Category Archives: Quantum Physics
Valuable contributor to society – The Tribune India
Tibetan spiritual leaderThe Dalai Lama
On the 140th anniversary of the founding of The Tribune, I am glad to have this opportunity to share some of my thoughts with your readers. I am pleased to learn that the newspaper was established because its founder understood the importance of educating the Indian community and saw the role that education could play in sustaining a sense of national identity when India was under British rule.
I generally say that the media plays an important part in ensuring that people can see every development in society from a broader perspective. I have even jokingly said on occasion that those in the media should have long noses like elephants, so that they can smell, and then expose, both the good and the bad.
Yet, while doing its job, the media should always be honest and fair, and remain unbiased in its news reporting. The fact that this newspaper has been in existence since 1881 is an indication that it is making a valuable contribution to society.
As the longest staying guest of India, I have been able to observe developments in this country quite closely. It is admirable that India has, in general, been able to maintain her robust democratic stability since Independence.
It is also wonderful that the country, despite many challenges, is growing at a rapid rate. There is, however, one area in which I would like, if I may, to offer some encouragement. That is in reviving interest in Indias ancient wisdom, especially in relation to such principles as ahimsa and karuna, non-violence and compassion. If we can develop such values, we can make a tremendous contribution not just to India but also to the entire world.
Over 61 years ago, I had to leave my homeland of Tibet to seek shelter and freedom in India. Since then, I have had the chance to interact with religious leaders, scholars and scientists from around the world. As I have a strong personal interest in quantum physics, I have particularly enjoyed my discussions with scientists in that field, including Indias own Dr Raja Ramanna. It was he who once explained to me that though quantum physics is comparatively new in the West, the science behind it corresponds closely to what Indian Buddhist master Nagarjuna was writing about centuries ago. Even in the modern world, ancient wisdom has much to offer.
After Buddhism came to Tibet in the seventh century, we were able to preserve it even while it was declining in India. The religious aspects of Buddhism may be of relevance only to Buddhists, but I really feel that Buddhist science-including the science of mind-and Buddhist culture (based around compassion and non-violence) can be of great importance to the whole world, and even to those who do not practise Buddhism or follow any religion.
When we arrived here in 1959, the Indian government generously provided us with the space in which to train Tibetan students of all ages, and also several thousand Tibetan monks. Through them we have kept alive what is essentially ancient Indian wisdom and continued a tradition that is more than a thousand years old.
We Tibetans and I personally are profoundly grateful to India for not only coming to our aid during our current crisis, but also for providing us with spiritual knowledge that has benefited our people greatly over several centuries. I am convinced that the rich ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind and emotions, as well as Indian techniques of mental training, such as meditation, are of great relevance to todays world.
To share and sustain this great Indian tradition is my essential commitment, along with the promotion of human values, the promotion of religious harmony and the preservation of Tibetan culture.
Today, I invite my Indian brothers and sisters to join me in this effort. Since India has a long history of logic and reasoning, I am confident that its ancient knowledge, viewed from a secular perspective, can be combined with modern education. India is, in fact, unusually well-placed to promote this combination of ancient and modern forms of knowledge so that a more integrated and ethically grounded way of being in the world can be cultivated in the twenty-first century. In essence, there is the need for education of the brain as well as for the development of warm-heartedness.
People need such qualities as non-violence and compassion if they are to live happily together. These principles not only make logical sense, but are also of immediate practical benefit, whether you are a religious person or not. I have no doubt that if people paid more attention to compassion and non-violence in their day-to-day lives, the world would be a better place.
Just as many of us work to protect our physical hygiene, I believe we need to cultivate emotional hygiene. We must learn how to deal with anger, anxiety and fear and reduce them all. The key is learning how to cultivate peace of mind.
Ultimately, the source of peace and happiness is warm-heartedness. That is something within us. We cannot buy it or find it in a machine. We have to cultivate it inside ourselves. We must combine our intelligence with warm-heartedness. In that way, we can find happiness, for ourselves and for those around us.
I truly believe that India is the only country that can combine modern education with the ancient Indian understanding of the workings of the mind, and that the whole world urgently needs this. If we all work together, we can make a fresh Indian contribution to the welfare of the entire planet.
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A Zoom with a view: Wintersession offers a virtual journey from the kitchen to Hollywood – Princeton University
Princeton University President Christopher L. Eisgruber knows how to fry an egg.
President Christopher L. Eisgruber leads the online workshop "How to Fry an Egg: Simple Cooking for Fun, Friends and Yourself" during the University's inaugural Wintersession, a vibrant, virtual two-week experience featuring more than 300 workshops and events led by faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Photo by Pranav A. Avva, Class of 2024
On Jan. 26, working from his home kitchen, Eisgruber taught 13 undergraduates his culinary secrets during How to Fry an Egg: Simple Cooking for Fun, Friends and Yourself, a two-hour online workshop that was part of the Universitys inaugural Wintersession, held from Jan. 18-31.
It was great to see the students.I had fun, and I hope that they did, too, Eisgruber said. I have new admiration for anyone who leads a cooking class:its not easy to teach and mind a hot stove at the same time!"
The mission of Wintersession is to bring the Princeton University community together for a vibrant, two-week experience that offers unexpected, active and intriguing non-graded learning and growth opportunities, said Judy Jarvis, director of Wintersession and campus engagement.
From "Start Your Podcast Engine" and "Ukulele for Beginners" to the closing keynote, Beyond the Resume with Jonathan Van Ness the television personality, podcaster and celebrity hairstylist who stars on Netflixs series Queer Eye programming featured more than 300 workshops and events. Most sessions were led by members of the University community eager to share their skills and passions.
