Quantum computers: will time crystals bring very efficient devices soon?

Quantum computers are said to be the next revolution in the PC market. Google recently showcased the superiority of the new chips. They have demonstrated Quantum Supremacy. For this purpose, both a conventional computer and a PC with a quantum processor were given the same arithmetic tasks. The scientists then increased the complexity of the task until the quantum computer was able to clearly beat the classic binary PC. The quantum PC only needed three minutes and 20 seconds to solve a task that would have taken a conventional computer a good 10,000 years to complete. Researchers at Lancaster University and Aalto University have now presented “time crystals” as a possible revolution in the field of quantum computers. The combination of two time crystals in a helium-3 superfluid could Paving the way for new quantum computers. After all, these quantum computers could work very efficiently.

This is the advantage of quantum computers over conventional PCs

Time crystals are composed of atoms that repeat themselves not in space but in time, and even in their ground state can oscillate back and forth or rotate. Thus, these time crystals can defy the second law of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy, where a system becomes increasingly disordered over time. For example, a force on an atom in the time crystal can only affect that individual atom and not the entire system. However, Time Crystals can only work 100% efficiently if they are completely isolated from their surroundings. The research team led by Samuli Autti has managed to connect two time crystals by cooling them with helium-3. Here, helium-3 becomes a superfluid when cooled to a fraction above absolute zero, which is minus 273 degrees Celsius. The research team managed to observe the time crystals for over 15 minutes before the connection was broken.

A previously common computer works according to the binary principle. Each processor only knows the two states 0 and 1. In a quantum computer, on the other hand, the built-in qubits are also able to represent different states in between. The built-in chips are specially trained to calculate arithmetic operations with various variables, so that simulations of climate change and the like can be carried out in the future. get it done well. For applications such as video games, however, quantum processors – based on the current state of development – are not really of much use. In addition, the quantum computers can only work if a special, very cold temperature spectrum prevails.

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Collection of a possible new type of quantum computer:

• A research team has succeeded in connecting two time crystals using helium-3 for 15 minutes. Time crystals are composed of atoms that repeat themselves not in space but in time, and even in their ground state can oscillate back and forth or rotate.
• The knowledge gained could possibly be used to operate a new type of quantum computer. The chips can not only know the two states 0 and 1, but also various states in between. In this way, arithmetic operations can be calculated with different variables.
• However, quantum computers can only work when it is very cold. For the use of time crystals it is necessary that they are completely isolated from their environment.

Sources: Space, Nature, Fraunhofer Institute