Quantum mechanics is immune to the butterfly effect – The Economist
Posted: August 14, 2020 at 11:51 pm
That could help with the design of quantum computers
Aug 15th 2020
IN RAY BRADBURYs science-fiction story A Sound of Thunder, a character time-travels far into the past and inadvertently crushes a butterfly underfoot. The consequences of that minuscule change ripple through reality such that, upon the time-travellers return, the present has been dramatically changed.
The butterfly effect describes the high sensitivity of many systems to tiny changes in their starting conditions. But while it is a feature of classical physics, it has been unclear whether it also applies to quantum mechanics, which governs the interactions of tiny objects like atoms and fundamental particles. Bin Yan and Nikolai Sinitsyn, a pair of physicists at Los Alamos National Laboratory, decided to find out. As they report in Physical Review Letters, quantum-mechanical systems seem to be more resilient than classical ones. Strangely, they seem to have the capacity to repair damage done in the past as time unfolds.
To perform their experiment, Drs Yan and Sinitsyn ran simulations on a small quantum computer made by IBM. They constructed a simple quantum system consisting of qubitsthe quantum analogue of the familiar one-or-zero bits used by classical computers. Like an ordinary bit, a qubit can be either one or zero. But it can also exist in superposition, a chimerical mix of both states at once.
Having established the system, the authors prepared a particular qubit by setting its state to zero. That qubit was then allowed to interact with the others in a process called quantum scrambling which, in this case, mimics the effect of evolving a quantum system backwards in time. Once this virtual foray into the past was completed, the authors disturbed the chosen qubit, destroying its local information and its correlations with the other qubits. Finally, the authors performed a reversed scrambling process on the now-damaged system. This was analogous to running the quantum system all the way forwards in time to where it all began.
They then checked to see how similar the final state of the chosen qubit was to the zero-state it had been assigned at the beginning of the experiment. The classical butterfly effect suggests that the researchers meddling should have changed it quite drastically. In the event, the qubits original state had been almost entirely recovered. Its state was not quite zero, but it was, in quantum-mechanical terms, 98.3% of the way there, a difference that was deemed insignificant. The final output state after the forward evolution is essentially the same as the input state before backward evolution, says Dr Sinitsyn. It can be viewed as the same input state plus some small background noise. Oddest of all was the fact that the further back in simulated time the damage was done, the greater the rate of recoveryas if the quantum system was repairing itself with time.
The mechanism behind all this is known as entanglement. As quantum objects interact, their states become highly correlatedentangledin a way that serves to diffuse localised information about the state of one quantum object across the system as a whole. Damage to one part of the system does not destroy information in the same way as it would with a classical system. Instead of losing your work when your laptop crashes, having a highly entangled system is a bit like having back-ups stashed in every room of the house. Even though the information held in the disturbed qubit is lost, its links with the other qubits in the system can act to restore it.
The upshot is that the butterfly effect seems not to apply to quantum systems. Besides making life safe for tiny time-travellers, that may have implications for quantum computing, too, a field into which companies and countries are investing billions of dollars. We think of quantum systems, especially in quantum computing, as very fragile, says Natalia Ares, a physicist at the University of Oxford. That this result demonstrates that quantum systems can in fact be unexpectedly robust is an encouraging finding, and bodes well for potential future advances in the field.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline "A flutter in time"
Read more:
Quantum mechanics is immune to the butterfly effect - The Economist
- Beam me up: long-distance quantum teleportation has happened for the first time ever - SYFY WIRE - December 26th, 2020