Nearly 70 hands-on workshops taught by Princeton, Trenton and Philadelphia artists and Campus Recreation fitness instructors were added in December to support returning students confined to their sleeping spaces during the arrival quarantine period.
Close to 2,700 students, faculty and staff registered for the wide range of the offerings with most students signing up for three or four events. Highlights included:
Tracy K. Smith (upper right), the Roger S. Berlind 52 Professor in the Humanities, professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts and chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts, engages in a lively conversation with renowned poets Danez Smith (upper left) and Jericho Brown during one of 24 evening talks.
Photo courtesy of the Office of Wintersession and Campus Engagement
A series of 24 evening events included To Be Known and Heard: Systemic Racism and Princeton University; Life and Leadership, a talk with Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, moderated by Professor of History Kevin Kruse; renowned poets Jericho Brown and Danez Smith in conversation with Tracy K. Smith, the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor in the Humanities, professor of creative writing in the Lewis Center for the Arts and chair of the Lewis Center for the Arts; and a two-part session featuring alumni in politics, with the first night moderated by Mickey Edwards, visiting lecturer in public and international affairs.
Winterfest, a virtual arts showcase held Jan. 23, featured performances and conversations by students, alumni and guest artists. Pictured (clockwise from upper left): Abe Joshua, Class of 2021; Jessica Bailey, program coordinator-arts, Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Students; guest music artist Louis Futon; and Malachi "MalPractice Byrd, a 2020 alumnus.
While Wintersession was originally planned to be held in person, the pivot to a virtual format presented some unexpected opportunities. The silver lining has been that students, faculty and staff have been able to connect with each other from wherever they are, and the workshops are able to accommodate a lot of people, Jarvis said. I have been thrilled with all of our faculty and alumni partnerships, especially for our evening events. I think it bodes really well for future fabulous Wintersessions!
Following is a peek into an art workshop in which participants created a personal healing bowl and a behind-the-scenes event featuring alumni who work in Hollywood.
From 2005-07, Hope VanCleaf, the communications assistant in the Lewis Center for the Arts, ran six-week workshops at the YWCA's Breast Cancer Resource Center for women living through all stages of breast cancer, instructing them how to use art as a tool of expression.
She adapted one of the projects from that series for her two-day Wintersession workshop Healing Through Creativity, designed to invite anyone in need without exception to find healing and empowerment through art making.Every participant explored their own creative self by making a healing bowl.
There is some level of stress, anxiety and fear that inhabits all of us which needs releasing, said VanCleaf, a photographer, multi-media artist, instructor, storyteller and founder of Creative Fingerprint. Working on the healing bowl becomes the cathartic release of stress, anxiety and fear through physical contact with the materials used in the journey.
She sent each of the participants seven undergraduates and two graduate students a package of art materials, including a gessoed papier-mch bowl that she had pre-made herself, assorted acrylic paints, gloss and matte gels, a paintbrush set, an assortment of metallic foil and tissue paper squares, acrylic gems, glitter, glue, disposable paint trays and a journal.
Hope VanCleaf, the communications assistant in the Lewis Center for the Arts, led the two-day workshop "Healing Through Creativity," in which participants made "healing bowls." VanCleaf sent them a package of art materials, including a gessoed papier-mch bowl that she had pre-made herself, and a journal in which to capture the experience.
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
A close-up view of the gessoed papier-mch bowl that workshop leader Hope VanCleaf pre-made for the participants. There is some level of stress, anxiety and fear that inhabits all of us which needs releasing, said VanCleaf, a photographer, multimedia artist, instructor, storyteller and founder of Creative Fingerprint. Working on the healing bowl becomes the cathartic release of stress, anxiety and fear through physical contact with the materials used in the journey.
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
One participant reflected in her journal: "The four colors I used on my bowl represent my family my mom, two older brothers and myself. These colors are colors that we each like and also relate to our personalities."
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
The inside of one participant's "healing bowl." In her journal she wrote: "I painted a moon scene inspired by the song "moonchild" by RM. The song explores light and hope in shadows, similar to my own character and journey throughout. The colors of red, purple and blue show contrasts between various reflections and silhouettes of my own decisions, choices and actions."
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
One participant described the tree on her bowl in her journal: I now had something that grew. The last thing I needed was something strong and sturdy, so I added purple twirling roots to my tree As I painted my bowl and shaped my tree and put down my roots, I thought about some of the moments that Ive experienced."
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
One participant who used colors to represent her family members wrote in her journal: "Inside the bowl, I chose a spiral design (1) because it's a nice design and (2) because, due to COVID-19, life has gone into a spiral! The virus has affected everyone's lives, but even so, my family remains close and connected like the colors in the spiral."
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
One participant reflected on why she chose this workshop: "I took this class on a whim because it looked accessible even though I don't have much background in art. ... I am generally very interested in how our bodies, minds and souls interact and I think this workshop works to tease out that connection and bring them into sync by making the internal external."
Photo courtesy of Hope VanCleaf, Lewis Center for the Arts
While VanCleaf was initially concerned about the virtual format, she witnessed in awe and amazement how each participant transformed the Zoom environment into their own private studio as they focused entirely on their own creative journey.
The students were asked to capture the experience in their own words using the journals they received.
One student wrote: Towards the end of my senior year of high school there were some moments that knocked me down. So when I received my bowl, I knew I wanted it to be strong and sturdy, something that grew and something that was beautiful.
After painting a sky on the outside of her bowl, she wrapped pieces of aluminum foil together to form the trunk and branches of a tree.
