July 01, 2019

Good Morning,

Another successful teleportation has happened. Quantum information was teleported inside of a diamond. I know, I'm just as confused as you. Check out the second article. It's kind of amazing.

Learn about this and more interesting stories from the scientific community in today's issue.

Until Next Time,
Erin

Questions? Comments? Scientific Discoveries? Email Us

*-- Scientists capture atomic motion in four dimensions for the first time --*

Scientists have for the first time captured atomic nucleation in 4D, the movement of atoms across space and time.

Nucleation is the coalescence of atoms and molecules that happens as matter changes states -- during freezing, melting or evaporation. Using a new high-tech imaging technique, scientists were able observe the movement of atoms during nucleation in four dimensions.

"This is truly a groundbreaking experiment -- we not only locate and identify individual atoms with high precision, but also monitor their motion in 4D for the first time," Jianwei "John" Miao, professor of physics and astronomy at UCLA, said in a news release.

Using a powerful electron microscope at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry, researchers deployed an imaging technique called "atomic electron tomography." As a molecular sample spins, the microscope captures 3D images of the atoms inside the sample.

For their experiments, scientists used the novel imaging technology to observe iron-platinum alloy nanoparticles as they were heated to 968 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature that triggers a transition between two different solid phases. Researchers snapped 3D images after 9 minutes, 16 minutes and 26 minutes.

Before heating, the alloy's internal structure is more haphazard. Images of the atomic movements showed the material's atomic structure takes on a more rigid pattern, with alternating layers of iron and platinum atoms, after being heated.

Scientists were able to track the movements of the same 33 nuclei, some containing as few as 13 atoms, at 9 minutes, 16 minutes and 26 minutes.

Until now, scientists assumed nuclei were relatively round and boasted a sharp boundary, but the new imaging breakthrough showed nuclei formed irregular shapes. Images showed each nuclei was formed by a collection of atoms that had adopted the structure of the new phase. However, the atoms closer to the center of the nuclei were more disorganized than the atoms farther away.

During the phase transition, scientists observed nuclei shrinking, dividing, merging and even disappearing. Previous theories of nucleation posited that nuclei, once formed, can only get bigger and bigger.

"Nucleation is basically an unsolved problem in many fields," said Peter Ercius, a staff scientist at the Molecular Foundry. "Once you can image something, you can start to think about how to control it."

The new findings -- published this week in the journal Nature -- may force scientists to rethink the atomic models describing a variety of chemical and physical phenomena.

*-- Scientists teleport information inside a diamond --*

Scientists have successfully teleported quantum information inside a diamond. The breakthrough could provide a boost to quantum computing technologies.

"Quantum teleportation permits the transfer of quantum information into an otherwise inaccessible space," Hideo Kosaka, a professor of engineering at Yokohama National University in Japan, said in a news release. "It also permits the transfer of information into a quantum memory without revealing or destroying the stored quantum information."

Diamonds offer the ideal setting for quantum teleportation. A collection of individually contained but linked carbon atoms inside the diamond provide the "inaccessible space."

The carbon atom is a study in atomic symmetry, boasting a nucleus of six protons and six neutrons. Six electrons orbit the balanced nucleus. Inside a diamond, the carbon atoms form a rigidly structured lattice.

But diamonds aren't perfect. All diamonds have small defects. Often, a nitrogen atoms holds court in one of the two vacancies on either side of one of the carbon atoms -- a defect known as a nitrogen-vacancy center. The nucleus of the nitrogen atom, which is surrounded by carbon atoms, creates what is known as a nanomagnet.

Scientists take advantage of diamond defects to produce unique electromagnetic phenomena.

When researchers supplied a wire to the surface of the diamond and ran a microwave and a radio wave through it, they were able to create an oscillating magnetic field around the outside of the diamond, creating ideal conditions for the quantum teleportation.

Scientists used the microwave and radio wave frequencies to trigger an entanglement between an electron anchored to the nanomagnet and the spinning nucleus of the adjacent carbon atom. The magnetic field of the nanomagnet causes the electron's spin to break down and become vulnerable to entanglement. During entanglement, the physical characteristics of the individual atomic components become blurred beyond recognition.

Researchers supplied the entanglement with a polarized photon carrying quantum information. When the electron absorbs the photon, the polarization state of the photon is transferred to the carbon atom. The entangled electron makes the teleportation of quantum information possible.

In effect, the carbon atom memorizes the photon's polarization, enabling not only the transfer, but also the storage, of quantum information.

Kosaka and his colleagues described their breakthrough in a paper published Friday in the journal Communications Physics.

"The success of the photon storage in the other node establishes the entanglement between two adjacent nodes," Kosaka said. "Our ultimate goal is to realize scalable quantum repeaters for long-haul quantum communications and distributed quantum computers for large-scale quantum computation and metrology."