Category Archives: Quantum Physics

American physicists Richard Feynman and Yang Chen Ning, circa 1950s.

Quantum particles exist and don't exist. Space is likely a moldable fabric. Dark matter is invisible, yet it binds the entire universe. And our universe, created from an explosion 13.8 billion years ago, is infinitely expanding into something. Or, maybe nothing.

Unless you're a trained physicist, at least one of those statements probably hurts your brain.

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We experience a sort of cognitive dissonance when attempting to comprehend the vastness of such unimaginable, complex concepts. But theoretical physicists think about, and even conjure, these ideas all day, every day.

How do they do it?

According to new research, published Monday in the journal npj Science of Learning, physicists' brains grapple with counterintuitive theories by automatically categorizing things as either "measurable" or "immeasurable."

"Most of the things we encounter every day, like a rock, a lake, a flower, you can say, 'Well it's about the size of my fist... but the concepts that physicists think about don't have that property," said Marcel Just, a psychologist at Carnegie Mellon University and first author of the study.

To study exactly how physicists' brains work, Just and fellow researchers gave 10 Carnegie Mellon physics faculty members -- with differing specialties and language backgrounds -- a ledger of physics concepts. Then, they used fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) scans to examine the subjects' brain activity as the individuals went down the list.

In contrast to normal MRIs, which help with anatomical studies, functional MRIs can detect brain activity based on fluctuations in blood flow, glucose and oxygen.

Turns out, each physicist's brain organizes concepts within the field into two groups. The researchers were just left to figure out how to label each group.

"I looked at the list, and said well, 'What do concepts like potential energy, torque, acceleration, wavelength, frequency ... have in common? At the other end of the same scale, there are things like dark matter; duality; cosmology; multiverse," explained co-author Reinhard A. Schumacher, a particle physicist at Carnegie Mellon University.

The average person might lump Schumacher's descriptions on the latter end of the spectrum as mind-bending and inexplicable, but the most important connecting factor, he realized, is that they're immeasurable.

In the brain scans, these concepts didn't indicate activity of what he calls "extent," loosely referring to placing tangible restrictions on something.

Physicists' brains, the team concluded, automatically discern between abstract items, like quantum physics, and comprehensible, measurable items like velocity and frequency.

Basically, the stuff that provokes a sense of perplexity in us non-physicists doesn't elicit thoughts of "extent" for them. That's probably why they can think about those things with relative ease, whereas we begin worrying about scale.

Speaking from experience, Schumacher says considering abstract physics ideas as a student can be very different from conceiving them as a longtime physicist.

"I think there's a sense that as physicists grow older, the concepts kind of crystallize in the mind, and you end up using them in a more efficient way," Schumacher said.

"The more you use these ideas, the more they become like old friends."

The brain scans also support that assertion. Not only did the team test faculty brain activity, they also looked at physics students' brains.

"In the old physicists who have been doing it for years," Schumacher said, "it's like the brain is more efficient. It doesn't have to light up as much, because you're going right for the thing right away."

Additionally, Just noted the professors "had more right hemisphere activation, suggesting that they had a greater number of sort of distantly associated concepts."

While a physics student might relate velocity to acceleration, it seems the professors were relating velocity to much more niche subjects activated by remote locations of the brain. Velocity of the universe's expansion, perhaps?

Just emphasizes how evolution of the brain to accommodate new, abstract ideas happens to all of us. Perhaps only theoretical physicists can easily comprehend duality or a multiverse, but people working in other fields, of course, ponder complex ideas of their own.

Chemists, for instance, have to visualize unseen orbital structures of atoms and bond configurations only drawn in textbooks. And the general public, over time, has adapted to inventions like iPhones and the cloud. Think about it. We can comprehend the cloud, which is pretty bizarre.

Imagine traveling back in time to the 1700s and explaining to someone the workings of an invisible data storage mine. They'd probably feel the way we do when we picture the quantum domain -- we'd be the "physicists" to them.

"We have this understanding now," explained Schumacher. "Even if you develop some new scientific concept, we can more or less predict what the brain is going to do with it."

