Cuprous oxide– the mined crystal from Namibia used for making Rydberg polaritons. Credit: University of St Andrews
A special kind of light used an ancient Namibian gems could be the key to brand-new light-based quantum computer systems, which might resolve long-held clinical mysteries, according to new research study led by the University of St Andrews.
The research, conducted in collaboration with researchers at Harvard University in the United States, Macquarie University in Australia, and Aarhus University in Denmark and published in Nature Materials, utilized a naturally mined cuprous oxide (Cu2O) gems from Namibia to produce Rydberg polaritons, the largest hybrid particles of light and matter ever developed.
Rydberg polaritons switch continuously from light to matter and back again. In Rydberg polaritons, light and matter are like 2 sides of a coin, and the matter side is what makes polaritons engage with each other.
This interaction is crucial because this is what allows the creation of quantum simulators, an unique type of quantum computer system, where information is kept in quantum bits. These quantum bits, unlike the binary bits in classical computer systems that can only be 0 or 1, can take any worth in between 0 and 1. They can therefore keep much more information and perform a number of processes concurrently.
This interaction is vital since this is what enables the creation of quantum simulators, an unique kind of quantum computer system, where details is kept in quantum bits. These quantum bits, unlike the binary bits in classical computers that can just be 0 or 1, can take any value between 0 and 1. They can for that reason save a lot more information and carry out several procedures concurrently.
This capability could permit quantum simulators to solve essential secrets of physics, chemistry and biology, for instance, how to make high-temperature superconductors for highspeed trains, how less expensive fertilizers might be made possibly solving worldwide cravings, or how proteins fold making it simpler to produce more efficient drugs.
Project lead Dr. Hamid Ohadi, of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, stated: “Making a quantum simulator with light is the holy grail of science. We have actually taken a substantial leap towards this by producing Rydberg polaritons, the essential ingredient of it.”
To create Rydberg polaritons, the researchers caught light between 2 highly reflective mirrors. A cuprous oxide crystal from a stone mined in Namibia was then thinned and polished to a 30-micrometer thick slab (thinner than a strand of human hair) and sandwiched in between the 2 mirrors to make Rydberg polaritons 100 times larger than ever shown prior to.
Among the leading authors Dr. Sai Kiran Rajendran, of the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, said: “Purchasing the stone on eBay was easy. The obstacle was to make Rydberg polaritons that exist in an extremely narrow color variety.”
The group is presently more refining these methods in order to explore the possibility of making quantum circuits, which are the next active ingredient for quantum simulators.
Referral: “Rydberg exciton– polaritons in a Cu2O microcavity” by Konstantinos Orfanakis, Sai Kiran Rajendran, Valentin Walther, Thomas Volz, Thomas Pohl and Hamid Ohadi, 14 April 2022, Nature Materials.DOI: 10.1038/ s41563-022-01230-4.
The research study was funded by UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).