"Pursuing" the quantum world and climbing the peak of science

Beijing, October 4 (Cnuscity) -- According to the Voice of China News Magazine of the Central Radio and Television Corporation, "scientific achievements are inseparable from spiritual support. The spirit of scientists is a precious spiritual wealth accumulated by scientific and technological workers in long-term scientific practice. "For a long time, generation after generation of scientists have upheld deep patriotic feelings, made great contributions to the motherland and the people with superb academic achievements and broad scientific vision.

The Voice of China series reports "Pursuit", launched in this issue: "Exploring the Quantum World, Climbing the Peak of Science". Interpret the spirit of scientists who "cherish the motherland, serve the people, bravely climb the peak, pursue the truth, devote themselves to research, and unite and cooperate".

My name is Guo Guangcan, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, professor of the University of Science and Technology of China, I have been engaged in quantum optics and quantum information research, teaching and scientific research for more than 40 years. For the sake of the strength of our national defense and the development of the economy, scientists must make an unshirkable contribution. As far as possible, we must give play to the role of technology in the construction of the country and in the rejuvenation of the nation.

In April this year, the team led by Guo Guangcan, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and a quantum informatician, made an important breakthrough in the field of optical quantum storage, increasing the storage time of coherent light to 1 hour, greatly refreshing the World Record of 1 minute of optical storage in Germany, and taking an important step towards the realization of quantum U disks. Li Chuanfeng, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China, introduced: "In order to store light, we found a very special crystal, that is, the information of light is stored in the crystal. The significance of this result is that we can make it into a USB flash drive in the future, which is absolutely safe theoretically and physically. ”

Nowadays, quantum technology has become a hot spot in the world's first research and development. With the help of quantum technology, we will have the possibility to develop quantum computers that are tens of thousands of times faster than now, and can achieve absolutely secure quantum confidential communications. The forerunner of China's earliest research on quantum information is Academician Guo Guangcan.

Walk into Guo Guangcan's office at the Key Laboratory of Quantum Information of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The reporter saw that there were two yellowed pieces of letter paper on his desk, which were replies sent to him by Qian Xuesen in 1998. Guo Guangcan recalled that at that time, he was bent on carrying forward the research of quantum information in China, so he sent a letter to Qian Xuesen. Guo Guangcan said: "At that time, I proposed to engage in quantum computers, which is very important, and should be carried out in accordance with the spirit and practice of 'two bombs and one satellite' at that time, in order to compete with foreign countries." ”

Paper is short and long. In just a few hundred words, the affection of two generations of scientists for "serving the country through science and education" jumped on the paper. In the last century, the doors of the quantum world had not yet been fully opened. Guo Guangcan keenly grasped that quantum science, an emerging discipline, will surely become a fiercely competitive field in the future world, and will also be a great opportunity for China to occupy a place in the international academic community.

Guo Guangcan said: "What is quantum, this is the first thing everyone must figure out. Quantum is a general term, photons, atoms, quarks, etc., all of which need to be described by quantum mechanics, and we all call it quanta. I came back in 1983 and held the first Quantum Optics Conference in 1984, and since then I've lit the flame of quantum optics. ”

However, conducting quantum information research is not easy. During the national "Eighth Five-Year Plan", Guo Guangcan proposed to the Basic Bureau of the Chinese Academy of Sciences to carry out "quantum cryptography" research, which was not adopted; in 1998, the state implemented the "973" plan to support basic research with major application prospects, and Guo Guangcan submitted the project application report again. But unexpectedly, his application was not discussed at all, and some experts believe that the traditional classical information has not been studied clearly, what kind of quantum information is there? Some old professors also wrote joint letters, alleging that his research was pseudoscience.

Guo Guangcan said: "No one pays attention to me, and wherever I go to defend experts, they all engage in classics, not quantum." He doesn't understand you, his peers are against it, saying that there is no future for this, and everyone doesn't know what the new field is for, but I believe it is very useful. ”

In the face of all kinds of misunderstandings and setbacks, Guo Guangcan was not discouraged, but strengthened his confidence. He realized that to change this situation, we must start with science popularization. Guo Guangcan introduced: "I will first publish a series of popular science articles in the journal "Physics", tell (everyone) how important, and make reports at various report meetings. ”

In order to arouse the attention of the domestic academic community, Guo Guangcan decided to recommend the research of quantum information to the 1998 Xiangshan Science Conference. So there was a past of his correspondence with Qian Xuesen 23 years ago.

Guo Guangcan recalled: "He was very much in agreement, but he was already in a wheelchair and couldn't get out, so he couldn't hold that meeting. Later, Wang Daheng, the titan of our optical world, told me a word that there must be a voice of our Chinese in this emerging field. This sentence gives me a lot of encouragement. ”

That year, coinciding with the 5th anniversary of the Xiangshan Conference, Guo Guangcan's report came last. But through this conference, experts and leaders in the domestic academic community have an understanding of quantum information.

In 2001, after the fourth application, Guo Guangcan finally got the first "973" project in the field of quantum information in China. He brought together the domestic "want to do, do what you want to do" team. When the project was concluded 5 years later, not only a number of outstanding research results were achieved, but also a large number of scientific research teams with pioneering and innovative capabilities were cultivated.

Guo Guangcan introduced: "In my team, on these subject leaders, 5 academicians have been born so far. Let me give you an example, such as Pan Jianwei, when I visited Austria, I mobilized him to come back and arranged for him to be the leader of the research group. ”

In August 2016, the world's first quantum science experimental satellite designed by Pan Jianwei's team, Mozi, was successfully launched. Domestic and foreign media have described this major technological breakthrough as China's latest leap forward.

In October 2020, the Politburo of the CPC Central Committee held the 24th collective study on the research and application prospects of quantum science and technology.

Although China did not start the earliest in the global quantum communication competition, under the unremitting efforts of many scientists, China has achieved "curve overtaking" in the field of quantum communication.

From the establishment of China's first key laboratory of quantum information and sowing the first seeds of China's quantum information research, Guo Guangcan witnessed the development process of China's quantum science and technology. Sun Fangwen, a winner of the National Outstanding Youth Science Foundation, said: "He led everyone to do quantum information together, and the seed of quantum information was planted in China, and then it was getting better and better." ”

【Reporter's Note】

I am reporter Jiang Xiaochen. Academician Guo Guangcan, who is more than a year old, is still active in the front line of scientific research, and insists on walking to and from work every day. He said, "To engage in scientific research, we must have a spirit and make practical contributions to the country, even if others do not support it, you can sit on the cold bench, but you cannot give up, this is the responsibility and responsibility of a scientist." "We are looking forward to the revolutionary changes brought to us by quantum information technology, and we also look forward to more updated and more cutting-edge achievements that can be born in Academician Guo's laboratory."