For instance, during the exercise, when asked to think about oscillations, Just said some subject's brains activated sections relating to rhythmic activity. The organ had basically repurposed areas used in ancient times for general rhythms, like maybe music, to allow for modern physics concepts.

"The idea of sine waves is just a couple hundred years old," Just said. "But people have been looking at ripples on a pond forever."

Just also suggests it could become possible to actively help the brain repurpose itself, harnessing its ability to adapt. If we allow children to expand their minds through education by introducing abstract concepts sooner and more rigorously, he says, maybe one day they can readily imagine things the way scientists do.

Even further down the road, he says the findings could inform studies of mental health -- how does the brain's organizational and adaptation capabilities operate while in distress?

"I think it's the most fascinating question in the world," Just remarked. "'What is the essence of human brains? How can we make them healthier; think better?"

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Dark matter and the multiverse help scientists decode mysteries of the brain - CNET

This spring, at a meeting of Syracuse Universitys quark physics group, Ivan Polyakov announced that he had uncovered the fingerprints of a semi-mythical particle.

We said, This is impossible. What mistake are you making? recalled Sheldon Stone, the groups leader.

Polyakov went away and double-checked his analysis of data from the Large Hadron Collider beauty (LHCb) experiment the Syracuse group is part of. The evidence held. It showed that a particular set of four fundamental particles called quarks can form a tight clique, contrary to the belief of most theorists. The LHCb collaboration reported the discovery of the composite particle, dubbed the double-charm tetraquark, at a conference in July and in two papers posted earlier this month that are now undergoing peer review.

The unexpected discovery of the double-charm tetraquark highlights an uncomfortable truth. While physicists know the exact equation that defines the strong forcethe fundamental force that binds quarks together to make the protons and neutrons in the hearts of atoms, as well as other composite particles like tetraquarksthey can rarely solve this strange, endlessly iterative equation, so they struggle to predict the strong forces effects.

The tetraquark now presents theorists with a solid target against which to test their mathematical machinery for approximating the strong force. Honing their approximations represents physicists main hope for understanding how quarks behave inside and outside atomsand for teasing apart the effects of quarks from subtle signs of new fundamental particles that physicists are pursuing.

Quark Cartoon

The bizarre thing about quarks is that physicists can approach them at two levels of complexity. In the 1960s, grappling with a zoo of newly discovered composite particles, they developed the cartoonish quark model, which simply says that quarks glom together in complementary sets of three to make the proton, the neutron, and other baryons, while pairs of quarks make up various types of meson particles.

Gradually, a deeper theory known as quantum chromodynamics (QCD) emerged. It painted the proton as a seething mass of quarks roped together by tangled strings of gluon particles, the carriers of the strong force. Experiments have confirmed many aspects of QCD, but no known mathematical techniques can systematically unravel the theorys central equation.

Somehow, the quark model can stand in for the far more complicated truth, at least when it comes to the menagerie of baryons and mesons discovered in the 20th century. But the model failed to anticipate the fleeting tetraquarks and five-quark pentaquarks that started showing up in the 2000s. These exotic particles surely stem from QCD, but for nearly 20 years, theorists have been stumped as to how.

We just dont know the pattern yet, which is embarrassing, said Eric Braaten, a particle theorist at Ohio State University.

The newest tetraquark sharpens the mystery.

It showed up in the debris of roughly 200 collisions at the LHCb experiment, where protons smash into each other 40 million times each second, giving quarks uncountable opportunities to cavort in all the ways nature permits. Quarks come in six flavors of masses, with heavier quarks appearing more rarely. Each of those 200-odd collisions generated enough energy to make two charm-flavored quarks, which weigh more than the lightweight quarks that comprise protons but less than the gigantic beauty quarks that are LHCbs main quarry. The middleweight charm quarks also got close enough to attract each other and rope in two lightweight antiquarks. Polyakovs analysis suggested that the four quarks banded together for a glorious 12 sextillionths of a second before an energy fluctuation conjured up two extra quarks and the group disintegrated into three mesons.

