Quantum physics articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    The quantum phase of a magnetic spin carrier can be electrically controlled via the Aharonov–Casher effect. Here, the authors isolate and handle the geometric-phase component independently from the dynamical one, allowing geometric manipulation of electron spins in a semiconductor ring array.

    • Fumiya Nagasawa
    • , Diego Frustaglia
    •  & Junsaku Nitta

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Electronic spins in Si are potentially useful in the development of solid-state quantum devices, but its degenerate valley states limits this potential. Zhang et al.use a genetic algorithm to identify a Ge/Si-multilayer-clad Si quantum structure whose valley splitting is increased by an order of magnitude.

    • Lijun Zhang
    • , Jun-Wei Luo
    •  & Alex Zunger

  • Article |

    Quantum key distribution allows for the generation of secure secret keys between two parties, although its success rate falls as the keys get shorter and in the presence of noise. Baccoet al.demonstrate that secure keys can be extracted with finite numbers of qubits under realistic conditions.

    • Davide Bacco
    • , Matteo Canale
    •  & Paolo Villoresi

  • Article |

    The correlations exhibited by multipartite quantum systems composed of more than two entangled subsystems are more difficult to describe than those of bipartite quantum systems. Fritzet al.propose a principle of 'local orthogonality' as a key element to describing multipartite quantum correlations.

    • T. Fritz
    • , A.B. Sainz
    •  & A. Acín

  • Article |

    Controlling quantum systems requires measurements that do not blur their delicate quantum features. Vanner et al. use optical pulses to measure the position and reconstruct the state of a mechanical oscillator without back-action, paving the way to observing non-classical motional states.

    • M. R. Vanner
    • , J. Hofer
    •  & M. Aspelmeyer

  • Article |

    The quantum transport properties of disordered systems like light-harvesting complexes or atomic clouds strongly depend on the system's geometry. Combining complex network analysis with quantum dynamics, the authors identify structural motifs that exhibit particularly robust quantum transport.

    • Stefano Mostarda
    • , Federico Levi
    •  & Francesco Rao

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Realistic quantum computers require a high degree of qubit control and must also be resilient to noise. Using dynamical decoupling control techniques, Liuet al.implement a self-protected controlled-NOT gate for electron and nuclear spins that retains a high final state fidelity.

    • Gang-Qin Liu
    • , Hoi Chun Po
    •  & Xin-Yu Pan

  • Article |

    It is well known that chemical bonds are determined by potential minimum between two interacting atoms/molecules. Lemeshko and Weimer propose that a bond can also be induced by a dissipative process and further demonstrate this idea in a pair of ultracold caesium atoms trapped by a laser.

    • Mikhail Lemeshko
    •  & Hendrik Weimer

  • Article |

    Future quantum communication technologies require entanglement between stationary and flying qubits, in systems that are inherently scalable. To this end, De Greveet al.present full state tomography of a qubit pair formed by entangling a quantum dot spin and a photon, with a fidelity of over 90%.

    • Kristiaan De Greve
    • , Peter L. McMahon
    •  & Yoshihisa Yamamoto

  • Article |

    Estimating the entanglement in a system is vital for quantum information processing, particularly in many-body systems. To this end, Cramer et al.experimentally quantify multi-partite entanglement in an optical lattice across the superfluid-Mott insulator phase transition and at different temperatures.

    • M. Cramer
    • , A. Bernard
    •  & M.B. Plenio

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Many interesting chemical problems like photosynthesis and photovoltaics involve non-adiabatic dynamical phenomena, which are difficult to predict theoretically. Here, the authors develop a new numerical method capable of recovering quantum interferences that are neglected by conventional methods.

    • Vyacheslav N. Gorshkov
    • , Sergei Tretiak
    •  & Dmitry Mozyrsky

  • Article |

    A Bayesian game is one in which each player has incomplete information about all other players in the game. Nicolas Brunner and Noah Linden establish a direct connection between Bayesian games and the abstract theory of Bell nonlocality, which has a prominent role in quantum physics.

    • Nicolas Brunner
    •  & Noah Linden

  • Article |

    A violation of Bell’s inequality would prove that a classical deterministic view of the universe is incorrect; however, despite long-standing efforts, irrefutable experimental proof of such a violation has yet to be produced. Teo et al. propose a realistic scenario that may finally overcome this challenge.