She wrote: I now had something that grew. The last thing I needed was something strong and sturdy, so I added purple twirling roots to my tree As I painted my bowl and shaped my tree and put down my roots, I thought about some of the moments that Ive experienced. Those are moments that I will always go back to and that I will always remember, moments that have rewritten the world that I live in. But there are also moments ahead of me that Im learning to still reach for and grow towards. I hope that my roots will ground me so that I may continue to grow into the sky.
How do you get your foot in the door in Hollywood? In this two-part career seminar, participants got to rub virtual elbows with an A-list of film and television producers, screenwriters, showrunners and actors who hopped on Zoom from their homes in Los Angeles and New York.
"Our vision for the seminar was to provide participants the opportunity to hear from, and connect with, their fellow Tigers working in entertainment, said Angel Gardner, associate director, external affairs, in the Lewis Center for the Arts.We had an amazing group of alumni volunteers who participated as panelists on the first day. They shared their career journeys honestly, providing candid and sometimes surprising insights into the realities of working in the business. Day two was more focused, with workshops led by alumni that introduced participants to specific careers within the industry.
More than 100 students and members of the University community tuned in to day one a lively conversation moderated by Matt Iseman, a 1993 alumnus, television personality, host of NBCs American Ninja Warrior and A&Es Live Rescue and the 2017 winner of Celebrity Apprentice, where he raised over half a million dollars for his chosen charity, the Arthritis Foundation.
Many of the panelists shared how Princeton played into their career paths sometimes in unexpected ways.
Iseman, for example, was a history major and pre-med at Princeton. He remembered one history professor who made history come alive through stories. Even in reality TV, were sharing stories. While attending medical school at Columbia University, where his father was a professor, Iseman decided to make the leap to stand-up. My dad said: Life is short. Do what makes you happy.
Iseman credits his Princeton education for his focus and determination. For me, my best friends are 40 to 50 of my Princeton classmates who are all well-rounded. The drive to be successful that to me was the benefit of Princeton.
Ellie Kemper, a 2003 alumna, comedian and actress perhaps best-known for her title role on The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as well as The Office and the movie Bridesmaids, majored in English and was a member of the field hockey team her first year at Princeton. While she cut her comedy teeth as a member of the student improv troupe Quipfire! and the Triangle Club, she credits the discipline you learn through academics and athletics for building her resilience in the entertainment industry.
Her best piece of advice? Bet on yourself. Know your limits and weaknesses but bet on yourself. Who else is going to?
Matt Iseman (left), a 1993 alumnus and host of NBCs American Ninja Warrior and A&Es Live Rescue, moderated a "Script to Screen" discussion with alumni in Hollywood including comedian and actress Ellie Kemper, Class of 2003; writer Taofik Kolade, Class of 2008; and producer Wyck Godfrey, Class of 1990.
Photos courtesy of the subjects
Taofik Kolade, a 2008 alumnus and a writer/producer for "Atlanta" on FX and "Barry" on HBO, was a mechanical and aerospace engineering major at Princeton but became interested in film after taking an adaptation class his senior year taught by an industry professional. He got his first internship through the networking group Princeton in Hollywood.
Kolade, who said he is driven by telling stories of marginalized people, said to fight nerves he scripts out his pitches. I think about it this way: How would I pitch this idea to a friend?
Most of my projects are books to movies, said Wyck Godfrey, a 1990 alumnus who majored in English and is a partner in the production company Temple Hill Entertainment whose film and TV credits include the Twilight saga series and Maze Runner series.
I was always drawn to emotion things that exercise your heart, said Godfrey, who was president of Paramount Pictures Motion Picture Group from 2018-20, where he oversaw the production and release of A Quiet Place, Book Club and the sixth installment of Mission: Impossible. I am inspired by great stories and the way film can help us process emotions that are difficult to express. He encouraged students to read all those books on the syllabus.
Abhijay Prakash, a 1998 alumnus, president of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group and former chief operations officer for DreamWorks Animation and Focus Features, said: Between streaming and the creator economy, there is great demand for stories. Be expansive theres lots of ways to make your mark across lots of different platforms.
Godfrey agreed. There are more online festivals and screening festivals than ever. I have 15 employees who scour the internet for screenwriters and talent. With a Princeton degree, youll get noticed.
More than 100 students and members of the University community tuned in to day one of "Script to Screen: Tigers in Hollywood," a two-part career seminar. Panelists included: television writer, showrunner, producer and author Howard Gordon (left), Class of 1984; Abhijay Prakash, Class of 1998 and president of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group; and writer/producer Alexander Woo, Class of 1993. Day two included workshops on screen writing and pitching, film music, digital animation and unconventional paths to Hollywood careers.
Photos courtesy of the subjects
Howard Gordon, a 1984 alumnus and member of the Lewis Center for the Arts Advisory Council, is an award-winning television writer, showrunner, producer and author whose credits include Homeland, 24 and X Files. He and his business partner and classmate Alex Gansa were both English majors who also earned certificates in creative writing.
He had this advice for budding TV writers: Whats the emotional contract you want to make with your audience? Why this show and why now? And, why you?
Alexander Woo, a 1993 alumnus and writer/producer for television whose credits include HBOs True Blood and AMCs The Terror: Infamy, started his career as a playwright.
My playwriting was all Asian themes, said Woo, who made the pivot to Hollywood after running into a Princeton classmate, Jacqueline Swanson, who asked him, Have you ever considered writing for TV?
He is currently working with Netflix as executive producer of an adaptation of Cixin Liu's Three-Body Problem, considered the greatest Chinese science fiction trilogy. The climate were in has allowed for a greater diversity of voices, he said.