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'Impossible' Particle Adds a Piece to the Strong Force Puzzle - WIRED

iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-

The Breakthrough Prize Foundation has awarded two eminent Indian American professors with the prestigious New Horizons in Physics Prize.

The New Horizons in Physics Prize is awarded to promising junior researchers who have already produced important work, the prize money for the award is of $100,000. Each year, up to three New Horizons in Physics Prizes are awarded.

The prize is nicknamed the Oscars of Science.

Vedika Khemani, assistant professor of physics at Stanford University, and California Institute of Technology Astronomy Professor, Mansi Kasliwal have each been named recipients of the New Horizons in Physics Prize for the year 2022.

Along with these two, another Indian researcher (and two others) from the University of Cambridge in England was also a recipient of this years prize.

Sir Shankar Balasubramanian, along with David Klenerman and Pascal Mayer in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cambridge, was honored with the Life Sciences prize for developing next-generation sequencing technologies.

His research allowed for immediate identification and characterization of the Covid-19 virus, rapid development of vaccines, and real-time monitoring of new genetic variants.

Though the vaccines developed by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna relied on decades of work by Katalin Karik and Drew Weissman, the almost immediate identification and characterization of the virus, rapid development of vaccines, and real-time monitoring of new genetic variants would have been impossible without the next-generation sequencing technologies invented by Shankar Balasubramanian, David Klenerman and Pascal Mayer, the press release said.

Before their inventions, re-sequencing a full human genome could take many months and cost millions of dollars; today, it can be done within a day at the cost of around $600, states the press release.

Khemanis work offered a theoretical formulation for the first-time crystals, as well as a blueprint for their experimental creation. But she emphasized that time crystals are only one of the exciting potential outcomes of out-of-equilibrium quantum physics, which is still a nascent field, noted Stanford. The researcher described her work as creating a checklist of what actually makes a time crystal a time crystal, and the measurements needed to experimentally establish its existence, both under ideal and realistic conditions.

In the category 2022 New Horizons in Physics Prize, the scientists of Indian origin include Suchitra Sebastian, University of Cambridge, For high precision electronic and magnetic measurements that have profoundly changed our understanding of high-temperature superconductors and unconventional insulators.

Beyond the main prizes, six New Horizons Prizes, each of $100,000, were distributed between 13 early-career scientists and mathematicians who have already made a substantial impact on their fields. In addition, three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes were awarded to early-career women mathematicians.

Some of the top sponsors for this prize are Sergey Brin, co-founder of Google; Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan; Russian-Israeli entrepreneurs and venture capitalists Yuri and Julia Milner; and Anne Wojcicki, CEO of the personal genomics company 23andMe.

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Oscars of Science Prize in Physics awarded to 4 Indian-origin researchers - indica News

Her 'quantum immortality' theory is that we never really die and that we just wake up in a parallel universe whenever you pass on in another - her theories left TikTok followers uneasy

It remains the biggest mystery of life - and when people start sharing their theories on what happens after death, things can get creepy.

TikTok user @joli.artist has left her followers spooked after a recent video she uploaded titled apocalypse...again.

Often known to discuss macabre stuff, Jolis content focuses on things like conspiracy theories and quantum physics.

In her video, she talks about the quantum immortality theory which is American physicist Hugh Everetts many-worlds interpretation.

She goes on to explain the theory that states nobody ever actually dies and that consciousness never experiences death.

Instead, whenever you die in one universe your consciousness just gets transferred into another universe where you survive.

So, for those who may be excited or intrigued about the concept of an apocalypse, sadly, if Everett is correct, youre just going to wake up somewhere else.

She continued: "So after the inevitable apocalypse occurs, you're going to wake up the next day in a new reality, and the next thing you know, you're going to find yourself on Reddit talking about 'since when did Pizza Hut have two Ts?!'

Arguing with people who are native of this new reality, talking about 'it's always had two Ts?'"

This is in reference to the many discussions on internet forums surrounding the Mandela Effect.

For those unaware of the phenomenon, it's when an individual (or, in many cases, a group of people) believe a distorted memory. Common examples are that the Monopoly man wore a monocle or that Curious George had a tail.