    • C. Teo
    • , M. Araújo
    •  & M. França Santos

  • Article |

    Controlling p-wave interactions between fermions would enable studies of interesting quantum phenomena. Towards this end, Juliá-Díaz et al. propose a combination of strongly confined nanoplasmonic traps and laser-induced gauge fields that could produce the necessary coupling of atomic states.

    • B. Juliá-Díaz
    • , T. Graß
    •  & M. Lewenstein

  • Article |

    Quantum annealing is the quantum computational equivalent of the classical approach to solving optimization problems known as simulated annealing. Boixo et al.report experimental evidence for the realization of quantum annealing processes that are unexpectedly robust against noise and imperfections.

    • Sergio Boixo
    • , Tameem Albash
    •  & Daniel A. Lidar

  • Article |

    Nonlinearity is a hallmark of complex networks, but has generally been regarded as an obstacle to controlling their behaviour. Here Cornelius et al.show how nonlinear dynamics can be harnessed to control a network and drive it to desired states.

    • Sean P. Cornelius
    • , William L. Kath
    •  & Adilson E. Motter

  • Article |

    Thermodynamics and information theory are closely related but the fundamental limitations of this relation are difficult to determine. Combining concepts from one-shot information theory, probability theory and statistical mechanics, the author quantifies extractable work in a non-equilibrium system.

    • Johan Åberg

  • Article |

    The usual laws of thermodynamics that are valid for macroscopic systems do not necessarily apply to the nanoscale, where quantum effects become important. Here, the authors develop a theoretical framework based on quantum information theory to properly treat thermodynamics at the nanoscale.

    • Michał Horodecki
    •  & Jonathan Oppenheim

  • Article |

    Future quantum computers need quantum memories that store arbitrary states for long periods, without incurring significant access latencies. Using high-order dynamical decoupling sequences, this work shows a practical scheme to suppress physical errors and guarantee high-fidelity storage for long times.

    • Kaveh Khodjasteh
    • , Jarrah Sastrawan
    •  & Lorenza Viola

  • Article |

    The spin of an electron bound to a single phosphorus atom in silicon is of interest for spin-based electronics such as quantum computing. Here, Büch et al. show these spin properties are retained even for clusters of a few phosphorus atoms, providing an additional means for quantum bit addressability.

    • H. Büch
    • , S. Mahapatra
    •  & M. Y. Simmons

  • Article |

    The control of a complex network can be achieved by different combinations of relatively few driver nodes. Tao Jia and colleagues show that this can lead to two distinct control modes—centralized or distributed—that determine the number of nodes that can act as driver node.

    • Tao Jia
    • , Yang-Yu Liu
    •  & Albert-László Barabási

  • Article |

    Spin–orbital quantum liquids are exotic quantum phases in frustrated magnets that arise if frustrated spin and orbital degrees of freedom are coupled. Here, the authors find a dynamical spin–orbital state in the frustrated magnet Ba3CuSb2O9, which indicates the formation of a spin–orbital quantum liquid.

    • Yuki Ishiguro
    • , Kenta Kimura
    •  & Yusuke Wakabayashi

  • Article |

    Superconducting circuits may be useful as quantum simulators, but new tools are needed to fully characterize their behaviour. Shankset al.present a scanning transmon qubit, map its coupling strength to a separate resonator, and propose its use to probe photon number in a superconducting resonator lattice.

    • W. E. Shanks
    • , D. L. Underwood
    •  & A. A. Houck

  • Article |

    The spin Seebeck effect, which refers to a spin current induced by a temperature gradient, is experimentally well established but a comprehensive theoretical framework is still missing. Here the authors succeed in explaining the non-locality and in predicting a non-magnon origin of the effect.

    • Konstantin S. Tikhonov
    • , Jairo Sinova
    •  & Alexander M. Finkel’stein

  • Article |

    Quantum annealing is one strategy that may enable quantum computations that are robust to noise, despite the system’s interaction with the environment. Dickson et al. explore quantum annealing for a 16-qubit system and find that for a small energy-gap avoided crossing, it can be robust against thermal noise.

    • N G Dickson
    • , M W Johnson
    •  & G Rose

  • Article |

    The Casimir effect is based on quantum electrodynamical effects between two electrically neutral objects in close proximity. Here Zou et al. observe the Casimir effect between two silicon components on a single micromechanical chip, allowing for an on-chip exploitation of the Casimir force.