Alumni presenters on day two led workshops on script writing and pitching (Jennie Snyder Urman, Class of 1999), film music (Scott Salinas, Class of 1997), digital animation (Ricky Arietta, Class of 2013) and unconventional paths to Hollywood careers (Ben Neumann, Class of 2014, and Ashley Alexander, Class of 2009). Script to Screen: Tigers in Hollywood was presented by the Lewis Center for the Arts, Princeton in Hollywood and the Center for Career Development.
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IBMs top executive says, quantum computers will never reign supreme over classical ones – The Hindu
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Crunch numbers fast and at scale has been at the centre of computing technology. In the past few decades, a new type of computing has garnered significant interest. Quantum computers have been in development since the 1980s. They use properties of quantum physics to solve complex problems that cant be solved by classical computers.
Companies like IBM and Google have been continuously building and refining their quantum hardware. Simultaneously, several researchers have also been exploring new areas where quantum computers can deliver exponential change.
In the context of advances in quantum technologies, The Hindu caught with IBM Researchs Director Gargi Dasgupta.
Dasgupta noted that quantum computers complement traditional computing machines, and said the notion that quantum computers will take over classical computers is not true.
Quantum computers are not supreme against classical computers because of a laboratory experiment designed to essentially [and almost certainly exclusively] implement one very specific quantum sampling procedure with no practical applications, Dasgupta said.
Also Read: Keeping secrets in a quantum world and going beyond
For quantum computers to be widely used, and more importantly, have a positive impact, it is imperative to build programmable quantum computing systems that can implement a wide range of algorithms and programmes.
Having practical applications will alone help researchers use both quantum and classical systems in concert for discovery in science and to create commercial value in business.
To maximise the potential of quantum computers, the industry must solve challenges from the cryogenics, production and effects materials at very low temperatures. This is one of the reasons why IBM built its super-fridge to house Condor, Dasgupta explained.
Quantum processors require special conditions to operate, and they must be kept at near-absolute zero, like IBMs quantum chips are kept at 15mK. The deep complexity and the need for specialised cryogenics is why at least IBMs quantum computers are accessible via the cloud, and will be for the foreseeable future, Dasgupta, who is also IBMs CTO for South Asia region, noted.
Quantum computing in India
Dasgupta said that interest in quantum computing has spiked in India as IBM saw an many exceptional participants from the country at its global and virtual events. The list included academicians and professors, who all displayed great interest in quantum computing.
In a blog published last year, IBM researchers noted that India gave quantum technology 80 billion rupees as part of its National Mission on Quantum technologies and Applications. They believe its a great time to be doing quantum physics since the government and people are serious as well as excited about it.
Also Read: IBM plans to build a 1121 qubit system. What does this technology mean?
Quantum computing is expanding to multiple industries such as banking, capital markets, insurance, automotive, aerospace, and energy.
In years to come, the breadth and depth of the industries leveraging quantum will continue to grow, Dasgupta noted.
Industries that depend on advances in materials science will start to investigate quantum computing. For instance, Mitsubishi and ExxonMobil are using quantum technology to develop more accurate chemistry simulation techniques in energy technologies.
Additionally, Dasgupta said carmaker Daimler is working with IBM scientists to explore how quantum computing can be used to advance the next generation of EV batteries.
Exponential problems, like those found in molecular simulation in chemistry, and optimisation in finance, as well as machine learning continue to remain intractable for classical computers.
Quantum-safe cryptography
As researchers make advancement into quantum computers, some cryptocurrency enthusiasts fear that quantum computers can break security encryption. To mitigate risks associated with cryptography services, Quantum-safe cryptography was introduced.
For instance, IBM offers Quantum Risk Assessment, which it claims as the worlds first quantum computing safe enterprise class tape. It also uses Lattice-based cryptography to hide data inside complex algebraic structures called lattices. Difficult math problems are useful for cryptographers as they can use the intractability to protect information, surpassing quantum computers cracking techniques.
According to Dasgupta, even the National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) latest list for quantum-safe cryptography standards include several candidates based on lattice cryptography.
Also Read: Google to use quantum computing to develop new medicines
Besides, Lattice-based cryptography is the core for another encryption technology called Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). This could make it possible to perform calculations on data without ever seeing sensitive data or exposing it to hackers.
Enterprises from banks to insurers can safely outsource the task of running predictions to an untrusted environment without the risk of leaking sensitive data, Dasgupta said.
Last year, IBM said it will unveil 1121-qubit quantum computer by 2023. Qubit is the basic unit of a quantum computer. Prior to the launch, IBM will release the 433-qubit Osprey processor. It will also debut 121-qubit Eagle chip to reduce qubits errors and scale the number of qubits needed to reach Quantum Advantage.
The 1,121-qubit Condor chip, is the inflection point for lower-noise qubits. By 2023, its physically smaller qubits, with on-chip isolators and signal amplifiers and multiple nodes, will have scaled to deliver the capability of Quantum Advantage, Dasgupta said.
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IBMs top executive says, quantum computers will never reign supreme over classical ones - The Hindu
Tech 24 – Welcome to the quantum era – FRANCE 24
Issued on: 25/01/2021 - 13:19Modified: 25/01/2021 - 14:18
The first quantum revolution gave way to lasers and transistors while the secondushered in MRIs and GPS. But the technology still holds much more promisefor the future. We tell you why quantum computing is becomingsuch a strategic sector.
Quantum physics constitutes a huge change in how one understands the world and conceives reality. There is a shift from the intuitive, straightforward classical paradigmto the quantum world that describesmuch more complex, counterintuitive and amazing phenomena. In this edition, we attempt to explain the fundamental mechanism of quantum physics, a demonstration of how little we actually know about our world.