It is actually called the Mandela Effect because so many people believe Nelson Mandela died in prison in the 80s when he actually died in 2013.

Joli is implying that in our reality, apocalypses happen every day, which left many users feeling uneasy to say the least.

She continued: You dont believe me? Okay, its been about 65 million years since the asteroids allegedly took out the dinosaurs.

So you mean to tell me that in the last 65 million years, no other asteroids have come through the neighbourhood and taken us out?

"What I'm saying is that Earth is probably always being taken out, and our consciousness just keeps transferred to another parallel universe - and then another one, and another one.

"For all you know the apocalypse probably already happened last night..."

The video so far has got 972 thousand likes, with plenty of uncomfortable comments.

One TikTok user said: The thought of never being able to actually die is extremely depressing and giving me a headache.

Another user said: Youre over here talking about extinction level events and Im having to check on the two Ts in Pizza Hut.

Many users were quick to point out a glitch in the video, and when they watched it a second time, the glitch disappeared. Spooky stuff.

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Woman's 'quantum immortality' theory that 'we never really die' freaks out TikTok users - The Mirror

Scientists in TU Wien in Vienna used a special manufacturing process to bond pure germanium with aluminum that created atomically sharp interfaces, making it suitable for complex applications in quantum technology.

Phys.orgreported that it resulted in a novel nanostructure called monolithic metal-semiconductor-metal heterostructure. It demonstrates that aluminum becomes superconducting and transfers that property to the adjacent semiconductor to control electric fields, processing quantum bits. Researchers noted that one of the advantages of using this approach is enabling germanium-based quantum electronics.

(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)The large series array of Josephson junctions is arranged in a meander. Generation of ultrapure arbitrary waveforms with quantum precision.

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics and engineering. Quantum technology expert Paul Martin definesquantum technology as a class of technology that uses the principles of quantum mechanics or the physics of sub-atomic particles, such as quantum entanglement and quantum superposition.

Humans use quantum technology in nuclear power and smartphones, using semiconductors that employ quantum physics to function. It also promises more reliable navigation and timing systems, secure communications, more accurate healthcare imaging, and more powerful computing.

In a paperpublished in 2020 in the journal Nature Reviews Materials, researchers said that geranium is an emerging versatile material to develop quantum technologies capable of encoding, processing, and transmitting quantum information. They argue that germanium-based systems could be the key building blocks for quantum technology because of their strong spin-orbit coupling and ability to host superconducting correlations.

But Dr. Masiar Sistani from the Institute for Solid State Electronics at TU Wien said it is extremely difficult to produce high-quality electrical contacts when germanium is turned into a nanoscale. So, they looked for a way to manufacture them that would result in a faster and more energy-efficient nanostructure.

ALSO READ: First Simulation of Quantum Devices in Classical Computer Hardware a Success; New Algorithm Could Setup Defining Benchmarks

In the study, titled "Al-Ge-Al Nanowire Heterostructure: From Single-Hole Quantum Dot to Josephson Effect," published in Advanced Materials, researchers found that temperature plays a key role in achieving their goal.

When the nanometer-size germanium and aluminum are brought into contact and heated, their atoms begin to diffuse into neighboring materials in which atoms of germanium move to aluminum and vice versa, Phys.org reported. When they raised the temperature to 350 degrees Celsius, germanium atoms diffused off the edge of the nanowire, creating empty spaces where aluminum could penetrate.

This special manufacturing process forms a perfect single crystal wherein aluminum atoms are arranged in a uniform pattern, as seen under the transmission electron microscope. Not a single atom is disordered in contrast to conventional methods where electrical contacts are applied to a semiconductor.

Researchers were able to show that this monolithic metal-semiconductor heterostructure of germanium and aluminum demonstrates superconductivity in pure germanium for the first time.

More so, Dr. Masiar Sistani said that it shows that this nanostructure can be switched into different operating states using electrical fields, which means the germanium quantum dot can be superconducting and insulating such as the Josephson transistor.

This novel nanostructure combines various advantages for quantum technology, such as high carrier mobility, excellent manipulability, and it fits well with established microelectronics technologies.

