Physics "Quantum Lego" helps to recreate quantum model

Empa researchers have recreated a fundamental quantum model in synthetic material using "quantum Lego". The study, published on Thursday in the journal "Nature Nanotechnology", opens new doors in quantum research.

In theory, quantum computers can perform calculations in fractions of a second, which is where today's supercomputers fail. They work with electron spins that interact with each other. This can be described mathematically. However, the Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) reported that such spin chains can hardly be solved exactly.

Together with researchers from Germany and Portugal, a chain of electron spins was recreated and measured. Although there are materials in nature that contain such spin chains, it has not yet been possible to specifically incorporate the chains into a material.

The researchers used small pieces of the two-dimensional carbon material, graphene, for the production. This nanographene molecule consists of carbon rings and has an hourglass-like shape. It works like a nano-quantum Lego brick, Empa wrote. This helped to be able to assemble longer chains.

The researchers can precisely manipulate this chain, switch individual spins on and off and "rotate" them from one state to another.

SDA