Scientists at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland, have published new research on a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement. This is when two particles, such as photons of light, remain connected even though they are separated by very large distances.
Researchers at the Heriot-Watt Institute of Photonics and Quantum Sciences say that in a world full of threats such as cyberattacks and information resources, quantum entanglement will make future communication networks unbreakable. This technology can provide the most secure form of communication even when devices are dangerous or in the hands of criminals.
But over long distances, entangled photons can be disturbed by noisy real-world environments such as stormy weather, background noise, or loss of signal in a communication network. Such problems can compromise the security of the quantum network. Working with colleagues at the University of Geneva in Switzerland, Heriot-Watt physicists have developed a way of quantum entanglement to survive and remain intact even under conditions of extreme noise and loss.
“Even the best optical fibers in the world will have a certain amount of loss per kilometer, so this is a major barrier to creating this type of quantum communication,” explains Professor Mehul Malik, an experimental physicist and professor of physics at Heriot-Watt. Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, which has been researching quantum technologies for 15 years.
“This is the first time that quantum entanglement has been shown to tolerate both noise and loss and continue to survive in a robust fashion known as quantum control.”
Professor Malik and his research team at the Beyond Binary Quantum Information Lab were able to improve the reliability of entanglement by using entangled photons in multiple dimensions (qudits) compared to standard two-dimensional quantum units (qubits). This “high-dimensional” entanglement uses the spatial nature of light to circulate photons through a 53-dimensional space made up of “pixels” of light.
In the test, the researchers were able to direct entangled photons with 36% “white noise” under loss and noise conditions equivalent to 79 km of telecommunications fiber optic cable – noise from sunlight entering the experiment, for example. .
Professor Malik said that another finding of the research is that, unreasonably, increasing the number of measurements of quantum entanglement also significantly reduces the time required to measure the results.
“The efficient and reliable flow of information is at the heart of modern society today,” says Professor Malik. “In the future, quantum networks will enable ultra-secure communications with high bandwidth. To create such a “quantum” Internet, we must be able to send quantum entanglement over real-world distances. And the only way to do that is to endure noise and loss.”
Quantum technology involves using subatomic particle physics to develop high-performance applications, including stronger computing, safer communications, and more reliable navigation systems.
Professor Malik says: “Quantum technology is a very new field being developed by both academia and industry, and I think our research is incredibly relevant to both. In academia, it can help advance fundamental research and in industry it can help future quantum networks operate at global distances.” Source
Source: Port Altele
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