Miracle at Room Temperature: Unveiling the First Topological Quantum Simulator

Topological quantum simulator is based on the special principle of topological quantum states, which encodes information into the overall state through quantum superposition. This increases the security and efficiency of information storage and processing, as this state has strong resistance to local disturbances.

Topological quantum simulators have enormous potential in fields such as quantum drug design, material science simulation, and optimization problem solving, significantly improving computational efficiency and problem-solving capabilities. It quickly identifies potential drug molecules, predicts new material properties, and optimizes logistics and financial network problems by simulating intermolecular interactions.

Recently, researchers at Rensselaer Institute of Technology in the United States have developed the first strong light matter interaction topological quantum simulator that operates at room temperature, with a width comparable to a human hair. This device will assist physicists in studying the fundamental properties of matter and light, supporting the development of efficient lasers in various fields from medicine to manufacturing. The relevant paper was published in the journal Nature Nanotechnology on May 24th.

This device is made of a special material called a photonic topological insulator. Photon topological insulators can guide photons to specially designed interfaces inside the material, while also preventing these photons from scattering through the material itself. Due to this characteristic, topological insulators can make many photons act coherently like a single photon. These devices can also serve as topological 'quantum simulators', allowing researchers to study quantum phenomena in these miniature laboratories.

The researchers stated that their fabricated photonic topological insulator has uniqueness and can operate at room temperature, which is a significant advancement. Previous studies could only use large and expensive devices, and the material was supercooled in vacuum. The new device not only provides convenience for more scientists to conduct basic physics research in the laboratory, but also brings broader prospects for the development of low-energy lasers. This is because the room temperature operating energy threshold of the new device is only one seventh of that of traditional low-temperature devices.

The technology for developing new devices is the same as that for manufacturing microchips in the semiconductor industry, which requires stacking different material layers atomically and molecularly to create ideal structures with specific properties.

To manufacture this new device, researchers cultivated ultra-thin halide perovskite sheets and etched a patterned polymer on top of them. They sandwiched these crystal plates and polymers between various oxide material sheets, ultimately forming an object about 2 microns thick and 100 microns square (the average width of human hair is about 100 microns). When the laser is irradiated onto the device, a glowing triangular pattern appears on the interface. The pattern is determined by the device design and is the result of the topological characteristics of the laser.

The room temperature topological quantum simulator successfully maintains the coherence and stability of quantum states, providing new possibilities for the practical application of quantum computers. Researchers say that being able to study quantum phenomena at room temperature is exciting, which means that materials engineering will help answer some major scientific questions.