a team of Harvard scientists has succeeded for the first time in trapping molecules to perform quantum operations. This feat was accomplished by using ultra-cold polar molecules as qubits, or the fundamental units of information that power the technology. The findings, recently published in the journal Nature, open new realms of possibility for harnessing the complexity of molecular structures for future applications.

Pasqal, a global leader in neutral-atom quantum computing, today announced a significant technological milestone: the successful loading of over 1000 atoms in a single shot within their quantum computing setup. This breakthrough marks a crucial step in Pasqal’s progress towards quantum advantage and scalable quantum processors.

In a new study published in Physical Review Letters, JILA Fellow and University of Colorado Boulder physics professor Cindy Regal, along with former JILA Associate Fellow Jose D’Incao (currently an assistant professor of physics at the University of Massachusetts, Boston) and their teams developed new experimental and theoretical techniques for studying the rates at which light-assisted collisions occur in the presence of small atomic energy splittings. Their results rely upon optical tweezers—focused lasers capable of trapping individual atoms—that the team used to isolate and study the products of individual pairs of atoms.

The United Nations has chosen 2025 to be the International Year of Quantum Science. To mark the event, the New Journal of Physics (NJP) has curated a collection of ten outstanding quantum articles published in the journal since its inception, including two significant contributions from ICFO.

The new Emmy Noether junior research group “Quantum Network Nodes” was launched at the beginning of the year. It focuses on research in the fields of quantum computing and quantum communication and is headed by physicist Dr. Stephan Welte, who has acquired funding of 1.9 million euros for the project.

Scientists from Durham's top-rated Physics department have set a global milestone by achieving quantum entanglement of individual molecules using cutting-edge magic-wavelength optical tweezers. This achievement not only overcomes a fundamental challenge in quantum science but also opens up new possibilities in quantum computing, high-precision measurements, and physics research.

ICFO researchers Dr. Frederic Català-Castro, Santiago Ortiz-Vázquez, Dr. Carmen Martínez-Fernández, Martín Fernández-Campo, Dr. Neus Sanfeliu-Cerdán, led by Prof. Dr. Michael Krieg, along with Dr. Paolo-Antonio Frigeri from Impetux Optics and collaborators from multiple institutes (Center of Genomic Regulation, Institute for Research in Biomedicine and Universitat Pompeu Fabra), have developed a novel optical tweezer method to characterize rheological properties. This approach, published in Nature Nanotechnology, allows for more versatile, simplified measurements of the rheological properties of cells, tissues, and organelles, improving upon previous techniques.

A team at the Department of Experimental Physics and the Institute of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) led by Francesca Ferlaino has successfully isolated single atoms of erbium in optical tweezer arrays. This achievement enables a groundbreaking approach to the study of elements with multiple valence electrons —a realm previously dominated by simpler atoms with one or two valence electrons. Erbium, which possesses 14 valence electrons, introduces new degrees of freedom and opens up exciting opportunities for quantum experimentation, enabling the exploration of previously uncharted atomic behaviors.

An experimental setup built at the Technion Faculty of Physics demonstrates the transfer of atoms from one place to another through quantum tunneling between optical tweezers. Led by Prof. Yoav Sagi and doctoral student Yanay Florshaim from the Solid State Institute, the research was published in Science Advances.

A team of physicists led by Johannes Zeiher, research group leader in Immanuel Bloch's Quantum Many-Body Systems department and co-founder of the MPQ spin-off planqc, has achieved significant progress in scaling up quantum computing platforms with neutral atoms.