Scientists have used AI to discover an easier method to form quantum entanglement between subatomic particles, paving the way for simpler quantum technologies.
When particles such as photons become entangled, they can share quantum properties — including information — regardless of the distance between them. This phenomenon is important in quantum physics and is one of the features that makes quantum computers so powerful.
But the bonds of quantum entanglement have typically proven challenging for scientists to form. This is because it requires the preparation of two separate entangled pairs, then measuring the strength of entanglement — called a Bell-state measurement — on a photon from each of the pairs.
These measurements cause the quantum system to collapse and leave the two unmeasured photons entangled, despite them never having directly interacted with one another. This process of “entanglement swapping” could be used for quantum teleportation.
In a new study, published Dec. 2, 2024 in the journal Physical Review Letters, scientists used PyTheus, an AI tool that has been specifically created for designing quantum-optic experiments. The authors of the paper initially set out to reproduce established protocols for entanglement swapping in quantum communications. However, the AI tool kept producing a much simpler method to achieve quantum entanglement of photons.
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