RELATED ARTICLE: Direct Communication Network Developed, Secure and Fast Data Transmission in 15 Users Possible with Quantum Technology

Check out more news and information on Quantum Physics in Science Times.

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Novel Electronic Component Made of Germanium Bonded With Aluminum Could Be the Key to Quantum Technology - Science Times

Developer Philipp Stollenmayer has created numerous games that sit on my personal all-time favorites list. From Sometimes You Die, to See/Saw, to Song of Bloom, and yes, even Pancake The Game. So when we learned last month that wed be getting a new Philipp Stollenmayer game called Kitty Q, and that it was going to be entirely free, well I couldnt wait to get my hands on it. That moment came when Kitty Q released this week and, just as I suspected, this is another winner from Philipp Stollenmayer.

Kitty Q is a cute escape room style game based on the Schrdingers cat thought experiment from Nobel Prize-winning physicist Erwin Schrdinger. Basically, if a cat is enclosed in a box with a deadly device that relies on randomness to trigger and kill the kitty, then there comes a point where the cat can both be alive and dead simultaneously under certain interpretations of quantum mechanics. Schrdingers point was that once you open the box and look inside, the cat is either alive or dead, but not both, and so at some point quantum superposition is overwritten by the reality you observe. Or something? Im not smart.

Anyway, all this means for Kitty Q is that youll be solving a number of puzzles from within that very box where Schrdingers cat is living. A very spacious multi-room box, I should add. These puzzles are not only fun to try and figure out, but they will also teach you a number of real-life principles of quantum physics. Yes, you will learn actual science stuff while playing Kitty Q. Youll also find tons of hidden accessories to customize your kitty with, and then you can take a selfie with kitty using your devices camera. So dont worry, its not all learning!

Like I mentioned though, despite its edu-tainment factor, Kitty Q is an enjoyable puzzler on its own, and because its technically a learning tool thats why its completely free with no ads or IAP in sight. This is due to funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, and a collaboration between Stollenmayer and the ct.qmat Cluster of Excellence who are a team of outstanding scientists who explore new challenges and unsolved puzzles" in a particular field. In ct.qmats case that means quantum physics. So stop reading me just talking about it and go play with this half-dead kitty for yourself, its free people!

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Game of the Week: 'Kitty Q' TouchArcade - Touch Arcade

by Holly Evarts|October 14, 2021

Scientists have for the first time documented areas in the deep earth where materials have undergone changes on a subatomic level. There, crushing pressures apparently are bringing about a long hypothesized but until now unproven quantum phase transition called a spin crossover, which affects the magnetic state of a key deep-earth mineral.

The interior of the earth is a mystery, especially at depths greater than about 650 kilometers, or some 400 miles. Researchers have only seismic tomographic images of this region; to interpret them, they need to measure or calculate the velocities of seismic waves passing through minerals in various layers. Direct measurements are challenging and rare but in the last two decades scientists have gotten around this to some degree by making quantum calculations. With these, they can create 3D maps and figure out the mineralogy and temperature of the observed regions. When a phase transition occurs in a mineral, such as a crystal structure change, scientists observe a velocity change, usually a sharp seismic velocity discontinuity.

In 2003, lab scientists observed a novel type of phase change in mineralsa spin change in iron in ferropericlase, the second most abundant component of the earths lower mantle. A spin change, or spin crossover, can happen in minerals like ferropericlase under an external stimulus, such as pressure or temperature. Over the next few years, experimental and theoretical groups confirmed this phase change in both ferropericlase and bridgmanite, the most abundant phase of the lower mantle. But no one was quite sure why or where this was happening.

Columbia Engineering professor Renata Wentzcovitch began investigating this question. Wenzcovitchs research focuses on computational quantum mechanical studies of materials at extreme conditions, in particular planetary materials. In 2006, she published her first paper on ferropericlase, providing a theory for the spin crossover. Her theory suggested it happened across a thousand kilometers in the lower mantle.

