Researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) have successfully created a quantum version of “Schrödinger’s cat” inside a silicon chip. The team, led by Professor Andrea Morello, used an atom of antimony to demonstrate a new way to perform quantum computations.
Quantum mechanics has long been puzzled scientists and philosophers, with the concept of Schrödinger’s cat being one of the most famous thought experiments. In this experiment, a cat is in a state of superposition, meaning it can be both alive and dead at the same time. This idea challenges our classical understanding of reality.
The UNSW team used an atom of antimony to create their “cat.” The antimony atom has eight different spin directions, which allows for more complex quantum states than traditional qubits. This means that even a single error in the quantum code would not immediately scramble it.
In this breakthrough, the researchers have shown that by hosting an atomic “Schrödinger’s cat” inside a silicon chip, they can achieve better control over its quantum state. This technology has implications for error correction and could be scaled up to build more robust quantum computers.
The demonstration of quantum error detection and correction is a significant milestone in the development of quantum computing. The team collaborated with researchers from several institutions worldwide, including the University of Melbourne, Sandia National Laboratories, and NASA Ames.
This work highlights the potential of open-borders collaboration between top research teams to tackle complex scientific challenges. The study was published in Nature Physics and provides new insights into the possibilities of quantum computing.
Source: https://phys.org/news/2025-01-quantum-schrdinger-cat-silicon-chip.html