The last few papers from the QuNaT group have set a precedent that we hope to maintain permanently: We publish in open journals so that our papers can be read by everyone, everywhere without needing to (a) belong to an institutional library, or (b) pay a ~$30 fee to pass the “paywall”. But we’re going further… as theorists we often write complex computer code to generate the results which we present in our papers. We’re making Read more…
A new website has been created for all of Oxford University’s quantum science community.
A quantum system interacting with an environment can behave very differently to when it is in isolation. This can be a problem when modelling messy biological systems – how do I describe the molecule I’m interested in without describing the rest of the surrounding chemical soup? In a recent manuscript that’s now in press with the New Journal of Physics, we introduced a technique to more clearly distinguish the boundary between such open quantum systems and Read more…
The debate continues about quantum effects in the natural ‘compass sense’ that some birds have. The most well-studied species is the European Robin, shown in this picture: We’ve just published a Comment in PRL, with our counter arguments to some of the claims in a recent Letter there. Read it here. This is work by Erik Gauger and Simon Benjamin.
Our recent paper in Nature Communications explains how we might be able to break up a quantum computer into little, easy to make pieces and then network them together. Read more about it at the Oxford University science blog here. …or the Singapore Centre for Quantum Technology story here. Below is an artists impression – feel free to use the image, it’s license is CC-BY. Just acknowledge Karl Nymann the artist. Work by Naomi Nickerson, Read more…
In quantum physics, sometimes we may choose to perform measurements weakly: we deliberately avoid learning too much about a system so that its wavefunction does not collapse. It’s been suggested that a series of such measurements, suitably amplified, may ultimately do better than a regular measurement when the apparatus suffers from noise. In a recent Phys. Rev. A article we determine this idea has, at best, very limited applicability. This is work by George Knee, Simon Read more…
In a recent New J. Physics article, we look at how one could create entanglement between two remote parties by generating, and then almost entirely consuming, a topological code state spread over any number of repeater stations. The approach tolerates 10% noise on the links between stations. It’s a scheme that calls for a fair bit of sophistication in the repeater stations, but an upside is that it scales with distance very well – potentially Read more…
In a recent Phys. Rev. Letter we take a look at the idea of using a chain of spins as a ‘wiring’ to bridging the gap between well-separated NV centres in diamond. We conclude that while the idea certainly works as a means of state transfer, the levels of control and isolation required for the spins are well beyond existing or near-future capabilities. However the imperfect chains one might foresee in the near future can Read more…
Simon recently ran a conference on Open Science, with help from others in the QuNaT team: ‘Rigour and Openness in 21st Century Science’. Over 30 speakers gathered to discuss the cutting edge of digital innovations in publishing, how openness is set to improve standards in science, and the British government’s new policies on open access. Keynote speakers included Chief Scientific Adviser Mark Walport and Minister David Willetts. All the talks are now available to watch freely Read more…
How precisely do birds navigate over long distances without getting lost? In a Biophysical Journal article, we suggest that certain migratory birds might literally ‘see’ Earth’s magnetic field superimposed on their normal vision, reminiscent of a fighter pilot’s heads up display. Our proposal builds on the established Radical Pair model of the avian compass, replacing the hypothetical chemical signal transduction stage, for which no evidence exists, with a physical mechanism, by which an electrical dipole Read more…