Collaborative Research: Carbon-Based Long-Coherence Quantum Bit

全球经济的基础是快速、廉价地处理信息的能力。量子信息处理领域利用了量子物理的不同寻常的特征，为信息的快速编码和处理提供了一种新的方法。在这个项目中，来自米德尔伯里学院、哈佛大学和哥本哈根大学的研究人员创造并研究了由碳纳米管形成的量子比特（量子比特）——“量子计算的基本组成部分”。研究小组利用碳纳米管的独特特性来操纵和询问量子比特，目的是展示对脆弱量子态的相干控制。纳米管的关键特性使其非常适合于量子信息处理，这些特性本身就是新认识的，并且是基础物理学的前沿领域。这些特性包括与纳米管圆周运动相关的自旋-轨道耦合、电子-核耦合以及控制电子自旋失相的能力。该项目很好地平衡了未来在量子信息领域的潜在应用，以及作为基础物理学的纳米电子学中的凝聚态物理。参与该项目的学生特别欣赏活动的基础部分和应用部分之间的联系。“量子信息处理”项目的主题本质上是革命性的。此外，该项目旨在利用文理学院和研究型大学在教育学生和开展研究方面的独特优势。本科生承担了很大一部分的研究，为物理学的职业生涯提供了宝贵的训练。哈佛大学在夏季进行的研究直接进入了PI所在机构明德学院（Middlebury College）的课程，因为学生们同时进行学分相关的项目和毕业论文，并与哈佛大学的同龄人互动。其目的是培养一批深入研究各个方面的学生，从收集和分析数据到展示结果，他们受过必要的训练和专业知识，能够在物理学领域脱颖而出。

Underlying the global economy is the ability to process information quickly and cheaply. The field of quantum information processing, which harnesses the unusual features of quantum physics, offers a novel approach to rapid encoding and manipulation of information. In this project, researchers from Middlebury College, Harvard, and University of Copenhagen create and investigate quantum bits (qubits) "the fundamental building blocks of quantum computation" formed from carbon nanotubes. The team of researchers exploits the unique properties of carbon nanotubes to manipulate and interrogate the qubits, with the goal of demonstrating coherent control of the fragile quantum states. The key properties of nanotubes that make them well suited for quantum information processing are themselves newly understood, and are a forefront area of fundamental physics. Those properties include spin-orbit coupling associated with circumferential motion around the nanotube, electron-nuclear coupling and the ability to control dephasing of electron spin. The project is a good balance between future potential applications in the exciting area of quantum information, and condensed matter physics in nanoscale electronics, as fundamental physics. Students involved in the project particularly appreciate the connection between fundamental and applied components of the activity.The subject of the project "quantum information processing" is inherently revolutionary. In addition, the project is designed to build on the exceptional strengths of liberal arts colleges and research universities in educating students and conducting research. Undergraduates perform a significant portion of the research, providing invaluable training for careers in physics. Research conducted at Harvard during the summer feeds directly into the curriculum at the PI's institution, Middlebury College, as students work in parallel on credit-bearing projects and senior theses and interact with their peers at Harvard. The aim is to foster a critical mass of students who are deeply engaged in all aspects of research, from collecting and analyzing data to presenting results, and who have the training and expertise necessary to excel in physics.