    • J. Zou
    • , Z. Marcet
    •  & H. B. Chan

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bright solitary waves in Bose–Einstein condensates are analogues of solitons in conventional wave systems, and may enable interesting tests of many-body quantum systems. Using 85Rb, Marchant et al.show the controlled formation of bright solitary matter-waves, and their reflection from a repulsive barrier.

    • A. L. Marchant
    • , T. P. Billam
    •  & S. L. Cornish

  • Article |

    The Coulomb force between charges has a much greater influence on the electronic characteristics of 1D conductors than it does in 3D. Bocquillon et al. identify the separation of neutral and charged 1D edge modes, driven by Coulomb interactions in a quantum Hall system.

    • E. Bocquillon
    • , V. Freulon
    •  & G. Fève

  • Article |

    High-quality narrow bandwidth single-photon states with tunable frequency are essential for quantum and atomic technologies. Using a whispering gallery mode resonator, Förtsch et al. build such a source with wavelength tuning across 100 nm and controllable narrow bandwidth.

    • Michael Förtsch
    • , Josef U. Fürst
    •  & Christoph Marquardt

  • Article
    | Open Access

    When physicists study the characteristics of quantum conductors they usually take great pains to limit the resistance of other elements in the system. But Jezouin et al. show that when a single quantum channel is measured in series with a resistor, it exhibits analogous characteristics to a Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid.

    • S. Jezouin
    • , M. Albert
    •  & F. Pierre

  • Article |

    It is difficult to observe the edge-bulk correspondence in two-dimensional electron systems, which display the quantum Hall effect. Here Li et al. follow the spatial evolution of Landau levels towards an edge of graphene by scanning tunnelling studies, revealing that the edge-bulk correspondence can be preserved.

    • Guohong Li
    • , Adina Luican-Mayer
    •  & Eva Y. Andrei

  • Article |

    Nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond are a promising route for solid-state quantum information processing and magnetometry, but longer coherence times are needed to optimize protocols. Here, Bar-Gill et al. suppress decoherence to realize nitrogen-vacancy spin coherence times approaching one second.

    • N. Bar-Gill
    • , L.M. Pham
    •  & R.L. Walsworth

  • Article |

    Quantum oscillations in the underdoped cuprate superconductors suggest the existence of a continuous Fermi surface, but specific heat measurements in strong magnetic fields suggest singular behaviour characteristic of point nodes. Banerjee et al. show how a vortex-liquid state could resolve this dichotomy.

    • Sumilan Banerjee
    • , Shizhong Zhang
    •  & Mohit Randeria

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ability to add and move individual atoms on a surface with a scanning tunnelling microscope enables precise control over the electronic quantum states of the surface. Schofield et al. show that removing hydrogen atoms from a passivated silicon surface can be used to generate and control such states.

    • S. R. Schofield
    • , P. Studer
    •  & D. R. Bowler

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In artificial photosynthetic devices, conversion of light into electricity is thought to involve an incoherent electron transfer process. Rozzi et al.provide evidence for quantum-correlated wavelike motion inducing the ultrafast photoinduced electronic charge transfer in a light-harvesting supramolecular triad.

    • Carlo Andrea Rozzi
    • , Sarah Maria Falke
    •  & Christoph Lienau

  • Article |

    Colloids consist of small particles distributed in another medium such as liquids or gases. Here, the demonstration that forces arising from the critical Casimir effect can control the interaction between particles offers new possibilities for the formation of colloidal nanostructures.

    • Van Duc Nguyen
    • , Suzanne Faber
    •  & Peter Schall

  • Article |

    Most quantum technologies rely upon quantum wires to ensure the faithful transfer of quantum states between remote locations—a process that is especially vulnerable to decoherence. Yao et al.propose a means to harness topological protection to design a quantum wire that is intrinsically robust against decoherence.

    • N.Y. Yao
    • , C.R. Laumann
    •  & M.D. Lukin

  • Article |

    Domain walls in multiferroic materials exhibit novel properties that are not present in the bulk. This work reports first-principle calculations that relate the structure of the domain-wall to its electronic properties in multiferroic hexagonal manganites.

    • Yu Kumagai
    •  & Nicola A. Spaldin

  • Article |

    Silicene is a silicon-based analogue of graphene, but with subtle and potentially useful differences. Wei-Feng Tsai and colleagues show that these differences could be exploited to build electrically-gated silicene devices that generate and control spin-polarized currents with near perfect efficiency.

    • Wei-Feng Tsai
    • , Cheng-Yi Huang
    •  & A. Bansil

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