Tomé

Nuclear physicists have found a new way to see details inside atomic nuclei . They do so by tracking interactions between photons and gluons—the gluelike particles that hold together the building blocks of protons and neutrons. The method relies on harnessing a new type of quantum interference between two dissimilar particles. Tracking how these entangled […]

Engineering quantum states and electronic landscapes

Engineering quantum states and electronic landscapes

Condensed matterDIPC InterfacesMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Surfaces are at the frontier of every solid. They provide versatile supports for functional nanostructures and mediate essential physicochemical processes. Intimately related to two-dimensional materials, interfaces and atomically thin films often feature distinct electronic states with respect to the bulk, which is key to many relevant properties, such as catalytic activity, interfacial charge-transfer, and crystal […]

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

The dawn of the quantum network: quantum interference over 300 km of optical fiber

Computer scienceCondensed matterPhysicsQuantum physics

By César Tomé

Last year’s Nobel Prize in Physics celebrated the fundamental interest of quantum entanglement, and also envisioned the potential applications in “the second quantum revolution” — a new age when we are able to manipulate the weirdness of quantum mechanics, including quantum superposition and entanglement. A large-scale and fully functional quantum network is the holy grail […]

The implications of ground-state correlations on the integrability of quantum many-body systems

The implications of ground-state correlations on the integrability of quantum many-body systems

DIPC Quantum SystemsQuantum physics

By DIPC

A model of a physical system that can be solved exactly and the dynamics of which are characterized by regular rather than chaotic motion is called an integrable model. Integrable models can occur in Newtonian mechanics and quantum mechanics, with the harmonic oscillator being an example of such a model in both cases. Integrability has […]

Ultraprecise entangled clocks

Ultraprecise entangled clocks

Quantum physics

By César Tomé

For the first time, scientists have entangled atoms for use as networked quantum sensors, specifically, atomic clocks and accelerometers. The research team’s experimental setup yielded ultraprecise measurements of time and acceleration. Compared to a similar setup that does not draw on quantum entanglement, their time measurements were 3.5 times more precise, and acceleration measurements exhibited […]

Macroscopic quantum entanglement

Macroscopic quantum entanglement

Quantum physics

By Daniel Manzano

Entanglement is the purest and most important quantum property. Unlike classical systems, quantum objects can be connected independently of their distance and if we perform a measurement in one part the other one is affected instantaneously. Intuitively, this can be considered a violation of relativity because this theory states that no information can travel faster […]

The search for dark matter gets a speed boost from quantum technology

The search for dark matter gets a speed boost from quantum technology

AstrophysicsCosmologyQuantum physics

By Invited Researcher

Nearly a century after dark matter was first proposed to explain the motion of galaxy clusters, physicists still have no idea what it’s made of. Researchers around the world have built dozens of detectors in hopes of discovering dark matter. As a graduate student, I helped design and operate one of these detectors, aptly named […]

The essential physics of the Mott metal-insulator transition at negligible computational cost

The essential physics of the Mott metal-insulator transition at negligible computational cost

DIPC Electronic PropertiesQuantum physicsTheoretical physics

By DIPC

Density functional theory (DFT) is a theoretical treatment of molecules in which the electron density is considered rather than the wave functions of individual electrons. In other words, it is a way of describing many-electron, in general, many-fermion, systems in which the energy is a funtional of the density of electrons (fermions). DFT is without […]

Magnetic Topological Quantum Chemistry, <i>ab initio</i> calculations included

Magnetic Topological Quantum Chemistry, ab initio calculations included

Condensed matterDIPC Advanced materialsMaterialsQuantum physics

By DIPC

Topological materials have special universal properties, which are protected against perturbations. Such properties are theoretically described by topology, a branch of mathematics concerned with the properties of geometrical objects that are unchanged by continuous deformations. Topological materials behave like an ordinary insulator in the bulk but have conducting states on their boundaries, i.e., edges or […]