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Categories: Computer Science: Quantum Computers, Offbeat: Earth and Climate

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Everyday life involves the three dimensions or 3D -- along an X, Y and Z axis, or up and down, left and right, and forward and back. But, in recent years scientists have explored a 'fourth dimension' (4D), or synthetic dimension, as an extension of our current physical reality.

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Many substances change their properties when they are cooled below a certain critical temperature. Such a phase transition occurs, for example, when water freezes. However, in certain metals there are phase transitions that do not exist in the macrocosm. They arise because of the special laws of quantum mechanics that apply in the realm of nature's smallest building blocks. It is thought that the concept of electrons as carriers of quantized electric charge no longer applies near these exotic phase transitions. Researchers have now found a way to prove this directly. Their findings allow new insights into the exotic world of quantum physics.

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Ancient pathogens that escape from melting permafrost have real potential to damage microbial communities and might potentially threaten human health, according to a new study.

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A hot bath is a place to relax. For scientists, it is also where molecules or tiny building blocks meet to form materials. Researchers take it to the next level and use the energy of swimming bacteria to forge materials. A recent study shows us how this works and the potential sustainability benefits that may arise from this innovative approach.

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Egg 'signatures' will allow drongos to identify cuckoo 'forgeries' almost every time, study finds. African cuckoos may have met their match with the fork-tailed drongo, which scientists predict can detect and reject cuckoo eggs from their nest on almost every occasion, despite them on average looking almost identical to drongo eggs.

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Researchers have created a quantum superposition state in a semiconductor nanostructure that might serve as a basis for quantum computing. The trick: two optical laser pulses that act as a single terahertz laser pulse.

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Fertilizer restrictions along Florida's 156-mile-long Indian River Lagoon were intended to reduce nutrient inputs from urban and agricultural land uses. The hope was that water quality would improve by reducing the nitrogen load. While these restrictions were well-intended, a study finds fertilizer use is not the root cause of the lagoon's environmental issues. It's sewage. For decades, fertilizer use was implicated for about 71 percent of the lagoon's environmental impairments. In fact, current estimates show 79 percent of nitrogen loading is from septic systems; 21 percent is from residential fertilizer use.

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A new theoretical study provides a framework for understanding nonlocality, a feature that quantum networks must possess to perform operations inaccessible to standard communications technology. By clarifying the concept, researchers determined the conditions necessary to create systems with strong, quantum correlations.

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The future of electronics will be based on novel kinds of materials. Sometimes, however, the naturally occurring topology of atoms makes it difficult for new physical effects to be created. To tackle this problem, researchers have now successfully designed superconductors one atom at a time, creating new states of matter.

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Routing signals and isolating them against noise and back-reflections are essential in many practical situations in classical communication as well as in quantum processing. In a theory-experimental collaboration, a team has achieved unidirectional transport of signals in pairs of 'one-way streets'. This research opens up new possibilities for more flexible signaling devices.

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Scientists have shown it's possible to grow fungi in thin sheets that could be used for fire-retardant cladding or even a new kind of fungal fashion.

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Scientists have created a global database of pollination data for almost 3000 orchid species.

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Nothing exists in a vacuum, but physicists often wish this weren't the case. If the systems that scientists study could be completely isolated from the outside world, things would be a lot easier. Take quantum computing. It's a field that's already drawing billions of dollars in support from tech investors and industry heavyweights including IBM, Google and Microsoft. But if the tiniest vibrations creep in from the outside world, they can cause a quantum system to lose information.

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Researchers are using a new model to clarify why millions of years ago more animal species from Asia made the leap to the Australian continent than vice versa. The climate in which the species evolved played an important role.

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We interact with bits and bytes everyday -- whether that's through sending a text message or receiving an email. There's also quantum bits, or qubits, that have critical differences from common bits and bytes. These photons -- particles of light -- can carry quantum information and offer exceptional capabilities that can't be achieved any other way. Unlike binary computing, where bits can only represent a 0 or 1, qubit behavior exists in the realm of quantum mechanics. Through "superpositioning," a qubit can represent a 0, a 1, or any proportion between. This vastly increases a quantum computer's processing speed compared to today's computers. Experts are now investigating the inside of a quantum-dot-based light emitter.

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Scientists show that even a few simple examples are enough for a quantum machine-learning model, the 'quantum neural networks', to learn and predict the behavior of quantum systems, bringing us closer to a new era of quantum computing.

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A system using photonics-based synthetic dimensions could be used to help explain complex natural phenomena.

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Imagine strapping on a virtual reality headset and 'walking' through a long-gone neighborhood in your city -- seeing the streets and buildings as they appeared decades ago. That's a very real possibility now that researchers have developed a method to create 3D digital models of historic neighborhoods using machine learning and historic Sanborn Fire Insurance maps.

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Squash bugs, a common and difficult-to-control agricultural pest, need healthy bacteria in their gut to grow and stay alive. However, they do not acquire any bacteria from their parents when they are first born, leaving them vulnerable until their microbiome can be stocked. Researchers report that, to acquire these healthy bacteria, young bugs innately seek out and eat the poop from older squash bugs.

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Urea reacts extremely quickly under the conditions that existed when our planet was newly formed. This new insight furthers our understanding of how life on Earth might have begun.