Researchers have succeeded in achieving quantum coherence at ambient temperature, which is the capacity of a quantum system to sustain a distinct state unaffected by outside perturbations. This discovery represents a significant advancement in the field of quantum computing. If you do not need to chill them down to really low temperatures, working with them is simpler.
The qubit is the fundamental information unit of quantum computers. These are often composed of a small number of entangled particles in a certain state. This implies that any contact between them, regardless of the distance between them, has an impact on every particle in the state. Although this is incredibly helpful for computation, an entangled state is also exceedingly delicate.
The group succeeded in creating an entangled quintet state in electrons with this effort. It was created by employing a chromophore, a dye molecule that absorbs light and releases a certain wavelength (or color), which is ideal for exciting electrons in a particular manner to reach the singlet. But it is insufficient on its own. The chromophore was enmeshed in a nanoporous crystalline substance called a metal-organic framework (MOF).
The MOF was selected to amass a large number of chromophores while limiting their range of motion. They can move enough to excite electrons in the quintet state while they produce color, but the motion constraints prevent the shaking that would cause the state to break down.
According to a statement by Kobe University’s co-author Professor Yasuhiro Kobori, “This is the first room-temperature quantum coherence of entangled quintets.”
The system’s state was verified by the scientists using microwave light, and they were able to see that it maintained quantum coherence for more than 100 nanoseconds. Even though it’s only a fraction of a second, this demonstrates that room-temperature quantum coherence is possible.
According to senior author Associate Professor Nobuhiro Yanai of Kyushu University, “it will be possible to generate quintet multiexciton state qubits more efficiently in the future by searching for guest molecules that can induce more such suppressed motions and by developing suitable MOF structures.” “This could pave the way for multiple quantum gate control and quantum sensing of different target compounds, which would enable room-temperature molecular quantum computing.”
One particularly interesting use is quantum sensing. Researchers think they may create sensing technologies that are more sensitive and have greater resolutions than the ones that are now in use by taking use of quantum entanglement’s extraordinarily sensitive nature, which is generally the problem.