We dig deeper into the prospect of quantum computers with Eleni Diamanti, a senior researcher at LIP6 Sorbonne. She tells us how much this technology is set to revolutionise certain sectors like communications, medtech and theInternet of Things, plus how nations and companies are now engaged in an arms race for quantum supremacy.
And in Test 24, wetake a look at the French startup Vaonis' latest deviceVespera, a perfect hybrid between a smart telescope and a camera that picked up the best innovation award at this year's CES trade show.
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Physicists Are Reinventing the Laser – Gizmodo
Illustration: Benjamin Currie/Gizmodo
In the 1950s, when physicists were racing to invent the first laser, they found that the rules of quantum mechanics restricted how pure the color of their light could be. Since then, physicists and engineers have always built lasers with those restrictions in mind. But new theoretical research from two independent groups of physicists indicates that nature is more lax than previously thought. The findings could lead to improved, more monochromatic lasers for applications such as quantum computing, which the researchers illustrate in two proposed laser designs.
The work overthrows 60 years of understanding about what limits lasers, said physicist Howard Wiseman of Griffith University in Australia, whose group published their work in Nature Physics last October.
A laser, in essence, is a megaphone for light. The word itself, originally an acronym, reflects this function: light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation. Send in a photon of the right frequency, and the laser makes copies of it, multiplying the original signal.
These photon clones exit the laser in sync with each other, traveling in phase, as the experts call it. You can think of it this way: Each photon is a wave, with its crest and trough lined up with its neighbor, marching together in lock-step out of the laser. This contrasts with most other light sources, such as your reading lamp or even the Sun, which both emit photons that disperse randomly.
The longer photons stay in sync, the more monochromatic the light. The color of a light source corresponds to the wavelength of its photons, with green light spanning roughly the 500 to 550 nanometer range, for example. For multiple photons to stay in sync a long time, their wavelengths must line up very preciselymeaning the photons need to be as close to one color as possible.
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This synchrony of laser photons, known as temporal coherence, is one of the devices most useful properties. Many technologies make use of laser lights ridiculously fast and steady rhythm, its wave pattern repeatingat hundreds of trillions of times a second for visible lasers. For example, this property underpins the worlds most precise timekeeping devices, known as optical lattice clocks.
But photons gradually lose sync after they leave the laser; how long they stick together is known as the lasers coherence time. In 1958, physicists Arthur Schawlow and Charles Townes estimated the coherence time of a perfect laser. (This is a common physicist design strategy: Consider the most ideal version of something before building a far more lacking real-world device.) They found an equation thought to represent an ultimate coherence time limit for lasers, set by the laws of physics. Physicists refer to this as the Schawlow-Townes limit.
The two new papers find that the Schawlow-Townes limit is not the ultimate limit. In principle, it should be possible to build lasers which are significantly more coherent, said physicist David Pekker of the University of Pittsburgh, who led the other group. Their paper, currently under peer review, is posted as a pre-print on arXiv.
Both groups argue that the Schawlow-Townes limit rests on assumptions about the laser that are no longer true. Schawlow and Townes basically thought of the laser as a hollow box, in which photons multiply and leave at a rate proportional to the amount of light inside the box. Put another way, the photons flow out of Schawlow and Towness laser like water drains from a hole in a barrel. Water flows faster when the barrel is fuller, and vice versa.
But Wiseman and Pekker both found that if you place a valve on the laser to control the rate of the photon flow, you can actually make a laser coherent for much longer than the Schawlow-Townes limit. Wisemans paper takes this a step further. Allowing for these photon-controlling valves, his team re-estimates the coherence time limit for the perfect laser. We show that ours is the ultimate quantum limit, said Wiseman, meaning the true physical limit dictated by quantum mechanics.
Schawlow and Towness estimate, while not the fundamental restriction on lasers physicists originally thought, was reasonable for its time, said Wiseman. No one had any means for precisely controlling the flow of light out of a laser in the way that Wiseman and Pekker propose. But todays lasers are a different story. Physicists can now control light with a multitude of devices developed for the budding quantum computing industry.
Pekker has teamed up with physicist Michael Hatridge, also of the University of Pittsburgh, to bring the new laser design to life. Hatridges expertise involves building circuits out of superconducting wire for storing and controlling microwave-frequency photons. They plan to build a microwave-emitting laserknown as a maserfor programming qubits inside a quantum computer made of superconducting circuits. Though building this new maser will take years of work and troubleshooting, Hatridge said they have all the tools and knowledge to make it possible. Thats why were excited about it, because its just another engineering project, Hatridge said.
Wiseman is looking for collaborators to build his design, also a maser. I would really, really like this to happen, but I recognize its a long-term goal, he said.
The designs are completely feasible, said physicist Steven Touzard of the National University of Singapore, who was not involved in either of the new papers. However, Pekker and Wisemans work may not directly lead to useful commercial lasers, according to Touzard. He pointed out that builders of lasers do not commonly use the Schawlow-Townes limit to direct their designs. So overturning the limit could be more of a theoretical advancement than an engineering one, he said.
Curiously, the two new designs also contradict another conventional wisdom about lasers. The devices do not produce light via so-called stimulated emission, which makes up the s and e in the acronym laser. Stimulated emission is a type of interaction between light and matter, in which a photon impinges upon an atom and stimulates the atom to emit an identical photon. If we imagine a laser as a box of light, as before, a laser that amplifies light using stimulated emission multiplies the signal proportionally to the amount of light already in the box. Another type of laser invented in 2012, known as a superradiant laser, also does not use stimulated emission to amplify light, according to Touzard.
