Scientists recreate a bizarre quantum effect that stops a particle cold
Oxford physicists have recreated a bizarre quantum effect in which a particle responds to a magnetic field without ever traveling through it.
Oxford physicists have recreated a bizarre quantum effect in which a particle responds to a magnetic field without ever traveling through it.
The short version
- Using a hybrid quantum computer, they demonstrated how introducing a simulated magnetic flux could completely halt a particle's movement through quantum interference.
- The experiment brings a decades-old prediction into a new setting where matter and quantum fields influence one another.
- A particle does not have to pass through a magnetic field to be influenced by it.
What happened
That surprising feature of quantum physics has now been recreated by researchers at the University of Oxford, who used a hybrid quantum computer to demonstrate how an invisible magnetic influence can bring a simulated particle's movement to a complete stop. The Oxford team achieved this using a quantum system that combines qubits, the basic units of quantum information, with quantum oscillators, which represent vibrating motion.
Why it matters
Their findings, published in Nature Physics , demonstrate how this combination could help scientists investigate fundamental interactions between matter and fields that are increasingly difficult to simulate using conventional computers.
Summary by Nerd News Network. Read the full article at ScienceDaily — Top Science via the links above and below.