Quantum Teleportation Is a Reality and Holds the Potential to Revolutionize the Way We Transfer Information

A few months ago, a group of researchers at the Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO) in Castelldefels, Spain, achieved an incredible feat: They teleported a photon to a solid-state qubit located 0.62 miles away. This may sound like something out of science fiction, but it’s real cutting-edge science. Photons are elementary particles responsible for various forms of electromagnetic radiation, including visible light. They have no mass and can travel at the speed of light in a vacuum.

It’s important to note that while we refer to photons as particles, they also exhibit wave-like behavior, leading to the concept of “wave-particle duality” in quantum mechanics to describe the dual nature of light. On the other hand, a qubit is the smallest unit of information that a quantum computer can process. What’s surprising is that qubits, aside from their abstract concept, also have a physical presence, and the term “qubit” refers to the device designed to interact with other qubits and perform logical operations.

Interestingly, there are several types of qubits, including superconductors, ion traps, semiconductors, neutral atoms, or ions implanted in macromolecules, among other variations. Not all of them are equally complex, and some, such as semiconductors, can already be manufactured industrially.

This brief conceptual overview will help us better understand the experiment conducted by ICFO researchers and its implications. Here’s a little hint: On paper, it has the potential to revolutionize our information transfer technologies.

An Unprecedented Achievement That Invites Us to Look Optimistically Towards Quantum Networks

Before we move on, let’s take a moment to review one more concept: quantum entanglement. This phenomenon is extremely exotic and interesting because it has no equivalent in classical physics. Quantum entanglement involves the state of two or more quantum systems being the same. This means that these objects are actually part of the same system, even though they’re physically separated. In other words, distance doesn’t matter.

When two particles, objects, or systems are entangled by this quantum phenomenon, measuring the physical properties of one instantly affects the physical properties of the other, even if they’re at opposite ends of the Universe. This may sound like science fiction, but scientists have empirically proven this. In fact, together with the superposition of states, this phenomenon is one of the fundamental principles of quantum computing.

Going back to the ICFO study, the experiment involved sending a photon instantaneously to a physical cubit. The significant aspect of this phenomenon is that the photon contains information. In fact, the researchers used two entangled photons to transport information instantaneously. Once the information reached its destination, it was stored in memories with special characteristics known as “multiplexed quantum memories.”

This experiment shows that it’s possible to efficiently transfer quantum information over long distances, which is crucial for the success of future quantum networks. Additionally, the researchers used a fiber optic link to transfer one of the entangled photons to the destination, demonstrating that the current fiber optic infrastructure can support future quantum networks.

In essence, this experiment gives us reason to be optimistic about a future where large volumes of information can be transferred instantaneously and securely over long distances. Sounds promising, doesn’t it?

This article was written by Juan Carlos López and originally published in Spanish on Xataka.

Image | ICFO

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