Advances in Quantum Computing
Physicists at the University of Innsbruck have achieved two remarkable scientific successes in theory and in experimental research for the realization of quantum computers. For the first time, a team of scientists from the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of Innsbruck, led by Professor Peter Zoller and Professor Ignacio Cirac, has developed theoretical concepts on how such a quantum network could be built, according to a broadcast by the Faculty of Natural Sciences on Saturday. "In the concept, individual atoms are used as quantum storage and combined with the exchange of light quanta to form a network of quantum computers."
Scientists at the Institute for Experimental Physics headed by Professor Rainer Blatt also made progress. The researchers succeeded in creating and stabilizing chains of charged calcium atoms. With the help of such atom chains, the individual members of which are only about a hundredth of a millimeter apart, working memory for quantum computers could be realized. This working memory is a prerequisite for information processing.
In contrast to "classic" computers, information processing in a quantum computer takes place without a "switching process". The individual charged atoms of the chains could be specifically addressed (addressed) like the tracks on a CD. The creation of the atom chains and the "addressing" of the atoms is carried out with a technology based on lasers, the statement said.
