For decades we’ve learned that computers, from cell phones to data centers, calculate with zero and one. At the University of Innsbruck, a team of experimental physicists has now realized a quantum computer that leaves this limitation behind and paves the way for significantly more efficient quantum computations.
Storing information with zeros and ones is not the most efficient way of calculating, but it is the simplest, and simple often means reliable and less error-prone. Binary information processing is now the undisputed standard. This is different in the quantum world, since there are hardly any systems with only two states.
“In the Innsbruck quantum computer, for example, information is stored in individual trapped calcium atoms, each of which has eight states, only two of which have been used for calculations so far,” explains Thomas Monz. The same is true for almost all existing quantum computers worldwide.
Full potential of the exploited atom
As the Innsbruck physicists have now shown, it is possible to construct a quantum computer in such a way that the full potential of the atom can be exploited by using all existing states as so-called qudits (quantum digits) for calculations. This new computational model is optimally tuned to the quantum hardware, and the researchers were able to show that the new quantum computer works just as reliably as one with only zero and one.
The situation is similar with applications. Because many of the tasks required by quantum computers, such as in physics, chemistry, or materials science, are formulated naturally for qudits.
“More natural for many uses”
If you try to rewrite them for conventional quantum computers, they often become too complicated for today’s machines. “Computing with more than zero and one is not only ideal for quantum computers, but also much more natural for many applications,” says experimental physicist Martin Ringbauer. “This approach allows us to unleash the full potential of our quantum computers.”
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
