In a leap forward for quantum computing, a Microsoft team led by UC Santa Barbara physicists on Wednesday unveiled an eight-qubit topological quantum processor, the first of its kind. The chip, built as a proof-of-concept for the scientists’ design, opens the door to the development of the long-awaited topological quantum computer.

This week, Microsoft made a bold claim that could shift expectations, unveiling Majorana 1, a quantum processing unit built on a topological core using a new class of materials called topoconductors. This marks not just a theoretical leap, but a tangible step forward in the real-world pursuit of fault-tolerant quantum computing.

Superconducting circuits are being used at TU Wien and ISTA to create new types of quantum systems that are much easier to control and much more tunable than natural quantum systems like atoms.

Now physicists at Aalto University’s Department of Applied Physics showed that the jump between different states can be realised in systems with more than two energy levels via a virtual transition to an intermediate state and by a linear chirp of the drive frequency. This process can be applied to systems where it is not possible to modify the energy of the levels.

Argonne researchers have developed a cutting-edge technique to study atomic vibrations near material interfaces, opening doors to new quantum applications in computing and sensing.

Planqc plans to design the first fully programmable quantum computers in collaboration with the DLR and the Leibniz Supercomputing Centre by 2027, with the goal of miniaturizing them. The company has access to EUR 87 million in funding for this project. Research is currently underway to determine which computations quantum computers can perform faster than conventional computers. At the moment, applications are being explored in fluid dynamics, such as turbine optimization, materials development, and climate research.

Penn and CUNY researchers collaborated to develop a device that uses quantum principles to relay information securely—an advance that could improve encryption in critical service areas like banking and health care.

Argonne physicists have adapted superconducting nanowire photon detectors to be sensitive and precise high-energy particle detectors.

Pritzker Molecular Engineering researchers entangled two physically separate resonators.

A research team led by Prof. WANG Xianlong and Dr. WANG Pei from Institute of Solid State Physics, the Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a concurrent negative photoconductivity (NPC) and superconductivity in PbSe0.5Te0.5 by pressure-induced structure transition.