Suggesting that quantum computers might benefit from losing some data, physicists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have entangled—linked the quantum properties of—two ions by leaking judiciously chosen information to the environment.
Researchers usually strive to perfectly shield ions (charged atoms) in quantum computing experiments from the outside world. Any "noise" or interference, including heat generated by the experiment and measurements that cause fragile quantum states to collapse, can ruin data and prevent reliable logic operations, the conventional approach to quantum information processing.
Turning bug into feature, a collaboration of physicists from NIST and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark decided to think and work outside the box. They cleverly linked the experiment to the outside world to establish and maintain the entanglement of two ions. Entanglement is a curious feature of the quantum world that will be necessary to process and transport quantum data or correct errors in future quantum computers.
The new research is described in a Nature paper posted online Nov. 24, along with similar work at Yale University using superconducting circuits.
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