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In a major development for the future of quantum computing, researchers in the Macroscopic Quantum Matter Group Laboratory at University College Cork (UCC) have made a revolutionary discovery using one of the most powerful quantum microscopes in the world. The team has identified a spatially modulated superconducting state in a new and unusual superconductor, uranium ditelluride (UTe2), that could solve one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing.
The power of superconductors
Superconductors are materials that allow electricity to flow with zero resistance, meaning they do not dissipate energy despite carrying large currents. This is possible because instead of individual electrons moving through the metal, pairs of electrons bind together in a macroscopic quantum mechanical fluid.
Lead author of the paper, Joe Carroll, a PhD researcher working with UCC Professor of Quantum Physics Seamus Davies, explains: “Our team discovered that some of the electron pairs form a new crystal structure embedded in this background liquid. These types of states were first discovered by our group in 2016 and are now called electron pair-density waves. These pairs of density waves are a new form of superconducting matter whose properties we are yet to discover.
A new type of superconductor
What makes UTe2 particularly exciting is that it appears to be a new type of superconductor. The electron pairs in UTe2 appear to have intrinsic angular momentum. If this is true, then the UCC team has discovered the first pair-density wave made up of these exotic pairs of electrons.
Carroll explains: “What is particularly exciting for us and the wider community is that UTe2 appears to be a new type of superconductor. Physicists have been looking for such material for almost 40 years.”
Implications for quantum computing
Quantum computers rely on quantum bits or qubits to store and manipulate information. However, the quantum state of these qubits is easily destroyed, which limits the use of quantum computers.
However, UTe2 is a special type of superconductor that could have enormous implications for quantum computing. It can be used as a basis for topological quantum computing, where there is no limit to the qubit lifetime during the computation. This could open many new avenues for more stable and useful quantum computers.
Carroll explains, “There are indications that UTe2 is a special type of superconductor that could have huge implications for quantum computing… In such materials, the qubit lifetime is not limited during computation, opening up many new avenues for more stable and useful quantum computing. computers.”
The discovery of the UCC team provides another piece of the UTe2 puzzle. Understanding the fundamental superconducting properties of materials such as UTe2 is critical to the development of practical quantum computers. Carroll concludes: “What we found then provides another piece to the UTe2 puzzle. To develop applications using such materials, we need to understand their fundamental superconducting properties. All modern science moves in stages. We are excited to have contributed to the understanding of the material that will bring us closer to practical quantum computers.
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