2023-12-14 11:15:49
Although performing a physical experiment is the ideal way to find out if gravity is quantum, a goal that a team of scientists is working towards and which we reported on yesterday, an interesting preview of what could be discovered has now arrived from the hand of Carlos Sabín, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM) in Spain, who has managed to simulate the creation of quantum entanglement using the gravitational field on an IBM quantum computer.
This achievement could help the experimental validation of gravity as a quantum force.
For now, there is no adequately developed quantum theory of gravity, unlike what happens with other fundamental forces such as electromagnetism. There are theoretical proposals, such as the famous string theory, but its experimental verification has been beyond the reach of technology.
Recently, a more modest approach has been developed that aims to simply demonstrate the quantum nature of gravity, without needing to reveal the entire underlying quantum theory. This approach is based on the idea that, if we can generate quantum entanglement between systems governed by quantum physics through purely gravitational means, we could confirm that gravity is, in fact, a quantum force, even without knowing the complete theory. .
“Quantum entanglement is the term we use to describe certain correlations between measurement results that are only possible in quantum systems. These correlations are extremely useful for the development of new technologies, including quantum computers,” explains Sabín.
Artistic recreation of gravity acting on a quantum scale. (Image: Amazings/NCYT)
As part of his research, Sabín translated the results of a specific experiment, carried out by scientists from University College London (United Kingdom) and the University of Groningen (Netherlands), into the language of quantum bits and the transformations between them. (quantum logic gates). He then implemented the simulation over the Internet on a quantum computer and analyzed the results, comparing them with theoretical ideals.
“Using modern techniques to ‘mitigate’ experimental errors, I have verified that the results obtained are practically identical to the theoretical ones. This indicates that the entanglement generated between quantum bits would be equivalent to what gravity would have generated between quantum systems in a real experiment,” concludes the researcher.
The study is entitled “Digital quantum simulation of quantum gravitational entanglement with IBM quantum computers”. Y se ha publicado en la revista academica EPJ Quantum Technology. (Source: UAM)
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