Hybrid Rotaxanes as Scaleable Two Qubit-Gates for Quantum Information Processing

现代计算机的工作原理是以“位”的形式存储和处理信息。在一位之内，信息要么存储为0，要么存储为1。我们现在拥有的巨大计算能力有一些局限性。例如，计算机将数字相乘的速度非常快-2x3x3x5x7x11x17x23x41=111094830。在现代计算机上，相反的运算速度很慢，也就是说，如果你得到111094830，计算机会发现很难计算出乘数的总和。这种将大数分解成素数的操作看起来像是数学上的奇怪之处，但它是现代世界信息加密的基础。另一种基于量子信息处理(QIP)的替代计算机将以一种截然不同的方式工作，使用量子力学的奇怪原理。这些信息将被存储在“量子比特”中。与比特相反，量子比特将信息存储为0、1以及0和1之间的所有数字的叠加。打个比方：如果比特就像一个灯开关--无论是开还是关--量子比特就像一个调光开关，但它同时在所有位置设置。在大多数情况下，量子计算机几乎不会比普通计算机有什么优势，然而在某些情况下--例如将大数分解为素数--量子计算机可以执行经典上慢得令人难以置信的计算。一些例子已经被报道，其中执行了简单的计算，但还没有报告可以执行复杂计算的量子计算机。我们的计划是开发可以充当量子比特的分子，然后连接在一起，形成计算机的基本单元--一个两个量子比特的门--然后开发进一步的化学，使我们能够用这些分子量子比特来准备设备。

Modern computers work by storing and processing information in "bits". Within a bit the information is stored either as a 0 or 1. The huge computing power we now possess has some limitations. For example, computers are very fast at multiplying numbers together - 2 x 3 x 3 x 5 x 7 x 11 x 17 x 23 x 41 = 111094830. The reverse operation is slow on a modern computer, i.e. if you are given 111094830 a computer would find it difficult working out the factors multiplied together. This operation - factoring large numbers into primes - looks like a mathematical oddity, but is the basis of how information is encrypted in the modern world.An alternative computer - based on quantum information processing (QIP) - would operate in a very different way, using the strange principles of quantum mechanics. The information would be stored in a "qubit". In contrast to a bit, a qubit stores information as 0, 1 and the superposition of all numbers between 0 and 1. As an analogy: if a bit is like a light switch - either on or off - a qubit is like a dimmer switch, but one which is set at all positions simultaneously. In most cases a quantum computer would have few advantages over a normal computer, however in some cases - and factorising large numbers into primes is one example - then a quantum computer can perform a calculation quickly that is impossibly slow classically.Some examples have been reported where simple calculations have been performed, but no quantum computer has been reported that could carry out a complex computation. Our proposal is develop molecules that can act as qubits, link then together to form the fundamental units for a computer - a two-qubit gate - and then develop further chemistry that would allow us to prepare devices with these molecular qubits.