Introduction
According to a Nature article released this year, physicists launched a laser pulse sequence imitating the Fibonacci sequence at a quantum computer and created a new phase of matter.
They believe the new phase of matter preserves information better than present approaches.
Since retaining qubits in their quantum states is risky with existing technology, it might make quantum computers much more trustworthy.
What is the Fibonacci Sequence?
The Fibonacci sequence is a set of numbers that starts with a one or a zero and then a one. Each number in the sequence is equal to the sum of the two numbers that came before it.
In nature, you can see spirals, which are a representation of the Fibonacci numbers. Pinecones, sunflowers, and pineapples are just a few examples. Furthermore, the order of a plant’s leaves can be used to establish a time frame.
What is a Qubit?
A Qubit is a unit of quantum information is called a qubit. It is a two-state quantum system that can represent a 0, a 1, or any other two-state system. A qubit is a quantum system with two possible states. It can stand for a 0 or a 1 or any other two-state system.
In quantum computing, a one or zero is not stored as a traditional bit, but as a qubit. A qubit’s unique property of being both a one and a zero at the same time could make quantum computers capable of doing calculations that would take traditional computers an enormous amount of time to solve.
There is still a long road ahead until quantum computers are reliable enough to achieve that kind of speed or to be useful in ordinary life. For one, the qubits need a carefully regulated environment in which a tiny disruption, like a minuscule change in temperature, might cause the qubits to lose their quantum states, and hence the information they contain.
For 1.5 seconds, the experiment’s standard qubits at both ends of a row of ten atoms maintained their quantum states. However, the qubits endured for a stunning 5.5 seconds when they were blasted with a pulse of laser light to the tune of the Fibonacci numbers, a sequence of integers where each number is the sum of the two preceding ones.
And physicists say time is at the heart of why this happens.
Research fellow at the Flatiron Institute’s Center for Computational Quantum Physics and the study’s lead author, Philip Dumistrescu, recently told Gizmodo: “What we realized is that by using quasi-periodic sequences based on the Fibonacci pattern, you can have the system behave as if there are two distinct directions of time.”
Why are they blasting the fibonacci sequence into a quantum computer?
Using the Fibonacci sequence, though, raises the question: why use it? A quasicrystal is a structure of matter that follows a pattern but is not periodic, and physicists have found that laser pulses fired in accordance with the Fibonacci numbers behave in a similar way.
In other words, it was sequential without becoming repetitive.
Dumistrescu added in a news release that “with this quasi-periodic sequence, there is a sophisticated evolution that cancels out all the faults that live on the edge.” Since that’s the case, “the edge stays quantum-mechanically coherent for much, much longer than you’d think.”
Conclusion
Scientists claim to have made a new state of matter by bombarding a quantum computer with laser pulses. The length of time the phase spends in a quantum state is determined by a peculiarity of the Fibonacci sequence.
One day, quantum computers will be able to tackle issues that are currently beyond the capabilities of classical computers. Electric fields and laser pulses are used to modify them. Using laser pulses in a Fibonacci sequence, scientists were able to keep qubits in a quantum state for roughly 5.5 seconds.
“The key conclusion was showing the difference between these two different techniques to build these quantum states.”