(Phys.org) Researchers have found a way to protect highly fragile quantum systems from noise, which could aid in the design and development of new quantum devices, such as ultra-powerful quantum computers.
The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, have shown that microscopic particles can remain intrinsically linked, or entangled, over long distances even if there are random disruptions between them. Using the mathematics of quantum theory, they discovered a simple setup where entangled particles can be prepared and stabilized even in the presence of noise by taking advantage of a previously unknown symmetry in quantum systems.
Dutta and his co-author Professor Nigel Cooper have discovered a robust quantum system where multiple pairs of qubits remain entangled even with a lot of noise. We weren’t expecting this stabilized type of entanglement at all,” said Dutta. “We stumbled upon this hidden symmetry, which is very rare in these noisy systems.”
“Uncontrolled environmental disturbances are bad for survival of quantum effects like entanglement, but one can learn a lot by deliberately engineering specific types of disturbances and seeing how the particles respond,” said Dutta. “We’ve shown that a simple form of disturbance can actually produce—and preserve—many entangled pairs, which is a great incentive for experimental developments in this field.”
Hidden Symmetry Could Be Key to More Robust Quantum Systems, UofCambridge Researchers Find
