Researchers at The University of British Columbia (UBC), Quantinuum, and the Flatiron Institute have demonstrated a new phase of matter that could be protective against a range of errors in quantum computation.
Their research, published today in Nature, reveals a new topological phase uncovered using Quantinuum’s trapped ion quantum simulator. This phase arises outside of equilibrium, the default for most systems – and in fact, cannot exist in equilibrium – offering a way to prevent qubits (the quantum equivalent of bits) from entangling.
“One problem in quantum computing is that if you have qubits that are coupled to each other, but you didn’t mean them to be, they can accidentally entangle themselves,” said Andrew Potter, an Assistant Professor in UBC’s Department of Physics and Astronomy who joined the Stewart Blusson Quantum Matter Institute (Blusson QMI) last year. “That entanglement can cause errors, or crosstalk, between the qubits. These errors represent a significant barrier to achieving a functional quantum computing platform.”
