In a collaboration between the physics departments at the University and the University of Chicago, researchers have advanced a theoretical proposal in quantum physics that could lead to breakthroughs in quantum entanglement.
Quantum entanglement is when two particles become linked so that the state of one instantly affects the state of the other, no matter how far apart they are. Entanglement remains extremely fragile, making it difficult to preserve for an extended period without something to stabilize the reaction. Stabilizers protect and maintain the connection between the particles that have undergone entanglement.
“It’s important to generate quantum entanglement, but actually preserving the entanglement is another problem,” said Abdullah Irfan, graduate student studying physics at the University who helped spearhead this research. “You need to find a way to actually stabilize it or keep it entangled for a longer amount of time. And that’s something we worked on.”
Irfan and his team have begun experiments in the Illinois Materials Research Laboratory and Engineering Sciences Building on the University campus to develop their proposal. Right now, it has applications solely for fundamental physics and not industry or engineering.
Typically, quantum systems set up in a lab are protected from interference from the surrounding environment. In this recent proposal, researchers attempt to use the environment to stabilize the reaction.
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“The protocol that we’re working on is a bit different,” Irfan said. “It’s called entanglement stabilization because you’re allowing it to interact with the environment, but you do it in such a way that you want to use the environment to your benefit. So you’re using the environment of the quantum system to stabilize the quantum system.”
In their experiments, researchers have developed a prototype to create quantum entanglement between two superconducting circuits — electrical circuits made from superconducting materials — which exhibit zero electrical resistance when cooled below a critical temperature. Following the creation of entanglement, researchers move the prototype into a dilution fridge that can reach temperatures close to absolute zero, cooling circuits down to around 10 millikelvin — a number close to but not equalling absolute zero.
The research was published on Aug. 23 through a collaboration between University assistant professor Wolfgang Pfaff, University of Chicago professor Aashish Clerk and their teams of graduate students.
Despite the complexity of the current experiments, the researchers remain optimistic that they will be able to implement their protocol soon.
“Where we can actually implement the protocol that shouldn’t be too far away in the future,” Irfan said. “The first step is to actually experimentally show that this works.”
