https://phys.org/physics-news/quantum-physics/ en-us The latest news on quantum physics, wave particle duality, quantum theory, quantum mechanics, quantum entanglement, quantum teleportation, and quantum computing. Ruthenium dioxide (RuO2) is a metal oxide that commonly serves as an important metallic conductor, quantum material and industrial electrocatalyst. While there have been debates surrounding the magnetic properties of RuO2, it is generally thought to be nonmagnetic in its bulk form. But now, a new study, published in Science Advances, has found that very thin layers of RuO2 can become magnetic when its lattice is placed under strain. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-unusual-metal-oxide-magnetism-lattice.html Condensed Matter Sat, 01 Aug 2026 14:40:01 EDT news704715788 IBM and researchers from the University of Chicago announced a demonstration in quantum computing that meets the fundamental criteria for "quantum advantage"—the point where quantum computers can be confirmed to have outperformed classical computers on trusted computations. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-task-classical-simulations.html Quantum Physics Sat, 01 Aug 2026 08:00:05 EDT news704644006 Researchers in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have discovered a new type of quantum light emitter in diamonds that could help overcome a number of challenges facing quantum technologies. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-diamond-newfound-defect-vibrations-hinder.html Optics & Photonics Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:40:08 EDT news704711281 In mathematics and getting dressed, some processes are commutative, while others are noncommutative. Commutative means the order doesn't matter (3 + 2 is the same as 2 + 3, and it doesn't matter which sock goes on first). Noncommutative means the order does matter. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-explored-quantum-code-powerful-stable.html Quantum Physics Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:00:04 EDT news704709901 Semiconductor spin qubits are one of the most promising building blocks for future quantum computers, but turning them into a working, large-scale quantum computer has so far proven difficult. For now, two big questions remain open: how to connect qubits that aren't sitting right next to each other, and how to control huge numbers of them without an unmanageable tangle of wiring. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-independent-semiconductor-qubits-scales.html Condensed Matter Fri, 31 Jul 2026 07:20:04 EDT news704643614 Quantum fluctuations influence direction-dependent electrical transport in chiral magnets, researchers from Science Tokyo report. In chiral magnetic systems, electric current flows differently depending on its direction, but the role of quantum effects in this behavior has remained unclear. Through theoretical analysis, the researchers showed that chiral magnetic systems exhibit logarithmic temperature dependence at low temperatures, offering new insights into electron transport in magnetic materials. These findings are expected to play a crucial role in spintronics. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-effects-electrical-chiral-magnets.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Jul 2026 17:30:01 EDT news704648701 Large-scale quantum communication networks require both reliable quantum memories and coherent single-photon sources that can exchange quantum information efficiently. A coherent source of single photons with narrow linewidth, high brightness, spectral uniformity and compatibility with quantum memories is necessary. While a variety of single-photon sources, such as quantum dots (QDs) and atoms in warm vapor cells, have been developed in recent years, each has inherent limitations, making a scalable and functional quantum network challenging to achieve. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-cesium-atoms-quantum-dots-generate.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:20:07 EDT news704640781 For years, researchers have tried to harness the "twist" of light to transmit data. This property describes how light spirals as it travels forward, and because it can be molded into a virtually infinite number of different twists, it provides a massive, promising alphabet for high-capacity communication. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hidden-properties-quantum-chaos-bad.html Optics & Photonics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 13:40:01 EDT news704630222 A new study in Nature Communications has established a link between the Riemann Hypothesis and dynamical phase transitions in engineered quantum systems, demonstrating the effect on a quantum processor. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physicists-link-riemann-hypothesis-phase.html General Physics Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:20:05 EDT news704628909 Bose–Einstein condensates are states of matter that form when particles called bosons are cooled to temperatures that are only a fraction of a degree above absolute zero (i.e., 0 Kelvin [-460°F]). In these states, particles occupy the same quantum state and exhibit interesting collective behaviors, essentially behaving as if they were a single "super-particle." https://phys.org/news/2026-07-physicists-boseeinstein-condensate-ultracold-polar.html Condensed Matter Thu, 30 Jul 2026 07:40:03 EDT news704539595 Most electronic memory storage devices require the ability to trap large numbers of electrons for each bit of memory. In an ideal world, however, it would take only one electron. This would reduce space requirements and power consumption for devices. Now, a team in China has realized this goal with an ultrathin device capable of minimizing the stray capacitance that plagued earlier attempts. The new study, published in Science, describes how this novel device has overcome challenges in implementing the single-electron design. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-2d-quantum-memory-device-electron.html Condensed Matter Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:40:09 EDT news704550526 Quantum technologies are devices and systems that exploit the laws of quantum mechanics and could perform tasks that are difficult or impossible to tackle using their classical counterparts. These technologies process and store information using qubits (i.e., quantum bits), which can exist in a superposition of multiple states simultaneously. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-rare-earth-ions-enable-telecom.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 29 Jul 2026 08:20:03 EDT news704367590 Researchers at The University of Manchester have revealed how intense electronic excitation can trigger rapid structural changes in metals—without heating the atomic lattice—offering new insight into ultrafast materials behavior. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-hot-electrons-reshape-metals-billionths.html Condensed Matter Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:30:01 EDT news704452041 Quantum computers process information in a fundamentally different way from conventional computers, using quantum bits, or qubits, that can exist in multiple states at once. This could allow them to tackle problems beyond the reach of today's machines, from simulating new materials to optimizing complex systems. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-bits-faster-hardware.html Superconductivity Tue, 28 Jul 2026 10:20:02 EDT news704450101 A new concept from Warwick researchers could help solve one of the biggest challenges to building large-scale quantum computers: enabling communication between vast numbers of quantum bits (qubits) over long distances across a single chip. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-chip-architecture-built-vibrations.html Condensed Matter Mon, 27 Jul 2026 17:10:01 EDT news704387701 Light typically interacts with a material the same way whether it enters through the front or the back—like polarized sunglasses that work the same from either side. Cornell researchers have demonstrated a simple route to breaking that symmetry, opening new possibilities for photonics and quantum information processing. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-simple-semiconductor-front-symmetry.html Optics & Photonics Mon, 27 Jul 2026 16:20:05 EDT news704381282 Neural networks have transformed how machines find patterns in data, from recognizing faces in photos to predicting the shapes of proteins. So far, all of this progress has been made on ordinary classical computers, but with quantum computers now edging into practical use, there is a real possibility that neural networks could tap into distinctly quantum effects and operate in ways that classical machines never could. So far, however, neural networks have proven far more difficult to run on quantum hardware. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-neural-networks-hardware.html Quantum Physics Mon, 27 Jul 2026 10:50:01 EDT news704365485 The laws of thermodynamics state that heat naturally flows from hotter systems or regions to colder systems or regions until a state of thermal equilibrium is reached. This simple principle underpins the operation of numerous technologies, ranging from refrigerators to power plants. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-simultaneously-refrigeration.html General Physics Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:20:01 EDT news704017786 Researchers from the University of Amsterdam and the University of New South Wales have answered a question that has been around for decades: whether ions of the metal ytterbium can enter certain long-lived, nearly stable states and, if so, for how long. The measured long-lived states may find applications in quantum computers and atomic clocks. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-ytterbium-states-sharpen-quantum-atomic.html General Physics Fri, 24 Jul 2026 17:20:02 EDT news704113673 The promise of quantum computing is to solve complex problems faster and more energy-efficiently than today's supercomputers—from optimizing logistics to simulating molecules. This goal is coming within reach as the number of qubits—the computational units of quantum computing—increases. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-zeno-effect-qubit-scale.html Quantum Physics Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:40:06 EDT news704110741 A research team led by SKKU professor Hosung Seo of the Department of Quantum Information Engineering and the SKKU Advanced Institute of Nanotechnology, working with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Washington, has identified—for the first time—an atomic defect structure in the zinc oxide (ZnO) semiconductor with outstanding properties for use as a "spin qubit," a core building block of future quantum computers, quantum communications and quantum sensors. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-world-zinc-oxide-qubit-advance.html Quantum Physics Fri, 24 Jul 2026 09:20:04 EDT news704102581 Efficient heat management in solids is key to advancing the next generation of electronics. However, wave-like heat movement—known as phonon focusing—had been observed only at extremely low, or cryogenic, temperatures, limiting its study and practical use. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-room-temperature.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:30:01 EDT news704041322 Researchers at the University of Würzburg have succeeded in detecting exceptionally robust electrical transport in a topological insulator. This could lead to new metrological applications. The work is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-simple-circuit-topological-insulators-closer.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 17:10:01 EDT news704041081 Sending quantum information through a chain of qubits, like energy through a Newton's cradle, could be the key to faster operations and take quantum computing to the next level. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-newton-cradle.html Quantum Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 14:20:03 EDT news704030016 Physicists have discovered a surprisingly simple way to reproduce one of the most fascinating models in modern physics—linked to black holes, quantum chaos and exotic electronic materials—using ultracold atoms trapped in light. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-atoms-black-hole-quantum-chaos.html Quantum Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:20:03 EDT news704018690 Heavy polar molecules are some of the most sensitive tools physicists have for probing what lies beyond the Standard Model, the theory that describes the particles and forces we know about. But turning that sensitivity into precise, trustworthy measurements has long been held back by one stubborn problem: Stray electric and magnetic fields drown out the tiny signals researchers are actually looking for. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-molecular-clock-transitions-tune-noise.html General Physics Thu, 23 Jul 2026 10:00:07 EDT news703934328 In most everyday materials, such as copper, silver and silicon, the behavior of electrons is relatively predictable. In quantum materials, however, electrons can interact in complex ways, giving rise to collective electronic states with remarkable properties. Understanding how these states emerge—and, ultimately, how to control them—is one of the central challenges in quantum materials research. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-striped-checkered-magnetic-field-electronic.html Condensed Matter Thu, 23 Jul 2026 05:00:10 EDT news703933441 Quantum information is notoriously fragile. Internet traffic is anything but. Yet Northwestern University scientists have demonstrated they can peacefully coexist inside the same fiber-optic cable. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-quantum-internet-lab-real-world.html Optics & Photonics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:40:01 EDT news703948921 In recent years, research using artificial intelligence to predict material properties has advanced rapidly. Neural network quantum Monte Carlo methods have attracted attention as highly accurate simulation techniques. However, their extremely high computational cost has limited their application to small molecular systems. This study introduces a new computational method that overcomes this limitation. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-neural-networks-larger-quantum-simulations.html Quantum Physics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 16:40:07 EDT news703946701 Quantum networks, systems consisting of multiple connected nodes or devices that can transmit quantum information to one another, have the potential to advance future communications. These networks typically leverage entanglement, a quantum phenomenon that prompts two or more distant particles to become highly correlated, so that measuring one instantly affects the state of the other. https://phys.org/news/2026-07-multiplexing-scheme-distance-quantum-communication.html Quantum Physics Wed, 22 Jul 2026 06:20:01 EDT news703772263