- Quanta's Year in Math and Computer Science (2020) - Quanta Magazine - December 26th, 2020
- What the Hell Is Quantum Chess? | IE - Interesting Engineering - December 26th, 2020
- The Interview Issue: Eisgruber is trying to reshape the meaning of a Princeton education even as his school, and higher ed as a whole, grapples with... - December 26th, 2020
- Satoshis Bitcoin Fortune Will Be Easiest Batch for Quantum Computers to Hack, Says Andreas Antonopoulos - The Daily Hodl - December 26th, 2020
- Europe Is on Its Way To Quantum Leadership, IQM Raises 39 M in Series A Funding - Embedded Computing Design - November 30th, 2020
- How Scientists Have Learned To Work With the Quantum World - Walter Bradley Center for Natural and Artificial Intelligence - November 30th, 2020
- Archer Materials makes strong progress in shifting focus to Advanced Materials Business and technology - Proactive Investors USA & Canada - November 30th, 2020
- 01 Communique to Present at the Benzinga Global Small Cap Conference on December 8 - IT News Online - November 30th, 2020
- What is Quantum Computing, and How does it Help Us? - Analytics Insight - October 11th, 2020
- 4 Reasons Why Now Is the Best Time to Start With Quantum Computing - Medium - October 11th, 2020
- Race for quantum supremacy gathers momentum with several companies joining bandwagon, says GlobalData - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - October 11th, 2020
- Quantum computing: Photon startup lights up the future of computers and cryptography - ZDNet - October 8th, 2020
- Canadian quantum computing firms partner to spread the technology - IT World Canada - October 8th, 2020
- Google's Billion Dollar News, Commercial Quantum Computers And More In This Week's Top News - Analytics India Magazine - October 8th, 2020
- SC20 Invited Speakers Tackle Challenges for the Earth, Its Inhabitants, and Our Security Using 'More Than HPC' - HPCwire - October 8th, 2020
- A new claimant for "most powerful quantum computer" - Axios - October 3rd, 2020
- ESAs -Week: Digital Twin Earth, Quantum Computing and AI Take Center Stage - SciTechDaily - October 3rd, 2020
- Schrdingers Web offers a sneak peek at the quantum internet - Science News - October 3rd, 2020
- Global QC Market Projected to Grow to More Than $800 million by 2024 - HPCwire - October 3rd, 2020
- Berkeley Lab Technologies Honored With 7 R&D 100 Awards - Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - October 3rd, 2020
- oneAPI Academic Center of Excellence Established at the Heidelberg University Computing Center (URZ) - HPCwire - October 3rd, 2020
- Baidu offers quantum computing from the cloud - VentureBeat - September 26th, 2020
- IBM Partners With HBCUs to Diversify Quantum Computing Workforce - Diverse: Issues in Higher Education - September 26th, 2020
- IBM, Alphabet and well-funded startups in the race for quantum supremacy - IT Brief Australia - September 26th, 2020
- IBM plans to build a 1121 qubit system. What does this technology mean? - The Hindu - September 26th, 2020
- Inaugural OSA Quantum 2.0 Conference Featured Talks on Emerging Technologies - Novus Light Technologies Today - September 26th, 2020
- Could Quantum Computing Progress Be Halted by Background Radiation? - Singularity Hub - September 1st, 2020
- Fermilab to lead $115 million National Quantum Information Science Research Center to build revolutionary quantum computer with Rigetti Computing,... - September 1st, 2020
- The future of artificial intelligence and quantum computing - Military & Aerospace Electronics - September 1st, 2020
- Researchers Found Another Impediment for Quantum Computers to Overcome - Dual Dove - September 1st, 2020
- Quantum Cryptography Market Research Analysis Including Growth Factors, Types And Application By Regions From 2024 - Kentucky Journal 24 - September 1st, 2020
- Q-NEXT collaboration awarded National Quantum Initiative funding - University of Wisconsin-Madison - September 1st, 2020
- This Equation Calculates The Chances We Live In A Computer Simulation - Discover Magazine - September 1st, 2020
- I confess, I'm scared of the next generation of supercomputers - TechRadar - September 1st, 2020
- Honeywell Wants To Show What Quantum Computing Can Do For The World - Forbes - August 14th, 2020
- Quantum Computing for the Next Generation of Computer Scientists and Researchers - Campus Technology - August 14th, 2020
- Major quantum computational breakthrough is shaking up physics and maths - The Conversation UK - August 14th, 2020
- IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE20) Transitions to All-Virtual Event - PRNewswire - August 14th, 2020
