A team of physicists has created a video using just 2,024 rubidium atoms, showcasing a major advance in manipulating matter at the quantum level.<\/p>\n
It has been described as \u201cthe world\u2019s smallest cat video\u201d that depicts the famous Schr\u00f6dinger\u2019s cat thought experiment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The quantum cat thought experiment, proposed by physicist Erwin Schr\u00f6dinger in 1929, is a paradox designed to illustrate the bizarre concept of superposition, where a particle or object can exist in multiple states simultaneously.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the thought experiment, a cat<\/a> in a sealed box is simultaneously dead and alive until the box is opened and its state is observed.<\/p>\n The new video brings this abstract idea to life, with atoms shifting to form images corresponding to the key moments of the experiment.<\/p>\n The researchers, from the University of Science and Technology of China, Shanghai, detailed this in a recent study.<\/p>\n Use of machine learning <\/p>\n In the video<\/a>, each yellow dot represents a single rubidium atom moved within a 230-micron-wide array. <\/p>\n The atoms\u2019 positions are tracked by detecting the light they give off, or fluoresce, when a laser moves them.<\/p>\n The video development depended on machine learning algorithms and optical tweezers.<\/p>\n Focused laser beams, or optical tweezers, work like \u201cmini-tractor beams\u201d to precisely move and arrange 2,024 rubidium atoms. The AI model performs real-time calculations to determine the best laser positions for moving all the atoms to their correct spots.<\/p>\n \u201cWe propose an AI-enabled, rapid, constant-time-overhead rearrangement protocol, and we experimentally assemble defect-free 2D and 3D atom arrays with up to 2024 atoms with a constant-time cost of 60 ms,\u201d the researchers noted in the study paper.\u00a0<\/p>\n Using real-time calculations, the AI model creates holograms that direct a high-speed modulator to move all the atoms simultaneously.<\/p>\n Reportedly,<\/a> this development overcomes a major bottleneck in neutral-atom quantum computing, where individual atoms were traditionally moved one by one, a time-consuming process that hindered scaling.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new method is incredibly fast, with the entire rearrangement taking a fraction of a second\u2014just 60 milliseconds.\u00a0<\/p>\n To make the video viewable, the glowing atoms\u2019 movement is slowed by a factor of 33.\u00a0<\/p>\n Advancing quantum computers <\/p>\n The South China Morning Post<\/a> reported that the system demonstrated impressive accuracy, achieving 99.97% for single-qubit operations, 99.5% for two-qubit operations, and 99.92% for detecting the state of qubits.<\/p>\n The method is highly scalable because the time it takes to rearrange the atoms remains constant, even as the size of the array increases.<\/p>\n This technique goes beyond being a simple demonstration. Building the next generation of quantum<\/a> computers depends on the ability to quickly and reliably assemble these arrays of atoms.<\/p>\n Compared to classical computers that use bits (0s and 1s), quantum computers use qubits, which can simultaneously be 0, 1, or both. These qubits, however, are extremely \u201cfragile.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis protocol can be readily used to generate defect-free arrays of tens of thousands of atoms with current technologies and become a useful toolbox for quantum error correction,\u201d the team wrote in the paper.<\/p>\n