Defects in solid-state materials, where a single atom in a crystalline material is replaced by others, are leading candidates for materials underlying scalable quantum computers because they can behave as "artificial atoms" that store and transmit quantum information easily. Here, we show that defects can bond with nearby defects to form "artificial molecules," thereby introducing a powerful way to design defects with the exact properties needed for quantum computation.
Matter placed into environments where the electromagnetic field is strongly concentrated exhibits strange properties that can be leveraged for applications ranging from sunlight collection to chemical synthesis. Here, we develop a method to compute some of these properties from first principles, meaning we use only the chemical structure of the matter and the cavity properties as input.
Defects in solid-state materials, where a single atom in a crystalline lattice is replaced with another, may serve as the foundation for scalable quantum computers. While quantum information can be stably stored within the spin of an electron of a single defect, transmitting this information from defect to defect is challenging. Here, we show that small magnetic nanoparticles can help quantum information hop from defect to defect.
Scalable quantum information processors and networking devices require deterministic sources of entangled photon pairs. Here, we invent a scheme to produce entangled photon pairs using pairs of quantum emitters, such as atoms, defect centers, molecules, and quantum dots.
Performing quantum logic gates on multiple quantum information bits (qubits) represented by photons is challenging. Here, we invent a resource-efficient way to deterministically perform a gate that underlies the quantum Fourier transform, one of the most versatile quantum algorithms.
Science students are taught that science is a collection of facts and equations when in fact, science is a journey full of false starts, dead ends, and creative detours undertaken by scientists to uncover the truth of reality. A science student seeking to become a scientist must often regress back to a state of childlike wonder and curiosity to prepare for such a journey. We seek to spark this change with hundreds of Quick Takes and Inquiries into specifically chemistry and physics at the introductory level.
While the established infrastructure of academia promotes ventures into unknown intellectual territory, translating technologies from the enclaves of esoteric journals to the lives of everyone remains a challenge. Patents play a crucial role in the world beyond the university setting by disseminating academic work to those who can use it while financially protecting them. Here, we discuss why an academic scientist would or would not patent, review the basics of patents relevant to a university setting, walk through the steps of filing patents at a university, and provide a more holistic analysis of the role of patents in various industries.
Extracellular matrix, or what's leftover after all the cells from tissues and organs are stripped away, has been shown to promote tissue regeneration. Here, we study extracellular matrix from different tissue types, ranging from intestinal to liver to brain, and show that some stimulate tissue regenerative pathways, while others stimulate inflammatory pathways that are known to hinder tissue regeneration.