{"id":763134,"date":"2026-07-14T21:44:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:44:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763134\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T21:44:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T21:44:17","slug":"worlds-first-superconducting-quantum-heat-engine-offers-path-to-larger-quantum-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/763134\/","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s first superconducting quantum heat engine offers path to larger quantum computers"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\"Heat<\/p>\n

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image:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Artistic impression of a superconducting quantum heat engine.\u00a0<\/p>\n

view more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Credit: Heikka Valja \/ Aalto University<\/p>\n

A newly-developed superconducting quantum heat engine not only advances our understanding of thermodynamics but also enables technologies needed for high-qubit quantum computers.<\/p>\n

Recent improvements in our understanding of how the principles of thermodynamics apply in the quantum realm could give a boost to quantum technology, and a clearer picture of quantum thermodynamics could reciprocally enhance our understanding of classical thermodynamics. Now Aalto University researchers have demonstrated the first cyclic quantum heat engine inside a superconducting circuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Physicists have become increasingly fascinated with the idea that classical thermodynamics could be combined with quantum mechanics. Quantum mechanics captures the behaviour of particles on tiny scales\u2014smaller than atoms\u2014while thermodynamics is about large systems, from molecules up to the entire universe. How do strange quantum phenomena like tunneling, entanglement and superposition mix with the stolid familiarity of the heat engines that kickstarted the industrial revolution?<\/p>\n

Heat engines, like James Watt\u2019s famous steam engine, convert heat into useful energy, into work. They power our cars, ships, and planes, and heat engines are how most power plants generate electricity. Now, the world\u2019s first superconducting quantum heat engine has been built: a tiny device consisting of a transmon qubit, a resonator and a quantum refrigerator.<\/p>\n

The superconducting engine harnessed the miniscule amount of heat found in ultracold quantum conditions to cyclically output positive work, a long-sought goal for quantum engineers. The device provides a solid proof of concept for superconducting heat engines, which could be used to develop improved technology for quantum computers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study, led by Academy Professor Mikko M\u00f6tt\u00f6nen, was published in Nature Commuincations<\/a>\u00a0on 13\u00a0July, 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A carefully engineered cycle<\/p>\n

The team created an Otto cycle\u2014the thermodynamic process that powers car engines, among other things\u2014inside a superconducting circuit.<\/p>\n

\u2019In our experiment, we built a nanofabricated heat engine using superconducting circuits and operated it in a cryostat near absolute zero. At its heart is a transmon qubit, one of the basic building blocks of modern quantum technologies,\u2019 says Tuomas Uusn\u00e4kki, the study\u2019s first author.<\/p>\n

By connecting the transmon qubit to a quantum-circuit refrigerator, the team could control the flow of heat at a quantum scale and show that it can be converted into measurable work. Unlike a typical heat engine, which uses separate hot and cold sources, the quantum heat engine relies on a quantum refrigerator to provide both heat and cold.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our quantum-circuit refrigerator can be tuned to both heat and cool the qubit on demand. Using carefully timed control pulses, we drove the engine in an Otto cycle and monitored the qubit state as the engine ran,\u2019 explains Uusn\u00e4kki.<\/p>\n

The researchers saw that the heat flowing through the qubit in the cycle was generating positive work.<\/p>\n

\u2018This is the first experimental demonstration of a cyclic quantum heat engine in superconducting circuits. Using a single controllable quantum refrigerator as both the hot and cold environment of the engine makes it simpler and more versatile,\u2019 says Uusn\u00e4kki.<\/p>\n

Autonomous heat engines for future quantum computers<\/p>\n

The team is working to improve their design, aiming to create an entirely autonomous heat engine that could do things like read out qubits without the need to bring the microwave pulse from millikelvin to room temperature. An autonomous engine on a superconducting circuit could reduce the cost and complexity of high qubit-count computers in the future.<\/p>\n

\u2018Finland\u2019s Quantum Technology Strategy envisions<\/a> a quantum computer with one thousand logical qubits by 2035, which probably means hundreds of thousands of physical qubits. Doing that with current technology requires millions of microwave cables costing thousand euros each. The cables also introduce noise into the system. Using autonomous devices instead would mostly eliminate the need for those cables,\u2019 M\u00f6tt\u00f6nen says.<\/p>\n

The researchers used the facilities of OtaNano, Finland\u2019s national research infrastructure for nano-, micro- and quantum technology in their pioneering study. The work was funded by the Research Council of Finland and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.<\/p>\n

Journal<\/p>\n

Nature Communications<\/p>\n

Article Title<\/p>\n

World\u2019s first superconducting quantum heat engine offers path to larger quantum computers<\/p>\n

Article Publication Date<\/p>\n

13-Jul-2026<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"image:\u00a0 Artistic impression of a superconducting quantum heat engine.\u00a0 view more\u00a0 Credit: Heikka Valja \/ Aalto University A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":763135,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[199,79],"class_list":["post-763134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-physics","tag-physics","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763134","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=763134"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/763134\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/763135"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=763134"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=763134"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=763134"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}