Once more Innsbruck physicists go beyond the limits of what is currently possible in quantum computation

Quantum physicists from the University of Innsbruck have set another world record: They have achieved controlled entanglement of 14 quantum bits (qubits) and, thus, realized the largest quantum register that has ever been produced. With this experiment the scientists have not only come closer to the realization of a quantum computer but they also show surprising results for the quantum mechanical phenomenon of entanglement.

Austrian researchers realize a toolbox for open-system quantum simulation

Experimental physicists have put a lot of effort in isolating sensitive measurements from the disruptive influences of the environment. In an international first, Austrian quantum physicists have realized a toolbox of elementary building blocks for an open-system quantum simulator, where a controlled coupling to an environment is used in a beneficial way. This offers novel prospects for studying the behavior of highly complex quantum systems. The researchers have published their work in the scientific journal Nature.

The Innsbruck research group led by physicist Rainer Blatt suggests a fundamentally new architecture for quantum computation. In an international first, they have experimentally demonstrated quantum antennae, which enable the exchange of quantum information between two separate memory cells located on a computer chip. This offers new opportunities to build practical quantum computers. The researchers have published their work in the scientific journal Nature.

In an experiment carried out in 2009, our group has performed a quantum simulation of the Dirac equation using a single trapped ion and observed so called Zitterbewegung, a peculiar quivering motion of free relativistic quantum particles predicted by the Dirac equation. In a recent experiment we have implemented a more sophisticated quantum simulation, which made it possible to observe another counter-intuitive prediction of the Dirac equation: the Klein paradox.

The entanglement of quantum objects can take surprising forms. The quantum physicists at the University of Innsbruck, Prof. Rainer Blatt and Dr. Julio Barreiro, have investigated several facets of entanglement in four trapped ions and report their results in the journal Nature Physics. Their study promotes further developments towards quantum computing and a deeper understanding of the foundations of quantum mechanics.

In a recent experiment, our group has performed a quantum simulation of the Dirac equation using a single trapped ion and observed so called Zitterbewegung, a peculiar quivering motion of free relativistic quantum particles predicted by the Dirac equation.

Testing hidden-variable theories of quantum physics using trapped ions