Scientists create strange new phase of matter that seems to occupy TWO time dimensions

A strange new phase of matter which seems to occupy two dimensions of time has been created in a lab by scientists.

The mind-bending discovery could pave the way for quantum computers – powerful machines that use the properties of quantum physics to store data and perform complex computations.

It also represents ‘a completely different way of thinking about phases of matter,’ according to computational quantum physicist Philipp Dumitrescu, of the Flatiron Institute. 

Matter normally exists as either a solid, liquid or gas, although there are also many less familiar phases, such as ‘time crystals’.

In lab experiments, physicists shone a pulsing laser at atoms inside a quantum computer. The pattern of pulses was inspired by the Fibonacci sequence — in which each number is the sum of the previous two.

During this process, the researchers observed a completely new phase of matter. The new state exhibited two time dimensions, despite there still being only one singular flow of time. 

The researchers claim that any information stored in this new phase of matter would be much better protected against errors than with any of the setups currently used in quantum computers. 

This means information could be kept around for a lot longer, which in turn would make quantum computing much more achievable. 

‘I’ve been working on these theory ideas for over five years, and seeing them come actually to be realised in experiments is exciting,’ Dumitrescu said.

Quantum computing is based on qubits, which are the quantum equivalent of computing bits. 

Whereas bits process information in one of two states – 1 or 0 – qubits can be both simultaneously. 

This extra information density allows quantum computers to examine all possible outcomes of a decision process. 

They do this by placing the qubits in a quantum ‘superposition’ — a kind of limbo in which different potential states occur simultaneously. 

Only when the system is observed or disturbed does it ‘collapse’ into one state or another. 

This fundamental pillar of quantum mechanics was illustrated by the famous ‘Schroedinger’s Cat’ thought experiment, in which a cat is neither dead nor alive but a ‘superposition’ of both states. 

It also gave rise to the ‘many worlds’ hypothesis – the idea that a myriad of universes co-exist in parallel in which different fates are played out.

Superposition can be incredibly powerful from a computational standpoint, because it makes short work of problem solving under the right circumstances. 

Such technology could change the world by allowing for calculations that would previously have been practically impossible.

Researchers said the weird quirk of quantum mechanics behaves as though it has two time dimensions, instead of one, which in doing so makes the qubits that power quantum computers more robust (stock)

However, qubits can also entangle with just about anything, which introduces errors. 

‘Even if you keep all the atoms under tight control, they can lose their quantumness by talking to their environment, heating up or interacting with things in ways you didn’t plan,’ Dumitrescu said.

‘In practice, experimental devices have many sources of error that can degrade coherence after just a few laser pulses.’

One way to make qubits more robust is to blast them with lasers, which makes them more resilient to change.

However, in the new study, scientists added not one but two time symmetries, using pulses of lasers that came in order but did not repeat.

They will now work to integrate the findings into functional computers that can rely on the strange behaviour to actually improve quantum computers.

The new discovery has been revealed in a paper published in the journal Nature.

QUANTUM COMPUTING: OPERATING ON THE BASIS OF A CIRCUIT BEING ON AND OFF AT THE SAME TIME

The key to a quantum computer is its ability to operate on the basis of a circuit not only being ‘on’ or ‘off’, but occupying a state that is both ‘on’ and ‘off’ at the same time.

While this may seem strange, it’s down to the laws of quantum mechanics, which govern the behaviour of the particles which make up an atom.

At this micro scale, matter acts in ways that would be impossible at the macro scale of the universe we live in.

Quantum mechanics allows these extremely small particles to exist in multiple states, known as ‘superposition’, until they are either seen or interfered with.

A scanning tunneling microscope shows a quantum bit from a phosphorus atom precisely positioned in silicon. Scientists have discovered how to make the qubits ‘talk to one another

A good analogy is that of a coin spinning in the air. It cannot be said to be either a ‘heads’ or ‘tails’ until it lands.

The heart of modern computing is binary code, which has served computers for decades.

While a classical computer has ‘bits’ made up of zeros and ones, a quantum computer has ‘qubits’ which can take on the value of zero or one, or even both simultaneously.   

One of the major stumbling blocks for the development of quantum computers has been demonstrating they can beat classical computers.

Google, IBM, and Intel are among companies competing to achieve this.