Scholars at the School of Engineering of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) have unveiled an innovation that brings artificial intelligence (AI) closer to quantum computing – both physically and technologically.

Scientists at the Universities of Basel and Cologne have revealed a key superconducting effect in topological insulator nanowires. Their findings bring topological insulator nanowires closer to serving as the foundation for stable, next-generation quantum bits (qubits).

Physicists at the University of Cologne have taken an important step forward in the pursuit of topological quantum computing by demonstrating the first-ever observation of Crossed Andreev Reflection (CAR) in topological insulator (TI) nanowires. This finding, published under the title ‘Long-range crossed Andreev reflection in topological insulator nanowires proximitized by a superconductor’ in Nature Physics, deepens our understanding of superconducting effects in these materials, which is essential for realizing robust quantum bits (qubits) based on Majorana zero-modes in the TI platform — a major goal of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Matter and Light for Quantum Computing’ (ML4Q).

If you start with a two-dimensional ribbon and make it narrower and narrower, when does it stop being a ribbon and start being a one-dimensional line? Scientists from Utrecht University and the University of Twente made one-atom-thick ultrathin nanoribbons consisting of germanium atoms. They have shown that this system exhibits amazing properties that can be useful, for example, in quantum computing. Their work was recently published in Nature Communications.

New quantum technologies developed by the Quantum Systems Accelerator (QSA) are driving novel scientific discoveries in physics, giving scientists advanced tools to explore complex behaviors of interacting quantum particles and the physical properties of materials. QSA, a National Quantum Information Science Research Center led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, conducts research that fuels the development of quantum-enabled materials and technologies, leveraging quantum information science to accelerate the discovery and design of advanced materials for energy applications. QSA scientists from 15 different institutions are collaborating to advance materials physics and build the future of fundamental scientific discovery as the scientific community builds on powerful classical computers and enters the quantum realm for processing information better and faster.

Scientists at the University of Würzburg and the German national metrology institute (PTB) have carried out an experiment that realizes a new kind of quantum standard of resistance. It’s based on the Quantum Anomalous Hall Effect.

INOX Group, a diversified Indian conglomerate, and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), India’s premier scientific research institution, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for setting up of INOX Quantum Materials Lab. The Lab would come up at the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering facility at IISc. The Lab is set to focus on the development of topological semiconductors, a critical material for achieving fault-tolerant quantum computing, which will enable the creation of robust and error-resistant quantum states, which holds key to the future of Quantum technology.

Scientists at Princeton University, led by Bangladeshi researcher M. Zahid Hasan, have marked a significant milestone in quantum physics. This achievement, documented in the Nature Physics journal on 20 February, showcases the observation of long-range quantum coherence at relatively high temperatures. This advancement is crucial for the development of next-generation technologies, including super-fast computers and ultra-secure communication networks, which until now have been hindered by the need for extremely low temperatures to achieve this state.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have successfully simulated higher-order topological (HOT) lattices with unprecedented accuracy using digital quantum computers. These complex lattice structures can help us understand advanced quantum materials with robust quantum states that are highly sought after in various technological applications.