Researchers from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands have been able to initiate a controlled movement in the very heart of an atom.
They caused the atomic nucleus to interact with one of the electrons in the outermost shells of the atom. This electron could be manipulated and read out through the needle of a scanning tunneling microscope. Their findings suggest potential for robust quantum information storage within atomic nuclei, insulated from external interferences.
Breakthrough in Atomic Manipulation
For weeks on end, the researchers studied a single titanium atom. “A Ti-47 atom, to be precise,” says research leader Sander Otte. “It has one neutron less than the naturally abundant Ti-48, which makes the nucleus slightly magnetic.” This magnetism, the ‘spin’ in quantum language, can be seen as a sort of compass needle that can point in various directions. The orientation of the spin at a given time constitutes a piece of quantum information.
Fine-Tuning Quantum Interactions
The nucleus of an atom floats inside a – comparatively – giant void far away from the orbiting electrons, oblivious of its environment. But there is one exception: due to the extremely weak ‘hyperfine interaction’, the nuclear spin can be influenced by the spin of one of the electrons. “Easier said than done,” says Lukas Veldman, who recently defended his PhD dissertation on the research with honors. “The hyperfine interaction is so weak that it is effective only in a very small, precisely tuned magnetic field.”
Innovative Technique for Quantum Stability
Once all experimental conditions were met, the researchers used a voltage pulse to push the electron spin out of equilibrium, after which both spins wobbled together for a fraction of a microsecond. “Exactly how Schrödinger predicted,” says Veldman. Alongside the experiments he performed calculations that reproduced the observed fluctuations surprisingly well. The strong agreement between observations and predictions demonstrates that no quantum information is lost during the interaction between electron and nucleus.
Future of Quantum Storage
The efficient shielding from the environment makes the nuclear spin a viable candidate for holding quantum information. The current research may bring that application one step closer. But that is not what primarily drives the researchers. Otte: “This experiment gives humans influence on the state of matter on an unimaginably small scale. To me, that alone makes it worth the effort.”
Reference: “Coherent spin dynamics between electron and nucleus within a single atom” by Lukas M. Veldman, Evert W. Stolte, Mark P. Canavan, Rik Broekhoven, Philip Willke, Laëtitia Farinacci and Sander Otte, 11 September 2024, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52270-0
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4 Comments
The efficient shielding from the environment makes the nuclear spin a viable candidate for holding quantum information.
VERY GOOD.
Please ask researchers to think deeply:
1. Why do nuclei spin?
2. Do you truly understand the physical reality of quantum physics?
3. What is the relationship between low dimensional spacetime things and quantum?
and so on.
Scientific research guided by correct theories can help humanity avoid detours, failures, and pomposity. Please witness the exemplary collaboration between theoretical physicists and experimentalists ( https://scitechdaily.com/microscope-spacecrafts-most-precise-test-of-key-component-of-the-theory-of-general-relativity/#comment-854286 ). Is this the peer review that the academic community takes pride in and vigorously promotes today?
Topological vortices may have a profound impact on the development direction and research methods of physics ( https://scitechdaily.com/microscope-spacecrafts-most-precise-test-of-key-component-of-the-theory-of-general-relativity/#comment-858364 ).
And; ” Voila ” the Electron Time _omb has been conceived. Great, that’s all we need. Lets destroy our past. Well you should go ahead and destroy the future while your there. I smell the Devils hand in this one. Trust the Science but to bad you can’t trust Humans. Just gotta poke their finger into everything. God is not going to be happy about this one.
Makes me wonder who’s funding this fools game!
Implies to me that atoms are not completely entangled unless they are identical isotopes and their nuclei are entangled too, not just their electrons.
VERY GOOD!
The phenomena of the low dimensional spacetime things should not be simply understood by classical physics. The influence of gap formation on interactions may also need to be considered, which may determine the evolution from low to high dimensions.
Enjoy your every day.