More than one way to make a qubit

Scientists are exploring a variety of ways to make quantum bits. We may not need to settle on a single one.

From bits to qubits

Symmetry feature

Quantum computers go beyond the binary.

SQMS researchers discover performance-limiting nanohydrides in superconducting qubits

Fermilab feature

Scientists at the Fermilab-led Superconducting Quantum Materials and Systems Center have discovered that nanohydrides, variants of an imperfection found in advanced superconducting materials for particle accelerators, also affect industrially produced superconducting qubits.

A Quantum Bit That Can Search for Dark Matter

From Pioneering Minds, April 20, 2021: Qubits will help advance the search for dark matter, as co-authored in a paper by Fermilab’s Aaron Chou.

The blue cylinder in this diagram represents a superconducting microwave cavity used to accumulate a dark matter signal. The purple is the qubit used to measure the state of the cavity, either 0 or 1. The value refers to the number of photons counted. If the dark matter has successfully deposited a photon in the cavity, the output would measure 1. No deposition of a photon would measure 0. Image: Akash Dixit, University of Chicago

Sensitive qubit-based technique to accelerate search for dark matter

Fermilab feature

Quantum bits acting as particle detectors offer a fast and highly reliable means of solving one of the great mysteries in physics: the nature of dark matter. This new method promises a more efficient way to detect dark matter candidates by improving the experimental signal-to-noise ratio.

New amplification algorithms expand the utility of quantum computers to handle non-Boolean scenarios, allowing for an extended range of values to characterize individual records, such as the scores assigned to each disk in the output superposition above. Illustration: Prasanth Shyamsundar

New computing algorithms expand the boundaries of a quantum future

Fermilab feature

To fully realize the potential of quantum computing, scientists must start with the basics: developing step-by-step procedures, or algorithms, for quantum computers to perform simple tasks. A Fermilab scientist has done just that, announcing two new algorithms that build upon existing work in the field to further diversify the types of problems quantum computers can solve.

New distance record for quantum teleportation

From TicinOnline (Switzerland), March 31, 2021: Fermilab’s Panagiotis Spentzouris and a team of scientists were able to transfer two qubits for the first time, according to an article published in the American Physical Society’s journal PRX Quantum.

La NASA consiguió la teletransportación cuántica a larga distancia

From Diario Libre, Feb. 24, 2021: Fermilab and partners achieve quantum teleportation over 22 kilometers. Further development of quantum teleportation would allow the development of a high-fidelity and high-speed quantum internet.

Quantum teleportation makes progress, but toward what?

From Data Center Knowledge, Feb. 3, 2021: That Fermilab and partners achieved sustained, high-fidelity quantum teleportation has big implications in many fields. Fermilab scientist, Panagiotis Spentzouris talks about what the results could mean for the future of data centers.

Beam me up? The paradoxes and potential of human teleportation

From Big Think, Jan. 10, 2021: The quantum breakthrough Fermilab and its partners made in teleporting qubits over a fiber-optic network more than 27 miles highlights how close — and how far — modern science is from sci fi.