EAGER: Braiding of Half-Flux Quantum Vortices

摘要：本项目旨在“编织”半通量量子涡旋。“编织”意味着将这些量子漩涡作为时间的函数彼此移动，对应于量子力学交换。这些漩涡被认为具有不寻常的量子力学交换特性，编织它们的能力是实现拓扑量子计算的必要步骤。因此，成功编织这样的涡旋本身将是一项重大成就，也是拓扑量子计算机发展的主要设想路线之一的关键里程碑。这里开发的新思想和新技术将使非阿贝尔任意子的编织成为可能，这是一个迄今为止只存在于数学家和物理学家想象中的概念。该项目更广泛的影响与量子计算可能带来的重大社会影响有关，例如，某些类型的计算速度呈指数级增长，这可能会使许多新型的科学和技术努力成为可能。技术摘要：本项目的目标是在p波自旋三重态超导体Sr2RuO4中编织半通量量子漩涡方面取得进展。这种半通量涡旋被认为是非阿贝尔任意子，其量子交换应该与费米子和玻色子的量子交换不同。这些任意子的编织被认为是沿着拓扑量子计算机发展的主要设想路线之一迈出的重要一步。该项目的工作包括Sr2RuO4材料的合成，材料的测试，使用这些材料的设备制造，以及一个理论程序来解决沿途可能遇到的一些问题。虽然这个项目非常具有挑战性，因此风险很高，但其成功的潜在回报也非常高，因为它可能使量子计算免受退相干的许多方面的影响。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Nontechnical Abstract: This project is aimed at 'braiding' of the half-flux quantum vortices. 'Braiding' means moving these quantum vortices around each other as a function of time, corresponding to quantum mechanical exchange. These vortices are believed to have unusual quantum mechanical exchange properties, and the ability to braid them is a necessary enabling step towards topological quantum computation. Therefore, the successful braiding of such vortices would be a major achievement in its own right but also a critical enabling milestone along one of the main envisioned routes towards the development of a topological quantum computer. The new ideas and technologies developed here will enable the braiding of non-abelian anyons, a concept that has so far just lived in the imagination of mathematicians and physicists. The project's broader impacts are related to the major societal impacts to which quantum computation might bring, for example, exponentially increased speeds for certain types of computations, which could then enable many new types of scientific and technological endeavors.Technical Abstract: The goal of this project is to make progress towards braiding half-flux quantum vortices in the p-wave spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4. Such half-flux vortices are believed to be non-abelian anyons whose quantum exchange should be distinct from that of fermions and bosons. The braiding of these anyons is considered to be a major enabling step along one of the main envisioned routes towards the development of a topological quantum computer. Efforts in this project include the synthesis of the Sr2RuO4 materials, the testing of the materials, the device fabrication using these materials, as well as a theoretical program to address some of the issues that might be encountered along the way. While this program is unusually challenging and therefore of high risk, the potential rewards for its success are also very high, as it might enable quantum computation protected from many aspects of decoherence.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.