The idea of a laser has outgrown its name. It is no longer exclusively light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
Of course, many such examples exist in the English language. The change in meaning is known as semantic shift and is common wherever new technology is involved, according to linguist Micha Elsner of the Ohio State University. Ships still sail across the ocean, even when no actual sails are involved, Elsner said in an email. You can still dial someones number even though your phone doesnt have a dial.
Even though a words etymologyits origincertainly gives it a starting point, it does not determine its destiny forever going forward, linguist Brian Joseph of the Ohio State University said in an email.
As Cold War goals transitioned into 21st century ones, lasers have evolved, too. Theyve been around long enough to integrate into nearly all aspects of modern life: They can correct human vision, read our grocery barcodes, etch computer chips, transmit video files from the Moon, help steer self-driving cars, and set the mood at psychedelic ragers. And now, the laser could be reinvented again. A 60-year-old device remains a symbol of a sci-fi future.
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Record-Breaking Source for Single Photons Developed That Can Produce Billions of Quantum Particles per Second – SciTechDaily
The new single-photon source is based on excitation of a quantum dot (shown as a bulge on the bottom left), which then emits photons. A micro-cavity ensures that the photons are guided into an optical fiber and emerge at its end. Credit: University of Basel, Department of Physics
Researchers at the University of Basel and Ruhr University Bochum have developed a source of single photons that can produce billions of these quantum particles per second. With its record-breaking efficiency, the photon source represents a new and powerful building-block for quantum technologies.
Quantum cryptography promises absolutely secure communications. A key component here are strings of single photons. Information can be stored in the quantum states of these light particles and transmitted over long distances. In the future, remote quantum processors will communicate with each other via single photons. And perhaps the processor itself will use photons as quantum bits for computing.
A basic prerequisite for such applications, however, is an efficient source of single photons. A research team led by Professor Richard Warburton, Natasha Tomm and Dr. Alisa Javadi from the University of Basel, together with colleagues from Bochum, now reports in the journalNature Nanotechnologyon the development of a single-photon source that significantly surpasses previously known systems in terms of efficiency.
Each photon is created by exciting a single artificial atom (a quantum dot) inside a semiconductor. Usually, these photons leave the quantum dot in all possible directions and thus a large fraction is lost. In the photon source now presented, the researchers have solved this problem by positioning the quantum dot inside a funnel to send all photons in a specific direction.
The funnel is a novel micro-cavity that represents the real innovation of the research team: The micro-cavity captures almost all of the photons and then directs them into an optical fiber. The photons, each about two centimeters long, emerge at the end of an optical fiber.
The efficiency of the entire system that is, the probability that excitation of the quantum dot actually results in a usable photon is 57 percent, more than double that of previous single-photon sources. This is a really special moment, explains lead author Richard Warburton. Weve known for a year or two whats possible in principle. Now weve succeeded in putting our ideas into practice.
The increase in efficiency has significant consequences, Warburton adds: increasing the efficiency of single photon creation by a factor of two adds up to an overall improvement of a factor of one million for a string of, say, 20 photons. In the future, wed like to make our single-photon source even better: Wed like to simplify it and pursue some of its myriad applications in quantum cryptography, quantum computing and other technologies.
Reference: A bright and fast source of coherent single photons by Natasha Tomm, Alisa Javadi, Nadia Olympia Antoniadis, Daniel Najer, Matthias Christian Lbl, Alexander Rolf Korsch, Rdiger Schott, Sascha Ren Valentin, Andreas Dirk Wieck, Arne Ludwig and Richard John Warburton, 28 January 2021, Nature Nanotechnology.DOI: 10.1038/s41565-020-00831-x
The project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, the National Center of Competence in Research Quantum Science and Technology (NCCR QSIT), and the European Union under the Horizon2020 programme.
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Insiders say Comedy Central’s top creative executives tokenized employees of color and fostered an environment – Business Insider India
On January 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash. The next day, a Black assistant for Comedy Central's in-house creative team was still reeling from the news.
"I could barely get on the subway," she said. "I was crying and honestly really shouldn't have gone in to work that day."
"Why the f--- would we do that? Isn't that BET's job?" the former assistant said she recalled the VP who was leading the meeting saying, referring to the Black Entertainment Television channel.
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The assistant discussed the VP's comment with two colleagues, both of whom confirmed the conversations to Insider. The assistant said she didn't formally report the incident because she was worried it would jeopardize her career and put her at odds with executives at the company.
Despite the network's progressive content, current and former employees for Comedy Central's creative team told Insider that the company culture was not without discriminatory behavior. The insiders said that top creative executives at the New York headquarters sometimes tokenized employees of color and fostered a culture rampant with microaggressions. Of the 17 past and current employees Insider spoke to, 15 said they either witnessed or experienced inappropriate behavior they believe was influenced by colleagues' race.
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How Universes Might Bubble Up and Collide – WIRED
What lies beyond all we can see? The question may seem unanswerable. Nevertheless, some cosmologists have a response: Our universe is a swelling bubble. Outside it, more bubble universes exist, all immersed in an eternally expanding and energized seathe multiverse.
The idea is polarizing. Some physicists embrace the multiverse to explain why our bubble looks so special (only certain bubbles can host life), while others reject the theory for making no testable predictions (since it predicts all conceivable universes). But some researchers expect that they just havent been clever enough to work out the precise consequences of the theory yet.
Now, various teams are developing new ways to infer exactly how the multiverse bubbles and what happens when those bubble universes collide.
Its a long shot, said Jonathan Braden, a cosmologist at the University of Toronto who is involved in the effort, but, he said, its a search for evidence for something you thought you could never test.