Visualization: Nicoletta Barolini/Columbia Engineering

Since then, Wentzcovitch, a professor in Columbias department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics, and the universitys Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, has published 13 papers with her group on the topic. In these, they investigated velocities in every possible situation of the spin crossover in ferropericlase and bridgmanite, and predicted properties of these minerals throughout this crossover. In 2014, they predicted how this spin change could be detected in seismic tomographic images, but seismologists still could not see it.

With a multidisciplinary team from the University of Oslo, the Tokyo Institute of Technology and Intel Co., Wenzcovitchs latest paper, in the journal Nature, details how they have now identified the ferropericlase spin crossover signal deep within the earths lower mantle. They achieved this by looking at specific regions in the mantle where ferropericlase is expected to be abundant.

This exciting finding, which confirms my earlier predictions, illustrates the importance of materials physicists and geophysicists working together to learn more about whats going on deep within the earth and other planets, said Wentzcovitch. Geodynamic simulations have shown that the spin crossover invigorates convection in the earths mantle and tectonic plate motion. So we think that this quantum phenomenon also increases the frequency of tectonic events such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Engineers commonly harness spin transition in materials like those used for magnetic recording. If you stretch or compress just a few nanometer-thick layers of a magnetic material, you can change the layers magnetic properties and improve the mediums recording properties. Wentzcovitchs new study shows that the same phenomenon happens across thousands of kilometers in the planets interior, taking this from the nano- to the macro-scale.

There are still many regions of the mantle researchers do not understand, and [studying] spin state change is critical to further progress, said Wentzcovitch. She is continuing to interpret seismic tomographic maps, and developing more accurate materials simulation techniques to predict seismic velocities and transport properties. In particular, she is looking at regions rich in molten or near-molten iron. Well be able to improve our analyses of 3D tomographic images of the earth and learn more about how the crushing pressures of the [interior] are indirectly affecting our lives above, she said.

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Quantum Phase Transition Is Detected on a Global Scale in the Deep Earth - State of the Planet

Emmanouil Michellis/Alamy

Garry Trethewey

Cherryville, South Australia

The temperature of a substance, whether solid, liquid, gas or plasma, is essentially related to the speed at which its particles are moving in relation to each other. There is an upper limit on speed the speed of light.

Vlatko Vedral

University of Oxford, UK

There are a number of arguments as to why there should be an upper bound on the value of temperature. The simplest is that temperature is related to energy (via Boltzmanns constant). So if we believe that the energy in the universe is finite (a reasonable supposition), then that gives us the highest temperature.

This can be estimated as follows: the mass of the visible universe is about 1054 kilograms. From this, the energy of the universe can be calculated using the equation, E = mc2, where energy (E) equals mass (m) multiplied by the square of the speed of light (c2). Then divide this sum by Boltzmanns constant to get the temperature. This comes out to about 1094 kelvin. While this is a large number, it certainly isnt infinite.

It is possible that neither the lowest nor highest temperature will ultimately have any fundamental significance

The second argument comes from quantum physics and gravity. They imply that there is a smallest possible distance that can be defined in the universe, known as the Planck length. This gives us the highest possible frequency, which when multiplied by the Planck constant gives us the highest possible quantum of energy. If you divide this by Boltzmanns constant, you get a temperature of 1032 kelvin. This is sometimes called the Planck temperature.

Another way of thinking about this concerns the Planck mass, thought to be the highest mass that a hypothetical elementary particle could have. Multiply this by c2 to get the energy of this particle, then divide by Boltzmanns constant and you again get the Planck temperature, 1032 kelvin. This is much smaller than the first estimate I presented, but some cosmological models take it to be the initial temperature of the universe.

However, temperature isnt a fundamental entity. It is really an emergent concept that tells us about the average chaotic kinetic energy of an object. In that sense, it is perfectly possible that neither the lowest nor the highest temperature will ultimately have any fundamental significance. Only time will tell.

