Berlin - Saba:
In new scientific research, physicists have developed a theory for a bold way to entangle two very different types of particles, namely the unit of light or photon with the phonon, which is the quantum equivalent of a sound wave.
Physicists Changlong Zhu, Claudio Gens, and Birgit Stiller, from the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light in Germany, called their proposed new system "optic-acoustic entanglement."
This innovation represents a hybrid system that uses two very different fundamental particles, establishing a form of entanglement that is uniquely resistant to external noise, which is one of the biggest problems facing quantum technology, making it an important step towards more powerful quantum devices, according to the scientific website "Science Alert."
The scientific website quoted the scientists as saying that quantum entanglement has promising applications in the field of high-speed quantum communications and quantum computing, as the unique physics that determines isolated and entangled particles before and after they are measured makes them ideal for a range of uses, from encryption to high-speed algorithms.
But the precise quantum state required for these operations can be easily broken, a problem that has limited their achievement in practical applications.
Scientists are working to solve this problem, with some promising paths, which reduce the effect of higher dimensions of deteriorating noise, as does adding more particles to the entangled system.
It is very likely that a practical solution will include more than one path, so the more options we have, the more likely we are to find the right combination.
The path, which Zhou and his colleagues achieved, involves pairing photons not with other photons, but with a "particle" of a completely different propagation, which is sound, which is difficult to achieve, because photons and phonons travel at different speeds and have different energy levels.
The researchers demonstrated how the particles can be entangled, by taking advantage of a process called “Brillon scattering,” in which light is scattered by waves of sound vibrations generated by heat between atoms in a material.
In the proposed solid-state system, the researchers will pulse laser light and sound waves into a solid-state “Brillon” light waveguide on a chip, designed to induce Brillon scattering. When the two waves travel along the same photonic structure, the phonon travels much more slowly, resulting in scattering that can entangle particles with significantly different energy levels. What makes this even more interesting is that it can be achieved at higher temperatures than standard entanglement methods, taking the entanglement out of the cryogenic zone and reducing the need for expensive, specialized equipment.
“It requires further investigation and experimentation, but it is a promising result,” the researchers say.
“The fact that the system operates across a large bandwidth, from optical to acoustic modes, brings a new possibility of entanglement with continuous modes, with great potential for applications in quantum computing, quantum storage, quantum metrology, quantum teleportation, entanglement-assisted quantum communication, and exploring the boundary between the classical and quantum worlds,” the scientists explained.
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