Thursday, January 22, 2009

Quantum teleportation between distant matter qubits: first between atoms 1 meter apart

Single photons emitted by each of the ions are routed through optical fibers to a beamsplitter in which any arriving photon has a 50-50 chance of passing through or reflecting off. Before hitting the splitter, each photon is in a superposition of red and blue colors. When photons emerge from different sides of the beamsplitter, however, they are forced into opposite states -- red/blue or blue/red -- at random. In this case, each detector will record a photon at the same time -- one red and one blue. But it is impossible to know which ion produced which photon. A blue photon in the left detector, for example, could have come from Ion A and been reflected at the splitter. Or it could have come from Ion B and passed directly through. This fundamental uncertainty projects the ions into an entangled state, a condition immediately signaled by the simultaneous detection of two photons. (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Maryland) 

For the first time, scientists have successfully teleported information between two separate atoms in unconnected enclosures a meter apart – a significant milestone in the global quest for practical quantum information processing. Teleportation may be nature's most mysterious form of transport: Quantum information, such as the spin of a particle or the polarization of a photon, is transferred from one place to another, without traveling through any physical medium.

Quantum Teleportation Between Distant Matter Qubits: First Between Atoms 1 Meter Apart
Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:00:00 GMT

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