The multiverse hypothesis sprang from efforts to understand our own universes birth. In the large-scale structure of the universe, theorists see signs of an explosive growth spurt during the cosmoss infancy. In the early 1980s, as physicists investigated how space might have startedand stoppedinflating, an unsettling picture emerged. The researchers realized that while space may have stopped inflating here (in our bubble universe) and there (in other bubbles), quantum effects should continue to inflate most of space, an idea known as eternal inflation.
The difference between bubble universes and their surroundings comes down to the energy of space itself. When space is as empty as possible and cant possibly lose more energy, it exists in what physicists call a true vacuum state. Think of a ball lying on the floorit cant fall any further. But systems can also have false vacuum states. Imagine a ball in a bowl on a table. The ball can roll around a bit while more or less staying put. But a large enough jolt will land it on the floorin the true vacuum.
In the cosmological context, space can get similarly stuck in a false vacuum state. A speck of false vacuum will occasionally relax into true vacuum (likely through a random quantum event), and this true vacuum will balloon outward as a swelling bubble, feasting on the false vacuums excess energy, in a process called false vacuum decay. Its this process that may have started our cosmos with a bang. A vacuum bubble could have been the first event in the history of our universe, said Hiranya Peiris, a cosmologist at University College London.
But physicists struggle mightily to predict how vacuum bubbles behave. A bubbles future depends on countless minute details that add up. Bubbles also change rapidlytheir walls approach the speed of light as they fly outwardand feature quantum mechanical randomness and waviness. Different assumptions about these processes give conflicting predictions, with no way to tell which ones might resemble reality. Its as though youve taken a lot of things that are just very hard for physicists to deal with and mushed them all together and said, Go ahead and figure out whats going on, Braden said.
Since they cant prod actual vacuum bubbles in the multiverse, physicists have sought digital and physical analogs of them.
One group recently coaxed vacuum bubble-like behavior out of a simple simulation. The researchers, including John Preskill, a prominent theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology, started with the [most] baby version of this problem that you can think of, as co-author Ashley Milsted put it: a line of about 1,000 digital arrows that could point up or down. The place where a string of mainly up arrows met a string of largely down arrows marked a bubble wall, and by flipping arrows, the researchers could make bubble walls move and collide. In certain circumstances, this model perfectly mimics the behavior of more complicated systems in nature. The researchers hoped to use it to simulate false vacuum decay and bubble collisions.
At first the simple setup didnt act realistically. When bubble walls crashed together, they rebounded perfectly, with none of the expected intricate reverberations or outflows of particles (in the form of flipped arrows rippling down the line). But after adding some mathematical flourishes, the team saw colliding walls that spewed out energetic particleswith more particles appearing as the collisions grew more violent.
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Copperizing the Complexity of Superconductivity – Newswise
Newswise From the perspective of a materials science physicist, a keen interest in copper oxides makes sense. The metallic compounds are versatile in their usefulnessfrom coins and antibacterials to spin dynamics and high-temperature superconductivity.
For a condensed matter expert like UC San Diegos Alex Frano, the goal of high-temperature superconductivity is to move charge currents through a material without resistance and energy loss at easily attainable temperatures. This efficiency is necessary for low-power electronics and quantum technology. But the ultra-low temperatures required for traditional materials to be superconductinghundreds of degrees below zerois a major obstacle.
While copper oxides are materials with the highest superconducting transition temperatures under normal conditions, physicists arent sure why. Frano, whose passion for physics is grounded in high-temperature superconductivity, believes this is a central problem. So while studying copper oxides recently, he and a group of research collaborators from the Max Planck Institute, Yale University, the University of British Columbia and UC Davis may have stumbled upon a major clue about how these metallic materials work. Their findings are published inNature Communicationsand could help revolutionize our understanding of these superconductive materials.
Copper involves electrons engaging with other electrons through whats called the electrostatic Coulomb interaction (when like charges repel and opposites attract). A ground state can emerge from this interaction and form a charge densitythe amount of electrical charge per unit of length or surface areawhich can modulate like waves in a sand dune. Running a sophisticated experiment using resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS), a method that investigates the electronic structure of a material, the researchers observed how X-rays scattered off their sample, making their surprising discovery possible.
Frano explained that while charge density waves are known to propagate in two well-defined directions within a plane of the material,for exampleeast-west and north-south, they observed fluctuating charge density waves propagatingin all directionswithin the plane. This is because of the Coulomb interaction, which emanates in all directions.
Nobody saw this coming, said the assistant professor in theDepartment of Physics. The Coulomb interaction governs most of the physical phenomena we have ever experienced. Most of the time, it is simple and monotoniconly consistently increasing or consistently decreasing as a function of distance between two separate charges. However, for electrons in solids, this can be non-monotonic because of the presence of other atoms.
The study showed that the electrons moved in a medium of other atoms that could be polarized, meaning that under certain conditions electrons with the same charge could even attract. This general concept of how electrons in solids interact may be key to understanding the emerging electronic phases of strongly correlated quantum materials, such as heavy fermions, iron- and copper-based high-temperature superconductors and twisted bilayer graphene.
According to Frano, high-temperature superconductivity is a majestic manifestation of quantum mechanics emerging into something so surprising and beautiful that the origin of high-temperature superconductivity is among the most important questions in solid state physics.
Not only because it could completely revolutionize the way energy is handled, but also because it is at the heart of one of the most fascinating kinds of materials called quantum materials, said Frano. What makes these interesting is that the rules of quantum mechanics govern their properties in a way that is completely unknown to all of us. They display a gamma of electronic phases like magnetism, charge density waves, and superconductivity all in the same material. And it is widely believed that the reason they are so rich in their properties is precisely why they are superconducting at such high temperatures. In other words, out of complexity comes more fascinating complexity.
