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Monday, September 27, 2021

09-26-2021-2039 - trapped ion quantum computer, Quantum dots (QDs), artificial atom, virtual particle, quantum mechanics, nanoscale, quantum, simulated emission, nanosecond, etc..

 A trapped ion quantum computer is one proposed approach to a large-scale quantum computer. Ions, or charged atomic particles, can be confined and suspended in free space using electromagnetic fields.  Qubits are stored in stable electronic states of each ion, and quantum information can be transferred through the collective quantized motion of the ions in a shared trap (interacting through the Coulomb force).  Lasers are applied to induce couplingbetween the qubit states (for single qubit operations) or coupling between the internal qubit states and the external motional states (for entanglement between qubits).[1]

The fundamental operations of a quantum computer have been demonstrated experimentally with the currently highest accuracy in trapped ion systems. Promising schemes in development to scale the system to arbitrarily large numbers of qubits include transporting ions to spatially distinct locations in an array of ion traps, building large entangled states via photonically connected networks of remotely entangled ion chains, and combinations of these two ideas. This makes the trapped ion quantum computer system one of the most promising architectures for a scalable, universal quantum computer. As of April 2018, the largest number of particles to be controllably entangled is 20 trapped ions.[2][3][4]

Chip ion trap for quantum computing from 2011 at NIST.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trapped_ion_quantum_computer

Quantum dots (QDs) are semiconductor particles a few nanometres in size, having optical and electronic properties that differ from larger particles due to quantum mechanics. They are a central topic in nanotechnology. When the quantum dots are illuminated by UV light, an electron in the quantum dot can be excited to a state of higher energy. In the case of a semiconducting quantum dot, this process corresponds to the transition of an electron from the valence band to the conductance band. The excited electron can drop back into the valence band releasing its energy by the emission of light. This light emission (photoluminescence) is illustrated in the figure on the right. The color of that light depends on the energy difference between the conductance band and the valence band.

In the language of materials science, nanoscale semiconductor materials tightly confine either electrons or electron holes. Quantum dots are sometimes referred to as artificial atoms, emphasizing their singularity, having bound, discrete electronic states, like naturally occurring atoms or molecules.[1][2] It was shown that the electronic wave functions in quantum dots resemble the ones in real atoms.[3] By coupling two or more such quantum dots an artificial molecule can be made, exhibiting hybridization even at room temperature.[4]

Quantum dots have properties intermediate between bulk semiconductors and discrete atoms or molecules. Their optoelectronic properties change as a function of both size and shape.[5][6] Larger QDs of 5–6 nm diameter emit longer wavelengths, with colors such as orange or red. Smaller QDs (2–3 nm) emit shorter wavelengths, yielding colors like blue and green. However, the specific colors vary depending on the exact composition of the QD.[7]

Potential applications of quantum dots include single-electron transistorssolar cellsLEDslasers,[8] single-photon sources,[9][10][11] second-harmonic generationquantum computing,[12] cell biology research,[13] microscopy,[14] and medical imaging.[15] Their small size allows for some QDs to be suspended in solution, which may lead to use in inkjet printing and spin-coating.[16] They have been used in Langmuir-Blodgett thin-films.[17][18][19] These processing techniques result in less expensive and less time-consuming methods of semiconductor fabrication.

Colloidal quantum dots irradiated with a UV light. Different sized quantum dots emit different colors of light due to quantum confinement.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_dot

In physics, a virtual particle is a transient quantum fluctuation that exhibits some of the characteristics of an ordinary particle, while having its existence limited by the uncertainty principle. The concept of virtual particles arises in perturbation theory of quantum field theory where interactions between ordinary particles are described in terms of exchanges of virtual particles. A process involving virtual particles can be described by a schematic representation known as a Feynman diagram, in which virtual particles are represented by internal lines.[1][2]

Virtual particles do not necessarily carry the same mass as the corresponding real particle, although they always conserve energy and momentum. The closer its characteristics come to those of ordinary particles, the longer the virtual particle exists. They are important in the physics of many processes, including particle scattering and Casimir forces. In quantum field theory, forces—such as the electromagnetic repulsion or attraction between two charges—can be thought of as due to the exchange of virtual photons between the charges. Virtual photons are the exchange particle for the electromagnetic interaction.

The term is somewhat loose and vaguely defined, in that it refers to the view that the world is made up of "real particles". It is not. "Real particles" are better understood to be excitations of the underlying quantum fields. Virtual particles are also excitations of the underlying fields, but are "temporary" in the sense that they appear in calculations of interactions, but never as asymptotic states or indices to the scattering matrix. The accuracy and use of virtual particles in calculations is firmly established, but as they cannot be detected in experiments, deciding how to precisely describe them is a topic of debate.[3] Since it is possible to perform quantum field theory calculations completely absent virtual particles being referenced in the math used, as seen in Lattice Field Theory, then it is believed virtual particles are simply a mathematical tool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_particle

Stimulated emission is the process by which an incoming photon of a specific frequency can interact with an excited atomic electron (or other excited molecular state), causing it to drop to a lower energy level. The liberated energy transfers to the electromagnetic field, creating a new photon with a frequencypolarization, and direction of travel that are all identical to the photons of the incident wave. This is in contrast to spontaneous emission, which occurs at a characteristic rate for each of the atoms/oscillators in the upper energy state regardless of the external electromagnetic field.

The process is identical in form to atomic absorption in which the energy of an absorbed photon causes an identical but opposite atomic transition: from the lower level to a higher energy level. In normal media at thermal equilibrium, absorption exceeds stimulated emission because there are more electrons in the lower energy states than in the higher energy states. However, when a population inversion is present, the rate of stimulated emission exceeds that of absorption, and a net optical amplification can be achieved. Such a gain medium, along with an optical resonator, is at the heart of a laser or maser. Lacking a feedback mechanism, laser amplifiers and superluminescent sources also function on the basis of stimulated emission.

Laser light is a type of stimulated emission of radiation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stimulated_emission

Tuesday, September 14, 2021

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