{"id":173066,"date":"2025-09-27T15:25:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:25:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/173066\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T15:25:26","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:25:26","slug":"rosetta-stone-of-code-allows-scientists-to-run-core-quantum-computing-operations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/173066\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Rosetta stone’ of code allows scientists to run core quantum computing operations"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"'Rosetta<\/p>\n

Artist’s impression of the entangled logic gate built by University of Sydney quantum scientists. Credit: Emma Hyde\/University of Sydney<\/p>\n

To build a large-scale quantum computer that works, scientists and engineers need to overcome the spontaneous errors that quantum bits, or qubits, create as they operate.<\/p>\n

Scientists encode these building blocks of quantum information to suppress errors in other qubits<\/a> so that a minority can operate in a way that produces useful outcomes.<\/p>\n

As the number of useful (or logical) qubits grows, the number of physical qubits required grows even further. As this scales up, the sheer number of qubits needed to create a useful quantum machine becomes an engineering nightmare.<\/p>\n

Now, for the first time, quantum scientists at the Quantum Control Laboratory at the University of Sydney Nano Institute have demonstrated a type of quantum logic gate that drastically reduces the number of physical qubits needed for its operation.<\/p>\n

To do this, they built an entangling logic gate on a single atom<\/a> using an error-correcting code nicknamed the “Rosetta stone” of quantum computing<\/a>. It earns that name because it translates smooth, continuous quantum oscillations into clean, digital-like discrete states, making errors easier to spot and fix, and importantly, allowing a highly compact way to encode logical qubits.<\/p>\n

GKP codes: A Rosetta stone for quantum computing<\/p>\n

The curiously named Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code has for many years offered a theoretical possibility for significantly reducing the physical number of qubits needed to produce a functioning “logical qubit.” Albeit by trading efficiency for complexity, making the codes very difficult to control.<\/p>\n

Research published in Nature Physics<\/a> demonstrates this as a physical reality, tapping into the natural oscillations of a trapped ion (a charged atom of ytterbium) to store GKP codes and, for the first time, realizing quantum entangling gates between them.<\/p>\n

Led by Sydney Horizon Fellow Dr. Tingrei Tan at the University of Sydney Nano Institute, scientists have used their exquisite control over the harmonic motion of a trapped ion to bridge the coding complexity of GKP qubits, allowing a demonstration of their entanglement.<\/p>\n

“Our experiments have shown the first realization of a universal logical gate set for GKP qubits,” Dr. Tan said. “We did this by precisely controlling the natural vibrations, or harmonic oscillations, of a trapped ion in such a way that we can manipulate individual GKP qubits or entangle them as a pair.”<\/p>\n

\"'Rosetta<\/p>\n

Lead author and Ph.D. student Vassili Matsos looking at the Paul trap quantum computing device in the Quantum Control Laboratory at the University of Sydney. Credit: Fiona Wolf\/University of Sydney<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tQuantum logic gate<\/p>\n

A logic gate is an information switch that allows computers\u2014quantum and classical\u2014to be programmable to perform logical operations. Quantum logic gates use the entanglement of qubits to produce a completely different sort of operational system to that used in classical computing, underpinning the great promise of quantum computers.<\/p>\n

First author Vassili Matsos is a Ph.D. student in the School of Physics and Sydney Nano. He said, “Effectively, we store two error-correctable logical qubits in a single trapped ion and demonstrate entanglement between them.<\/p>\n

“We did this using quantum control software developed by Q-CTRL, a spin-off start-up company from the Quantum Control Laboratory, with a physics-based model to design quantum gates that minimize the distortion of GKP logical qubits, so they maintain the delicate structure of the GKP code while processing quantum information.”<\/p>\n

\"'Rosetta<\/p>\n

Dr. Tingrei Tan (left) and his Ph.D. student Vassili Matsos inspect the Paul trap used in this experiment in the Quantum Control Laboratory at the University of Sydney Nano Institute. Credit: Fiona Wolf\/University of Sydney<\/p>\n

A milestone in quantum technology<\/p>\n

What Mr. Matsos did is entangle two “quantum vibrations” of a single atom. The trapped atom vibrates in three dimensions. Movement in each dimension is described by quantum mechanics and each is considered a “quantum state.” By entangling two of these quantum states realized as qubits, Mr. Matsos created a logic gate using just a single atom, a milestone in quantum technology.<\/p>\n

This result massively reduces the quantum hardware required to create these logic gates, which allow quantum machines to be programmed.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Tan said, “GKP error correction codes have long promised a reduction in hardware demands to address the resource overhead challenge for scaling quantum computers. Our experiments achieved a key milestone, demonstrating that these high-quality quantum controls provide a key tool to manipulate more than just one logical qubit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“By demonstrating universal quantum gates using these qubits, we have a foundation to work towards large-scale quantum-information processing in a highly hardware-efficient fashion.”<\/p>\n

Across three experiments described in the paper, Dr. Tan’s team used a single ytterbium ion contained in what is known as a Paul trap. This uses a complex array of lasers at room temperature<\/a> to hold the single atom in the trap, allowing its natural vibrations to be controlled and utilized to produce the complex GKP codes.<\/p>\n

This research represents an important demonstration that quantum logic gates can be developed with a reduced physical number of qubits, increasing their efficiency.<\/p>\n

More information:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMatsos, V. et al. Universal quantum gate set for Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill logical qubits, Nature Physics (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41567-025-03002-8<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUniversity of Sydney<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t‘Rosetta stone’ of code allows scientists to run core quantum computing operations (2025, August 21)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 27 September 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-08-rosetta-stone-code-scientists-core.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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