Researchers have discovered a new method to ‘split’ electrons, a crucial step towards the development of stable and powerful topological quantum computers. This groundbreaking discovery could revolutionize the field of quantum computing and pave the way for a new era of computing power.
Quantum Physics for Insiders: The Guide to Understanding Quantum Mechanics
Topological quantum computing has been a theoretical recipe for building powerful quantum computers but finding a qubit that can be realized and controlled is still an open challenge.
Matter as we typically experience it is composed of atoms, which contain electrons — originally believed to be one of the smallest fundamental particles and thus indivisible. This new research, though, has exposed quite a surprising turn in quantum mechanics the stopgap creation of matter that is equal to only half of an electron, what’s called a ‘split-electron’.
Both these ‘split-electrons’ can act as qubits with exotic topological properties that might be the key to unleashing the full power of quantum computation. The finding was discovered by theoretical physicists, Professor Andrew Mitchell from the UCD School of Physics and Dr Sudeshna Sen from the Indian Institute of Technology in Dhanbad, who are investigating quantum phenomena in nanoscale electronic circuits.
Quantum Interferences: The Way to Majorana fermions
The rules of the game are governed by quantum mechanics at the nano-scale and all intuition about how things work must be jettisoned. Today, current flowing in a wire is simply the movement of an entire electronic charge at once; but in such small electronic circuits a current passing through is composed by many individual electrons and when size matters — as it does here — you can start to pick them one-by-one.
States where the electrons seem to split can be caused immediately by quantum interference among the electrons. When a nanoelectronic circuit is created with two paths that electrons can choose to follow, the quantum interference experienced by electron process quite simialrly as what happens in double slit experiment.
Professor Mitchell said, “The quantum interference we see in those circuits is essentially the same as that observed in the 2-slit experiment.” This interference can then use to make the qubits that make for better quantum computer.
The outcome of this quantum interference is a “Majorana fermion,” a particle which mathematicians first predicted in 1937 but it has never before been observed experimentally. The development of a technique to subject these to numerous nanoelectronic choices can make for the preparation of what are known as Majorana particles, an important step in developing topological quantum computers.
Conclusion
The segregation of electrons and the creation of Majorana fermions is a grand breakthrough in quantum computing. The researchers have harnessed the phenomena of quantum interference in split electrons, stepping ever closer toward completely secure and powerful communication networks — and perhaps, one day, quantum computers. It could allow for a new level of computing prowess and potentially have sweeping effects in everything from cryptography to materials science.