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Absolute zero is the lowest temperature but is there an upper limit? - New Scientist

8:0010:00 am

Ian MacCormacksPhDThesisDefense

Thursday, October 28, 2021, 8-10 AM CT

In-person Location: MCP 201

and Via Zoom

PROBING THE SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION OF ENTANGLEMENT IN MANY-BODY QUANTUM SYSTEMS

Entanglement is the most unique and distinguishing feature of quantum mechanics, and is of fundamental importance not only to the theory of quantum information, but to the study of quantum phases of matter. While much work has been done to study the entanglement in the ground states of familiar systems like conformal field theories and gapped topological phases, slightly less attention has been paid to dynamical quantum systems and systems that lack translational invariance.

In this talk, I will first introduce some basic formalism and intuition related to entanglement in many-body quantum systems. I will then discuss an elegant means of calculating entanglement entropy and other measures in strongly interacting CFTs on curved backgrounds via the Ryu/Takyanagi formula. Next, I will introduce a general formula for the calculation of the entanglement contour, a well-behaved entanglement density function. The contour will be shown to be particularly useful for probing the dynamics of out-of-equilibrium quantum systems. With these dynamical systems in mind, I will present results from calculations of multipartite operator entanglement a state-independent entanglement measure in a many-body localized system.

Finally, I will conclude with a brief overview of the possibilities of realizing and probing entangled quantum matter using near-term quantum computers.

Committee Members:

Shinsei Ryu (Chair)

Jeffrey Harvey

Michael Levin

Mark Oreglia

Ian will be joining Menten AI, a startup that uses advanced computing methods to design protein drugs. There, he will be developing and adapting algorithms for near-term quantum computers to aid in the design of complex protein molecules.

Thesis Defense

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Ian MacCormack's PhD Thesis Defense | Department of Physics | The University of Chicago - UChicago News

Scientists have just set a new record for the coldest temperature in a laboratory. By pouring magnetized gas 393 feet (120 metres) down a tower, they produced the bone-chilling temperature of 38 trillionths of a degree above -273.15 Celsius.

The German scientists were interested in the quantum properties of the fifth state of matter: The Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) is a gas derivative that only exists at very low temperatures. In the BEC phase, matter begins to behave like a single gigantic atom, making it an intriguing topic for quantum physicists interested in the mechanics of subatomic particles.

Temperature is a measure of molecular vibration; the higher the aggregate temperature of a set of molecules, the faster they travel. Absolute zero, or minus 459.67 degrees Fahrenheit or -273.15 degrees Celsius, is the temperature at which all molecular motion ends. The Kelvin scale, with 0 Kelvin equal to absolute zero, was developed by scientists as a separate measure for freezing temperatures.

Light changes into a liquid that can be poured into a container, according to research published in the journal Nature Physics in 2017. Supercooled helium no longer feels friction at very low temperatures, according to a 2017 study published in the journal Nature Communications. NASAs Cold Atom Lab has even discovered atoms that are in two places at the exact moment.

Scientists used a magnetic field to trap a cloud of 100,000 gaseous rubidium atoms inside a vacuum container during the experiment. The chamber was then refrigerated to 2 billionths of a degree Celsius above absolute zero, which would have been a world record in and of itself.

However, to get much colder, the scientists needed to simulate deep-space conditions. So the crew travelled to the European Space Agencys Bremen drop tower, a microgravity research facility at the University of Bremen in Germany.

The rubidium atoms molecular speed was decreased next to nothing by dropping the vacuum chamber and rapidly switching the magnetic field on and off, allowing the BEC to float free of gravity. According to the study, the resulting BEC lasted around 38 picokelvins 38 trillionths of a Kelvin for about 2 seconds, creating an absolute minus record.

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado, used specialised lasers to establish the previous record of 36 millionths of a Kelvin.

The Boomerang Nebula, 5,000 light-years from Earth, is the coldest known natural area in the universe. According to the European Space Agency, its average temperature is -272 C (approximately 1 Kelvin).

According to the new studys authors, they could sustain this temperature for up to 17 seconds in absolutely weightless environments, such as space. Freezing temperatures, according to MIT specialists, may help scientists in the construction of more powerful quantum computers.

More details can be found here.

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These Physicists Have Broken The Record For The Coldest Temperature Ever Measured In A Lab - Wonderful Engineering