Vibrating atoms make robust qubits, physicists find

A molecular vibration is a periodic motion of the atoms of a molecule in relation to one another
in which the centre of mass of the molecule stays unaltered. It is possible for a molecule in its
ground state to experience a fundamental vibration when one of these quantum of energy is
absorbed by the molecule. A new quantum bit, or "qubit," has been found by MIT physicists, and
it is in the form of vibrating pairs of atoms, known as fermions. Using an optical lattice to
capture pairs of fermions, they discovered that the particles may exist simultaneously in two
states when the particles are cold and caught in the lattice—a bizarre quantum phenomena
known as superposition. A superposition of two vibrational modes was achieved in this scenario,
in which the atoms wobbled against one another while also swinging in sync at the same time.
According to the scientists, they were able to sustain this state of superposition among a large
number of vibrating pairs of fermions. They were able to achieve this by creating a new
"quantum register," or system of qubits. Quantum computing is made up of qubits. Quantum bits
(qubits) can be a superposition of two states, whereas conventional bits execute logical
operations starting from either 0 or 1. Qubits may communicate and analyse many streams of
data simultaneously while in this sensitive in-between state. A typical computer would take years
to answer problems like these. Qubits occur in many forms and sizes, some made artificially,
others discovered in nature. Most qubits are irrational, reluctant or unable to communicate with
other qubits to maintain superposition.
Fortunately, Zwierlein's team happened to be looking at fermionic atoms of potassium-40 at the
time. Their method involved cooling a cloud of fermions to 100 nanokelvins and then using a set
of lasers to build an optical lattice in which to capture the atoms. They were successful. They
fine-tuned the circumstances such that each well in the lattice contained a pair of fermions,
which they called fermions. For a while, scientists were perplexed by the fact that, under certain
conditions, each pair of fermions appeared to move in sync with the other, as if they were one
single molecule. In order to investigate this vibrational state in greater depth, the researchers
gave each fermion pair a kick, then took fluorescence images of the atoms in the lattice and
discovered that every so often, most squares in the lattice went dark, reflecting pairs bound in a
molecule, as previously reported. While photographing the system, scientists saw that atoms
appeared to reappear in a regular pattern, which indicated that the couples were oscillating
between two quantum vibrational states. We know we can make two qubits communicate in this
system, so we're excited about that," he says. Part of the funding for this research came from the
National Science Foundation, as well as the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the Vannevar
Bush Faculty Fellowship, and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, among other sources.