Uncovering Magic Quarks at the Energy Frontier
The Large Hadron Collider Is Getting a Major Upgrade
Physicists have uncovered a surprising link between high-energy particle physics and quantum computing after discovering that top quarks produced at the Large Hadron Collider exhibit a property called magic. Quantum computers rely on this enigmatic factor to calculate complex problems that remain out of reach for traditional machines. While researchers have extensively studied quantum entanglement where particles become linked, this new work explores how well-suited specific particles are for building advanced quantum processors. Central to their potential is a recently identified property known as “magic,” a critical yet enigmatic factor in building these powerful machines. Despite its importance, how to generate and enhance this “magic” remains a puzzle. For any given quantum system, magic is a measure that tells us how hard it is to calculate on a non-quantum computer. The higher the magic, the more we need quantum computers to describe the behavior. Studying the magic properties of quantum systems generates profound insights into the development and use of quantum computers. The research demonstrates that the collider routinely produces these states. Professor Chris White from Queen Mary University of London and his twin brother, Professor Martin White from the University of Adelaide, have uncovered a surprising link between the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) and the advancement of quantum computing. “While entanglement, where particles become linked, has been a major focus of quantum research, our work explores the concept of ‘magic’ in top quarks, which essentially measures how well-suited particles are for building powerful quantum computers.”Professor Chris White, Queen Mary University of London
Our Large Hadron Collider results hint at undiscovered physics
This interdisciplinary approach borrows tools from quantum information science to refine how scientists analyze massive collision datasets. This cross-pollination is helping scientists develop new, more sensitive ways of analysing collider data, with the potential to reveal subtle effects that might point to physics beyond our current understanding of the universe. By studying these properties, researchers are building a direct bridge between quantum technology and high-energy particle physics. Challenging the Standard Model With Rare Particle Decays
The Large Hadron Collider's Quantum Computing Breakthrough
Beyond quantum computing applications, recent experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have yielded measurements that disagree with predictions from the Standard Model. Investigators analyzed the decay of sub-atomic particles called B mesons. We investigated how these B mesons decay into other particles, finding that the particular way in which this happens disagrees with the Standard Model. The new results come from LHCb, an experiment at the Large Hadron Collider where these collisions are analysed. This transformation is exceptionally rare. Because these processes are sensitive to heavy new particles that cannot be created directly in the collider, they offer an indirect window into undiscovered physics. The measurements showed a tension of four standard deviations from Standard Model expectations. In practical terms, this leaves a one in 16,000 chance that random statistical fluctuation caused the discrepancy. Although this result falls short of the gold standard of five standard deviations, independent results have reinforced the findings by agreeing well with the data. Major Upgrades and New Particle Discoveries During Facility Hiatus
These discoveries coincide with major technical milestones and infrastructural changes across the collider complex. CERN announced that it has detected a new particle at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) called the Xi-cc-plus. It’s a very heavy particle, with a mass four times that of a proton, and it’s believed to last only a sixth as long as similar, known particles. That’s because its combination of two charm quarks and one down quark is inherently less stable than two charm quarks and one up quark. Detected by the LHCb experiment, the Xi-cc-plus is the first new particle revealed by LHCb Upgrade 1, installed at the LHC in 2023. This fundamentally changed the LHCb experiment’s function. The simplest upgrade was to the luminosity, or the number of particles it can collide within a given timeframe. Another big upgrade is more nuanced, in the form of a world-first, all-software trigger. Rather than use a hardware trigger to capture data, which requires preselecting the event, the LHCb can now sift through data entirely in software and decide what to keep in real time. Finally, the new detector greatly increased the vertex resolution
of the detector, allowing it to pick up smaller perturbations in the particles. Meanwhile, last month, the LHC officially went on hiatus for Long Shutdown 3. When operations resume in 2030, it’ll have a new name: the High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider. This upgraded accelerator will collect roughly six times more data than current runs. Oxford University researchers are also involved in the upgrade currently taking place on the ATLAS detector. Combined with the upgraded High-Luminosity Large Hadron Collider, this will allow researchers to undertake even more profound explorations of quantum phenomena and apply novel quantum information techniques to exploit the huge data sets.