- 6 new degrees approved, including graduate degrees in biostatistics and quantum information science: News at IU - IU Newsroom - August 14th, 2020
- The race to building a fully functional quantum stack - TechCrunch - August 14th, 2020
- Toshiba Exits PC Business 35 Years of IBM Compatible PCs - Electropages - August 14th, 2020
- IBM Z mainframes revived by Red Hat, AI and security - TechTarget - August 14th, 2020
- Quantum computing will (eventually) help us discover vaccines in days - VentureBeat - May 17th, 2020
- Quantum computing analytics: Put this on your IT roadmap - TechRepublic - May 17th, 2020
- Video: The Future of Quantum Computing with IBM - insideHPC - May 17th, 2020
- Registration Open for Inaugural IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering - HPCwire - May 17th, 2020
- Light, fantastic: the path ahead for faster, smaller computer processors - News - The University of Sydney - May 17th, 2020
- VTT to acquire Finland's first quantum computer seeking to bolster Finland's and Europe's competitiveness - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - May 12th, 2020
- IonQ CEO Peter Chapman on how quantum computing will change the future of AI - VentureBeat - May 12th, 2020
- David Graves to Head New Research at PPPL for Plasma Applications in Industry and Quantum Information Science - HPCwire - May 12th, 2020
- Recent Research Answers the Future of Quantum Machine Learning on COVID-19 - Analytics Insight - May 12th, 2020
- Kerry Emanuel, David Sabatini, and Peter Shor receive BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge awards - MIT News - May 12th, 2020
- Between God and Science in the Surreal Silicon Valley of Devs - The Nation - May 12th, 2020
- Online course trains students in the bizarre world of quantum computing - Livescience.com - May 2nd, 2020
- Devs: Here's the real science behind the quantum computing TV show - New Scientist News - May 2nd, 2020
- New Princeton study takes superconductivity to the edge - Princeton University - May 2nd, 2020
- Quantum computer chips demonstrated at the highest temperatures ever - New Scientist News - April 16th, 2020
- Calling On AI And Quantum Computing To Fight The Coronavirus - Forbes - April 16th, 2020
- COVID-19: Quantum computing could someday find cures for coronaviruses and other diseases - TechRepublic - April 16th, 2020
- Alex Garland on 'Devs,' free will and quantum computing - Engadget - April 16th, 2020
- Making Sense of the Science and Philosophy of Devs - The Ringer - April 16th, 2020
- D-Wave makes its quantum computers free to anyone working on the coronavirus crisis - VentureBeat - April 2nd, 2020
- We're Getting Closer to the Quantum Internet, But What Is It? - HowStuffWorks - April 2nd, 2020
- Q-CTRL to Host Live Demos of 'Quantum Control' Tools - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - April 2nd, 2020
- Disrupt The Datacenter With Orchestration - The Next Platform - April 2nd, 2020
- Quantum Computing: Will It Actually Produce Jobs? - Dice Insights - March 19th, 2020
- Quantum computing is right around the corner, but cooling is a problem. What are the options? - Diginomica - March 19th, 2020
- Quantum Computing for Everyone - The Startup - Medium - March 19th, 2020
- Work from home: Improve your security with MFA - We Live Security - March 19th, 2020
- Career navigation Be at the core or be at the edge - The Financial Express BD - March 19th, 2020
- TensorFlow gets its quantum of solace, lid lifted on 'all-seeing crime-detecting' AI upstart, and more - The Register - March 17th, 2020
- What Is Quantum Computing, And How Can It Unlock Value For Businesses? - Computer Business Review - January 27th, 2020
- The End Of The Digital Revolution Is Coming: Here's What's Next - Innovation Excellence - January 27th, 2020
- Delta Partners with IBM to Explore Quantum Computing - Database Trends and Applications - January 27th, 2020
- Quantum networking projected to be $5.5 billion market in 2025 - TechRepublic - January 27th, 2020
- University of Sheffield launches Quantum centre to develop the technologies of tomorrow - Quantaneo, the Quantum Computing Source - January 27th, 2020
- 5G, AI and Quantum Computing: Who Knows Where It Will All Lead? - Planet Vending - January 27th, 2020
- CES 2020: IBM and Daimler teaming up for a quantum leap in battery tech - CNET - January 12th, 2020
- Google and IBM square off in Schrodingers catfight over quantum supremacy - The Register - January 12th, 2020