Austrian and Chinese scientists have succeeded in teleporting three-dimensional quantum states for the first time. High-dimensional teleportation could play an important role in future quantum computers.
Quantum Physics
Aug 23, 2019
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74344
The quantum internet promises absolutely tap-proof communication and powerful distributed sensor networks for new science and technology. However, because quantum information cannot be copied, it is not possible to send this ...
Quantum Physics
Aug 29, 2019
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In a new study, researchers demonstrate creative tactics to get rid of loopholes that have long confounded tests of quantum mechanics. With their innovative method, the researchers were able to demonstrate quantum interactions ...
Optics & Photonics
Aug 22, 2019
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924
Quantum computing promises to revolutionize the ways in which scientists can process and manipulate information. The physical and material underpinnings for quantum technologies are still being explored, and researchers continue ...
General Physics
Sep 06, 2019
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A team of researchers with members from China, Germany, the U.K. and the U.S. has found a way to entangle photons generated millions of miles apart. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the researchers ...
Collisions between neutron stars are fascinating cosmic events that lead to the formation of numerous chemical elements. Temperatures during these collisions are exponentially high, typically reaching up to hundreds of billions ...
A team of researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Southampton has devised a novel way to test quantum mechanics in a non-inertial reference frame by using a rotating interferometer. In their paper ...
Rochester Institute of Technology researchers have helped develop a new technique for quantifying entanglement that has major implications for developing the next generation of technology in computing, simulation, secure ...
Quantum Physics
Aug 26, 2019
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811
Topological insulators are a game-changing class of materials; charged particles can flow freely on their edges and route themselves around defects, but can't pass through their interiors. This perfect surface conduction ...
General Physics
Sep 13, 2019
0
358
A team of researchers at Bar-Ilan University has found a way to use correlated photons to make sharper X-ray images. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes their process and suggest ...
In physics, a photon is an elementary particle, the quantum of the electromagnetic field and the basic "unit" of light and all other forms of electromagnetic radiation. It is also the force carrier for the electromagnetic force. The effects of this force are easily observable at both the microscopic and macroscopic level, because the photon has no rest mass; this allows for interactions at long distances. Like all elementary particles, photons are governed by quantum mechanics and will exhibit wave-particle duality – they exhibit properties of both waves and particles. For example, a single photon may be refracted by a lens or exhibit wave interference, but also act as a particle giving a definite result when its location is measured.
The modern concept of the photon was developed gradually by Albert Einstein to explain experimental observations that did not fit the classical wave model of light. In particular, the photon model accounted for the frequency dependence of light's energy, and explained the ability of matter and radiation to be in thermal equilibrium. It also accounted for anomalous observations, including the properties of black body radiation, that other physicists, most notably Max Planck, had sought to explain using semiclassical models, in which light is still described by Maxwell's equations, but the material objects that emit and absorb light are quantized. Although these semiclassical models contributed to the development of quantum mechanics, further experiments proved Einstein's hypothesis that light itself is quantized; the quanta of light are photons.
In the modern Standard Model of particle physics, photons are described as a necessary consequence of physical laws having a certain symmetry at every point in spacetime. The intrinsic properties of photons, such as charge, mass and spin, are determined by the properties of this gauge symmetry.
The photon concept has led to momentous advances in experimental and theoretical physics, such as lasers, Bose–Einstein condensation, quantum field theory, and the probabilistic interpretation of quantum mechanics. It has been applied to photochemistry, high-resolution microscopy, and measurements of molecular distances. Recently, photons have been studied as elements of quantum computers and for sophisticated applications in optical communication such as quantum cryptography.
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