Mikhail Lukin and colleagues at the Harvard Quantum Initiative used optical tweezers to arrange single atoms in sequential frames into a fun video clip featuring our favorite plumber Mario.
But fun aside, the new technique - which uses focused laser beams - has enabled them to develop a special type of quantum computer called a programmable quantum simulator capable of operating with 256 quantum bits or "qubits."
From The Harvard Gazette:
“The number of quantum states that are possible with only 256 qubits exceeds the number of atoms in the solar system,” [physics student and study lead author Sepehr Ebadi] said, explaining the system’s vast size.
“The workhorse of this new platform is a device called the spatial light modulator, which is used to shape an optical wavefront to produce hundreds of individually focused optical tweezer beams,” said Ebadi. “These devices are essentially the same as what is used inside a computer projector to display images on a screen, but we have adapted them to be a critical component of our quantum simulator.”
The initial loading of the atoms into the optical tweezers is random, and the researchers must move the atoms around to arrange them into their target geometries. The researchers use a second set of moving optical tweezers to drag the atoms to their desired locations, eliminating the initial randomness. Lasers give the researchers complete control over the positioning of the atomic qubits and their coherent quantum manipulation.
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