A New Era of Superconductivity How Uranium Ditelluride is Shaping Quantum Computing

ICV ꄲ QUANTUM-news ꄲ A New Era of Superconductivity How Uranium Ditelluride is Shaping Quantum Computing

Scientists at University College Cork have discovered a unique superconducting state in uranium ditelluride that could pave the way for more stable and efficient quantum computers. The breakthrough discovery offers a potential solution to one of the most significant challenges facing quantum computing, marking a major step forward for the field.

Researchers at the Macroscopic Quantum Matter Group Laboratory at University College Cork (UCC) have discovered a spatially modulated superconducting state in a new and unusual superconductor, uranium telluride (UTe2). This new superconductor may offer a solution to one of the biggest challenges in quantum computing.

Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature.

"Detection of a pair density wave state in UTe2."

Joe Carroll, a PhD researcher working in the laboratory of the Macroscopic Quantum Matter Group at the University of Cork, is the first author of this paper.

Lead author Joe Carroll, a PhD researcher, collaborated with UCC Quantum Physics Professor Séamus Davis on the paper, and Carroll explains the topic of the paper.

"Superconductors are amazing materials with many strange and unusual properties. Most famously, they allow electric current to flow with zero resistance. That is, if you pass current through them, they don't start to heat up, and in fact they don't dissipate any energy despite carrying huge amounts of current. They can do this because it's not individual electrons that move through the metal, but pairs of electrons that are bonded together. Together, these electron pairs form a macroscopic quantum mechanical fluid."

"Our team found that some of the electron pairs formed a new crystal structure embedded in this background fluid. These types of states were first discovered by our team in 2016 and are now known as electron pair density waves. These electron pair density waves are a new form of superconducting matter whose properties we are still exploring."

"What is particularly exciting for us is that UTe2 appears to be a new type of superconductor. Physicists have been searching for such a material for nearly 40 years. Electron pairs seem to have intrinsic angular momentum. If this is true, then what we have detected is the first pair density wave composed of these exotic electron pairs."

When asked about the practical implications of this work, Carroll explained, "There are indications that UTe2 is a special type of superconductor that could have huge implications for quantum computing."

"Typical classical computers use bits to store and process information. Quantum computers rely on quantum bits or qubits to do the same. The problem facing existing quantum computers is that each quantum bit must be in a superposition of two different energies: just as Schrödinger's cat can be called both a 'dead' cat and a 'live' cat. This quantum state can easily be destroyed by collapsing to the lowest energy state - 'dead' - thus cutting off any useful computation."

"This puts a huge limit on the applications of quantum computers. However, since the discovery of UTe2 five years ago, it has been studied extensively and there is evidence that it is a superconductor that could be used as the basis for topological quantum computing. In this material, there is no limit to the lifetime of quantum bits during computation, which opens up a number of new avenues for the development of more stable and useful quantum computers. In fact, Microsoft has invested billions of dollars in topological quantum computing, so it is already a mature theoretical science."

"What the community has been looking for is a relevant topological superconductor: the UTe2 appears to be that superconductor."

"Our discovery provides another piece of the puzzle for UTe2. To utilize such materials for applications, we must understand their fundamental superconducting properties. All modern science is step-by-step. We are excited to contribute to the understanding of a material that may bring us closer to a more practical quantum computer."