Sustained, long-distance quantum teleportation achieved for the first time
Quantum communication systems are more secure than normal networks because they use photons instead of computer codes, which can be hacked
A team of researchers from the California Institute of Technology, NASA, and Fermilab published their latest experiment in the journal PRX Quantum, the results of which raise hopes of creating the quantum Internet, a technology that would revolutionize the world of computing and communications .
The researchers managed to teleport qubits, basic units of quantum information, over a distance of 44 kilometers, between the test areas of the Caltech Quantum Network and the Fermilab Quantum Network, in the USA.
Until now, the record for qubit teleportation belonged to researchers from the University of Calgary (Canada), who in 2016 managed to make a quantum teleportation of six kilometers.
The results of this new experiment are especially remarkable, not only because of the fact that the distance was much greater, but also because the fidelity was greater than 90%. Fidelity is used to measure how close – in terms of content – the resulting qubit signal is to the original signal that was sent.
Towards the new and safer quantum Internet
According to the study, teleportation is instantaneous, as it occurs at a speed greater than that of light. On the other hand, quantum communication systems are more secure than normal networks, since they use photons instead of computer codes, which can be hacked.
Maria Spiropulu, a particle physicist who leads the INQNET (Intelligent Quantum Technologies and Networks) research program and is a co-author of the new study, said in a press release that she and her team are “very proud to have achieved this milestone in systems of Scalable, sustainable and high-performance quantum teleportation. The system upgrades that we expect to complete by the second quarter of 2021 will further enhance these exciting results. “
For his part, the president of the California Institute of Technology, Thomas F. Rosenbaum, declared that “the impressive demonstration of quantum teleportation in realistic materials and at realistic rates brings us closer to exploiting the advantages of quantum networks”, and concluded that he hopes more progress in this “ambitious collaboration”.
G. Febres
With information from RT
