Recently, scientists have found that a special light formed from ancient Namibian gemstones may be the key to making a new type of light-based quantum computer, and successfully used the aforementioned gemstones to create the largest Reedberg polarizer to date.
A crystal of copper oxide gemstone mined from Namibia that can be used to make Reedburgh polarizers, image from the University of St Andrews
The study was led by the University of St Andrews in the United Kingdom and conducted in collaboration with scientists from Harvard University in the United States, Macquarie University in Australia, and Aarhus University in Denmark. The study used a copper oxide gem naturally sourced from Namibia (the Republic of Namibia, formerly known as Southwest Africa, located in southwest Africa) to produce Rydberg polaritons, the largest mix of light and matter ever made. The results were published in Nature Materials.
Image courtesy of Nature Materials
The Reedberg polarizer is constantly switching between light and matter. In the Reedberg polarizer, light and matter are like two sides of a coin, and the material side is what causes the polarizers to interact. This interaction is crucial because it makes quantum simulators possible.
A quantum simulator is a special type of quantum computer that stores information in qubits. Unlike binary bits in conventional computers that can only be 0 or 1, qubits can take the values of 0 and 1 at the same time. Thus, quantum computers can store more information and perform multiple work processes at the same time.
Quantum simulators can be used to solve important puzzles in physics, chemistry, and biology. For example, how to make high-temperature superconductors for high-speed trains, how to make cheaper fertilizers to solve the problem of global hunger, how to crack the protein folding puzzle to produce more effective drugs.
"Making quantum simulators out of light is the 'holy grail' of science. We've taken a big step in this regard, making the Rydberg polarizer, a key component of the quantum simulator. Hamid Ohadi, project leader at the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, said.
Absorption spectra and cavity structure, picture from the paper
To make the Reedberg polarizer, the researchers captured light between two highly reflective mirrors. The copper oxide crystals were then extracted from the stones mined in Namibia, thinned, polished into 30 micron-thick flakes (thinner than a human hair), and placed between the two mirrors, making the Rydberg polarizers 100 times larger than before.
"It was easy to buy this gem on the eBay shopping site. The challenge for this research is how to make Rydberg polarizers that exist in an extremely narrow color range. Sai Kiran Rajendran, one of the paper's lead authors and the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of St Andrews, said.
At present, the aforementioned team is further refining the research method to explore the possibility of making quantum circuits, which will be the next key component needed for quantum simulators.