A brand-new study reveals that even the most fundamental building blocks of matter, atoms, can serve as a computing repository where all input and output processing occurs through optical methods.
Brand-new research studies broaden the perspectives on what makes up a “computer system” and how small a computational system can be.
When we define a “computer” as any device that processes details through input and output, it raises the questions of what objects can carry out these computations and how little can these computer systems be. With transistors reaching the limitations of miniaturization, finding answers to these concerns ends up being crucial, as they could cause the advancement of a brand-new computing paradigm.
In a brand-new study published in EPJ Plus by researchers from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, Gerard McCaul and his group show that atoms, one of one of the most fundamental structure blocks of matter, can function as a tank for computing where all input-output processing is optical.
” We had the concept that the capability for computation is a universal property that all physical systems share, but within that paradigm, there is a fantastic abundance of structures for how one would tackle actually attempting to carry out computations,” McCaul says.
He adds that one of the most important of these structures is neuromorphic or reservoir computing with a neuromorphic computer intending to simulate the brain. This idea underpins the explosive advancement of machine learning and AI in the last few years and causes a potentially non-linear computer where output is not linearly proportional to the input. This is desirable as it might lead to a computing architecture flexible enough that any given output can be attained, provided an appropriate input.
” That is, if we desire some offered computational result, we are ensured that some input to the calculation exists that will accomplish it,” McCaul states. “This is difficult if our system just displays a direct action!”
The group proposed a non-linear single-atom computer with the input information encoded directly into light and the output also in the kind of light. The estimation is then identified by filters that the light output is passed through.
” Our research validated this approach works in concept, in addition to validating the fact that the system performed much better when the input light was developed to cause a higher degree of non-linearity in the system,” McCaul says. “I would probably argue that what we are attempting to highlight with this work is that the minimal system efficient in computing really does exist on the level of a single atom and that computation can be performed purely with optical processes.”
Recommendation: “Towards single atom computing via high harmonic generation” by Gerard McCaul, Kurt Jacobs and Denys I. Bondar, 5 February 2023, The European Physical Journal Plus.DOI: 10.1140/ epjp/s13360 -023 -03649 -3.
He adds that one of the most important of these frameworks is neuromorphic or tank computing with a neuromorphic computer aiming to simulate the brain. This idea underpins the explosive development of maker learning and AI in the last few decades and leads to a possibly non-linear computer where output is not linearly proportional to the input. This is preferable as it might lead to a computing architecture versatile enough that any given output can be achieved, given an appropriate input.
