Scientists have developed a revolutionary new method for figuring out how our universe functions at its most basic level by utilizing state-of-the-art research in quantum computing and quantum technology.
A worldwide group of scientists, under the direction of the University of Nottingham, have shown that a key informatic ingredient required for quantum computation could only be created using quantum gravity, not classical gravity. Today’s PRX Quantum article titled “Non-Gaussianity as a signature of a quantum theory of gravity” details their findings.
“For more than a century, physicists have struggled to determine how the two foundational theories of science, quantum theory, and general relativity, which describe microscopic and macroscopic phenomena, respectively, are unified into a single overarching theory of nature,” stated Dr. Richard Howl, who oversaw the research while working at the University of Nottingham’s School of Mathematics.
‘Quantum gravity’ and ‘classical gravity’ are two radically different methods they have developed at this time. Our discovery offers an experimental technique of resolving this since physicists are unable to determine the precise form that the overarching theory takes due to a total absence of experimental evidence.”
This new research reveals an unexpected connection between the domains of quantum computing and quantum gravity and uses this to propose an experimental method to test that there is quantum gravity instead of classical gravity. The research is a collaboration between experts in quantum computing, quantum gravity, and quantum experiments. In the proposed experiment, billions of atoms would be cooled to extremely low temperatures in a millimeter-sized spherical trap. This would cause the atoms to enter a new phase of matter known as a Bose-Einstein condensate and begin to behave like a single big quantum atom. This “atom” is then exposed to a magnetic field, causing it to experience just its own gravitational force. With all of this in mind, nature must choose the quantum gravity approach if the single gravitational atom exhibits the essential component required for quantum computation—curiously linked to “negative probability.”
This experiment is simpler than previous approaches and could lead to the first experimental test of quantum gravity sooner. It uses existing technology, involves only one quantum system, the gravitating “atom,” and does not make any assumptions about the locality of the interaction. Then, after almost a century of study, physicists would gain knowledge of the actual underlying, fundamental theory of nature.
Contributing to the collaboration was Dr. Marios Christodoulou of the University of Hong Kong, who said, “This research is particularly exciting as the proposed experiment would also connect with the more philosophical idea that the universe is behaving as an immense quantum computer that is calculating itself, by demonstrating that quantum fluctuations of spacetime are a vast natural resource for quantum computation.”