This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy ([DOE] grant no. DESC0012704); the Advanced Light Source, a DOE Office of Science User Facility (contract no. DE-AC02-05CH11231); the National Science Foundation (grant nos. 845994 and 2034345); JSPS KAKENHI (grant no. JP17H01052) and several other research facilities, foundations and institutes.
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The Convergence of Internet of Things and Quantum Computing – BBN Times
The Internet of Things (IoT) is actively shaping both the industrial and consumer worlds, and by 2023, consumers, companies, and governments will install 40 billion IoT devices globally.
Smart tech finds its way to every business and consumer domain there isfrom retail to healthcare, from finances to logisticsand a missed opportunity strategically employed by a competitor can easily qualify as a long-term failure for companies who dont innovate.
Moreover, the 2020s challenges just confirmed the need to secure all four components of the IoT Model: Sensors, Networks (Communications), Analytics (Cloud), and Applications.
One of the top candidates to help in securing IoT is Quantum Computing, while the idea of convergence of IoT and Quantum Computing is not a new topic, it was discussed in many works of literature and covered by various researchers, but nothing is close to practical applications so far. Quantum Computing is not ready yet, it is years away from deployment on a commercial scale.
To understand the complexity of this kind of convergence, first, you need to recognize the security issues of IoT, second, comprehend the complicated nature of Quantum Computing.
IoT systems diverse security issues include:
Classical computing relies, at its ultimate level, on principles expressed by a branch of math called Boolean algebra. Data must be processed in an exclusive binary state at any point in time or bits. While the time that each transistor or capacitor need be either in 0 or 1 before switching states is now measurable in billionths of a second, there is still a limit as to how quickly these devices can be made to switch state. As we progress to smaller and faster circuits, we begin to reach the physical limits of materials and the threshold for classical laws of physics to apply. Beyond this, the quantum world takes over.
In a quantum computer, several elemental particles such as electrons or photons can be used with either their charge or polarization acting as a representation of 0 and/or 1. Each of these particles is known as a quantum bit, or qubit, the nature and behavior of these particles form the basis of quantum computing.
The two most relevant aspects of quantum physics are the principles of superposition and entanglement.
Taken together, quantum superposition and entanglement create an enormously enhanced computing power. Where a 2-bit register in an ordinary computer can store only one of four binary configurations (00, 01, 10, or 11) at any given time, a 2-qubit register in a quantum computer can store all four numbers simultaneously, because each qubit represents two values. If more qubits are added, the increased capacity is expanded exponentially.
One of the most exciting avenues that researchers, armed with qubits, are exploring, is communications security.
Quantum security leads us to the concept ofquantum cryptographywhich uses physics to develop a cryptosystem completely secure against being compromised without the knowledge of the sender or the receiver of the messages.
Essentially, quantum cryptography is based on the usage of individual particles/waves of light (photon) and their intrinsic quantum properties to develop an unbreakable cryptosystem (because it is impossible to measure the quantum state of any system without disturbing that system).
Quantum cryptography uses photons to transmit a key. Once the key is transmitted, coding, and encoding using the normal secret-key method can take place. But how does a photon become a key? How do you attach information to a photon's spin?
This is where binary code comes into play. Each type of a photon's spin represents one piece of information -- usually a 1 or a 0, for binary code. This code uses strings of 1s and 0s to create a coherent message. For example, 11100100110 could correspond with h-e-l-l-o. So a binary code can be assigned to each photon -- for example, a photon that has a vertical spin ( | ) can be assigned a 1.
Regular, non-quantum encryption can work in a variety of ways but, generally, a message is scrambled and can only be unscrambled using a secret key. The trick is to make sure that whomever youre trying to hide your communication from doesnt get their hands on your secret key. But such encryption techniques have their vulnerabilities. Certain products called weak keys happen to be easier to factor than others. Also, Moores Law continually ups the processing power of our computers. Even more importantly, mathematicians are constantly developing new algorithms that allow for easier factorization of the secret key.
Quantum cryptography avoids all these issues. Here, the key is encrypted into a series of photons that get passed between two parties trying to share secret information. Heisenbergs Uncertainty Principle dictates that an adversary cant look at these photons without changing or destroying them.
With its capabilities, quantum computing can help address the challenges and issues that hamper the growth of IoT. Some of these capabilities are:
Quantum computing is still in its development stage with tech giants such as IBM, Google, and Microsoft putting in resources to build powerful quantum computers. While they were able to build machines containing more and more qubits, for example, Google announced in 2019 they achieved Quantum Supremacy, the challenge is to get these qubits to operate smoothly and with less error. But with the technology being very promising, continuous research and development are expected until such time that it reaches widespread practical applications for both consumers and businesses.
IoT is expanding as we depend on our digital devices more every day. Furthermore, WFH (Work From Home) concept resulted from COVID-19 lockdowns accelerated the deployment of many IoT devices and shorten the learning curves of using such devices. When IoT converges with Quantum Computing under Quantum IoT or QIoT, that will push other technologies to use Quantum Computing and add Quantum or Q to their products and services labels, we will see more adoption of Quantum hardware and software applications in addition to Quantum services like QSaaS, QIaaS, and QPaaS as parts of Quantum Cloud and QAI (Quantum Artificial Intelligence) to mention few examples.
A version of this article first appeared onIEEE-IoT.
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The Convergence of Internet of Things and Quantum Computing - BBN Times