Quantum Computing

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An international team, including scientists from the London Center for Nanotechnology, has detected a hidden magnetic "quantum order" in a ceramic without classical magnetism. The scientists found that despite the apparent classical disorder, magnetic excitations could propagate over long chains of atoms at low temperature – in the otherwise magnetically disordered material..

In quantum information processing, data is recorded and manipulated as quantum bits or ‘qubits’, generalizations of the classical ‘0′ and ‘1′ bits which are traditionally represented by the ‘on’ and ‘off’ states of conventional switches.

"We had two objectives," explains Professor Gabriel Aeppli, Director of the London Centre for Nanotechnology and the paper’s senior author. "The first was to show that we could actually image the quantum order, which is sometimes referred to as phase coherence. The second aim was to manipulate the distance over which it can be maintained."

Image of quantum order made using neutrons by the LCN (London Centre for Nanotechnology)/UCL team and its collaborators from the US and Japan at the ISIS particle accelerator in the UK. The sharp red peak in the middle of the picture corresponds to nearly perfect quantum coherence. (Credit: Image courtesy of University College London)