Quantum computers are appreciated as the future of the computer, with the attraction of faster, more secure and massively advanced capabilities, introducing a rapid growth of the quantum market in the last decade.
Now, researchers in a collaboration with technology companies say they have completed the first long-distance quantum teleportation, a discovery that could pave the way for the quantum Internet to become a reality. Their results were published in PRX Quantum.
“We are delighted with these results,” said Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Fermilab quantum science program and one of the co-authors of the paper in a statement.
“This is a key achievement in building a technology that redefines the way we conduct global communication.”
But what is a quantum computer and the quantum internet?
Well, we must first understand how traditional computers work before we can delve into their summers in the space age. Computers work using inputs called bits, which are either “active” or “off”, which are assigned the numbers “1” or “0”. From these inputs, a computer can quickly process a massive number of calculations, and by inserting multiple switches into a computer chip that can be 1 or 0, you can increase the processing power of your computer chip.
Now, let’s introduce quantum states into the mix. Quantum particles are small difficult particles that can exist in three states compared to the two standards. In a computer, they can be either 1, 0, or both at the same time (called overlap). They represent a different type of input called qubit and form the basis of quantum calculus.
In order to obtain a complete quantum internet, these qubits must be transported over long distances from one device to another, just like the way the “normal” internet works. But, as with any quantum thing, moving data is much more complicated than just transmitting it over an Ethernet cable.
The researchers wanted to carry out quantum teleportation, a fact in which qubits are passed through state-of-the-art fiber networks using entanglement. Quantum particles have a strange ability to be linked together, becoming “tangled” together. If the pair of tangled particles is divided between two different locations, it is possible to transmit information between them – theoretically over a long distance. However, a number of problems have prevented quantum teleportation from becoming a reality. For example, one theory states that you cannot exactly copy quantum information (theorem without cloning) and therefore remote transmission may be uncertain.
By using shelf technology, the researchers were finally able to complete long-distance quantum teleportation. They successfully transmitted qubits over a distance of 44 kilometers (27.3 miles) with a fidelity (how “accurate” the information is) of 90%, a fact that no company has previously managed to achieve. Researchers believe that this is a massive step towards the future of computers and communication.
A quantum internet would be a game changer for the world of technology as we know it, with data moving faster, more securely and possibly impossible to steal. The transition from conventional to quantum computers is a dream of many researchers and it seems more and more likely that this will become a reality.
There is still a long way to go before quantum internet becomes a viable reality. Quantum particles are still extremely difficult to study and measure, and fidelity must also be improved before reliable data can be transmitted. In parallel, such a network will almost certainly be extremely expensive and therefore not viable for most networks in the near future, but we can dream. Despite this, the realization of quantum teleportation is an extremely promising step forward.
“We are very proud to have accomplished this step in sustainable, high-performance and scalable quantum teleportation systems,” said Maria Spiropulu, Shang-Yi Ch’en physics professor at Caltech and director of the IN-Q-NET research program. -a declaration.
“The results will be further improved with the system updates we expect to complete by the second quarter of 2021.”