Phys.org September 6, 2024 Standard approaches to quantum error correction for fault-tolerant quantum computing result in asymptotically zero encoding rates and huge resource overheads. Researchers in Japan proposed concatenated high-rate small-size quantum error-detecting codes as a family of high-rate quantum codes. Their structure allowed for a geometrical interpretation using hypercubes corresponding to logical qubits. Using their method of many-hypercube codes they realized both high rates, e.g., 30% (64 logical qubits are encoded into 216 physical ones), and parallelizability of logical gates. Developing dedicated decoder and encoders, achieved high error thresholds even in a circuit-level noise model. According to the researchers […]
Novel glass-forming liquid electrolyte shows glass transition across broad range
Phys.org September 4, 2024 Recently new ionic fluids such as super-concentrated electrolyte solutions, solvate ionic liquids and deep eutectic solvents have attracted much attention in the field of liquid electrolytes for next-generation electrochemical devices and processes. The basic composition of these new ionic fluids is similar among them; a solvent and a large/excess amount of salt mixtures, though the solvent is sometimes a solid at ambient temperatures. Researchers in Japan found and demonstrated that LiTFSA (TFSA = (CF3SO2)2N−) mixtures with 1,3-propane sultone (PS) or tetrahydrothiophene-1,1-dioxide (SL) yielded a homogeneous liquid at room temperature within a wide range of compositions. In […]
Optoelectronic diamond device reveals an unexpected phenomenon reminiscent of lightning in slow motion
Phys.org September 4, 2024 Establishing connections between material impurities and charge transport properties in emerging electronic and quantum materials requires new diagnostic methods tailored to these unique systems. Many such materials host optically-active defect centers which offer a powerful in situ characterization system, but one that typically relies on the weak spin-electric field coupling to measure electronic phenomena. An international team of researchers (Australia, USA – CUNY-The City College of New York) combined charge-state sensitive optical microscopy with photoelectric detection of an array of nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers to directly image the flow of charge carriers inside a diamond optoelectronic device. […]
Researchers make sound waves travel in one direction only, with implications for electromagnetic wave technology
Phys.org September 6, 2024 Breaking the reciprocity of wave propagation is a problem of fundamental interest, and a much-sought functionality in practical applications, both in photonics and phononics. Although it has been achieved using resonant linear scattering from cavities with broken time-reversal symmetry, such realizations have remained inescapably plagued by inherent passivity constraints, which make absorption losses unavoidable, leading to stringent limitations in transmitted power. Researchers in Switzerland solved this problem by converting the cavity resonance into a limit cycle, exploiting the uncharted interplay between non-linearity, gain, and non-reciprocity. Strong enough incident waves could synchronize with these self-sustained oscillations and […]
Scientists uncover hidden source of snow melt: Dark brown carbon
Phys.org September 6, 2024 Deposition of wildfire smoke on snow contributes to its darkening and accelerated snowmelt. Recent field studies have identified dark brown carbon (d-BrC) to contribute 50–75% of shortwave absorption in wildfire smoke. d-BrC is a distinct class of water-insoluble, light-absorbing organic carbon that co-exists in abundance with black carbon (BC) in snow across the world. However, the importance of d-BrC as a snow warming agent relative to BC remains unexplored. Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis addressed this gap using aerosol-snow radiative transfer calculations on datasets from laboratory and field measurement and showed that d-BrC increased […]
Sweeping global study charts a path forward for climate-resilient agriculture
Phys.org September 9, 2024 Agriculture’s global environmental impacts are widely expected to continue expanding, driven by population and economic growth and dietary changes. In their review an international team of researchers (USA – University of Minnesota, Cornell University, UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, The Nature Conservancy, MN, World Resources Institute, Columbia University, Stanford, Scotland, Denmark, Italy, UK) highlighted climate change as an additional amplifier of agriculture’s environmental impacts, by reducing agricultural productivity and efficiency of agrochemicals, increasing soil erosion, accelerating the growth and expanding the range of crop diseases and pests, and increasing land clearing. They identified multiple pathways through […]
Top 10 Science and Technology Inventions for the Week of September 6, 2024
01. Entangled photon pairs enable hidden image encoding 02. A device to sort photon states could be useful for quantum optical computer circuits 03. Higher-order topological simulation unlocks new potential in quantum computers 04. On the way to optical logic gates: Study demonstrates the basics for purely optical processing of information 05. Creating an ‘imprint’ on a super photon 06. Researchers create entangled quantum magnets with protected quantum excitations 07. Chemists create gel to prevent leaks and boost lithium-ion battery life 08. Enhancing microbe memory to better upcycle excess CO₂ 09. Geophysicist’s method could give months’ warning of major earthquakes […]
Chemists create gel to prevent leaks and boost lithium-ion battery life
Phys.org September 2, 2024 A key impediment for lithium battery technologies is the utilization of flammable organic solvent-based electrolytes which pose significant safety risks, and the recyclability of batteries has not reached the level required for transitioning to a circular economy. Researchers in Germany described poly(ionic liquid)-based dual network gel electrolytes as safer and sustainable alternative materials. The materials employed both, dynamic and covalent crosslinking, allowing the fabrication of mechanically stable gels with a high content (up to 65 wt%) of ionic liquid/salt both via thermal and photo polymerization. Mechanical stability, combined with enhanced ionic conductivity was achieved via the […]
Creating an ‘imprint’ on a super photon
Phys.org September 2, 2024 Thermalization of radiation by contact to matter is a well-known concept, but the application of thermodynamic methods to complex quantum states of light remains a challenge. Researchers in Germany observed Bose-Einstein condensation of photons into the hybridized ground state of a coupled four-site ring potential. They realized the periodically closed ring lattice superimposed by a weak harmonic trap for photons inside a spatially structured dye-filled microcavity. Photons thermalized to room temperature, and above a critical photon number macroscopically occupied the symmetric linear combination of the site eigenstates with zero phase winding, which constituted the ground state […]
A device to sort photon states could be useful for quantum optical computer circuits
Phys.org September 2, 2024 A quantum emitter interacting with photons in a single optical mode constitutes a one-dimensional atom. A coherent and efficiently coupled one-dimensional atom provides a large nonlinearity, enabling photonic quantum gates. Achieving a high coupling efficiency ( factor) and low dephasing is challenging. An international team of researchers (Switzerland, Germany) used a semiconductor quantum dot in an open microcavity as an implementation of a one-dimensional atom. With a weak laser input, they achieved an extinction of 99.2% in transmission and a concomitant bunching in the photon statistics, showcasing the reflection of the single-photon component and the transmission […]