More efficient quantum computers thanks to… anyone!

A team of researchers from Brown University has shown a new method for probing the properties of strange quasiparticles called whatever, which could be useful in future quantum computers. While other methods probe these particles using electric charge, the new method adopted by a team of scientists, based on the observation of heat conduction, allows researchers to probe anybody even in non-conductive materials. This is critical, the researchers say, because non-conducting systems have much less stringent temperature requirements, making them a more practical option for quantum computing.

According to Dima Feldman, professor of physics at Brown and co-author of the study “We have several ways to probe anyons using charge, but the question has been how to detect them in insulating systems which would be useful in what is known as topological quantum computation ". “We have shown that it can be done using thermal conductance. The qualunquons are interesting because they do not follow the same rules as the other particles: bosons and fermions.



The qualunquons emerge only in systems that are confined to two dimensions, moreover they keep memory of their interactions with anyone else. This memory of past interactions can be used to encode information efficiently, which is why particles are interesting tools for quantum computing.

Quantum computers promise to perform certain types of computations that are virtually impossible to computers today. A quantum computer using anyons, known as a topological quantum computer, has the potential to operate without elaborate error correction, which is a major obstacle in the search for usable quantum computers.

But the use of anybody for the calculation requires first being able to identify these particles. Last year, researchers did this for the first time using a technique known as charge interferometry. Essentially, the indifferent people moved around each other, causing their wave functions to interfere with each other. The Interference Model Reveals Quantum Statistics of Particles.

This technique of probing anyone using charge works beautifully in systems that conduct electricity, but cannot be used to probe anyone in non-conducting systems. And non-conductive systems are potentially useful at higher temperatures than conductive systems, which must be close to absolute zero. This makes them a more practical option for topological quantum computation. Ultimately, the researchers hope that the study is a step towards understanding the possibility that the strange behavior of anyone can actually be exploited for topological quantum computation.