Since a few years ago, the subject of quantumcomputing has advanced tremendously because to major investment in research and
development from organisations like IBM and Google. Due to a lack of candidate
materials that can be utilised to power quantum computers, despite
developments, only wealthy organisations have access to this technology.
However, scientists from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
and the University of Pennsylvania have discovered a substance that would be an
excellent fit for usage in quantum computers. The semimetal Ta2NiSe5 exhibits
the necessary properties, according to Harshvardhan Jog, a PhD scholar, and
Ritesh Agarwal, professor of material science at the University of Pennsylvania
(also called TNSe).
Ideal materials must possess two essential
qualities: coherence, which enables a material to retain entanglement, and
quantum entanglement, which is a quantum state in which one particle cannot be
distinguished from the other. Despite decades of research, broad adoption of
quantum computing has eluded us. This is because coherence in quantum computers
is challenging to maintain. TNSe is one of the complicated materials being
studied by academia that has favourable features. A TNSe appears like this at
the macroscopic level:
The study was carried out with the assistance of
Luminita Harnagea, a research scientist at the Indian Institute of Science
Education and Research, and Eugene Mele, a distinguished professor at the
University of Pennsylvania (Pune). Harnagea also contributed to researching the
theoretical aspects of this while providing high-quality Ta2NiSe5 for the
experiment.
Why quantum coherence matters
Ta2NiSe5 is a semimetal that, according to 2D
Semiconductors, goes through an excitonic insulator transition at 330 kelvin
(57°C or 134°F). Quantum materials experience rapid condensation in the
excitonic insulator state through a process akin to the superconducting
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer mechanism, but with the reverse outcome, insulation
rather than conduction. The mobility of the exciton, which is made up of a free
electron and an empty hole in a semiconductor or semimetal, is constrained by
the material's condensation, which causes quantum particles to be coherent. The
YouTube video that explains the phenomenon in more depth may be found below. It
has an unusual appearance but is on point.
According to Phys.org, coherence is based on the
idea that every particle exhibits wave-like behaviour, and that if a wave is
split into two, the waves may coherently interfere with one another in such a
way that they superimpose to create a single state. The foundation of quantum
computing is this coexistence. Because a Qubit or quantum bit can co-exist in
numerous states simultaneously (similar to Schrödinger's cat), coherence is
crucial in quantum computing as opposed to classical computing, where a bit can
only be in one of two states: on (state 1) or off (state 0). A quantum computer
can process huge amounts of data very quickly as a result.
New opportunities for quantum computing research
Circular photogalvanic effect, in which a light
signal is employed to carry an electric field, is a probing method used by Jog
and Agarwal. Although Ta2NiSe5 exhibits inversion symmetry and does not react
to circular photogalvanic effect, the researchers were shocked to observe the
material producing a signal. Inversion symmetry is a characteristic of
crystalline materials that are symmetric along a point, according to Physics
Stack Exchange. The reflection of a point will be visible in the diagonally
opposite octant if one imagines an infinitesimally small mirror placed at the
origin in a 3D plot to visualise this.
The scientists came to the conclusion that Ta2NiSe5
broke symmetry at low temperatures, which caused this behaviour. These findings
are consistent with earlier work published in the physics journal PhysicsReview Letters, which showed that Ta2NiSe5 experiences "lattice distortion
from an orthorombic to a monoclinic phase," meaning the lattice tilts
sideways producing an oblique grid of atoms. In their lab, Jog and Agarwal see
the same shear.
This study by Jog and Agarwal gives academics a new tool for investigating comparable complicated crystalline materials that might display traits of macroscopic coherance and quantum entanglement, both of which are crucial for quantum computing. Materials like Ta2NiSe5 "may become natural platforms to undertake large-scale quantum simulation," according to Agarwal, with the understanding of these complicated condensed states and "entangled states of matter."
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