"Aaron Lauda has been exploring an area of mathematics that most physicists have seen little use for, wondering if it might have practical applications. In a twist even he didn't expect, it turns out that this kind of math could be the key to overcoming a long-standing obstacle in quantum computingand maybe even for understanding the quantum world in a whole new way."
"Quantum computers, which harness the peculiarities of quantum physics for gains in speed and computing ability over classical machines, may one day revolutionize technology. For now, though, that dream is out of reach. One reason is that qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers, are unstable and can easily be disturbed by environmental noise. In theory, a sturdier option exists: topological qubits spread information out over a wider area than regular qubits. Yet in practice, they've been difficult to realize."
Researchers investigated underused mathematical structures and derived theoretical particles named neglectons from overlooked math. Topological qubits encode information across a broader region, offering greater resistance to environmental noise than ordinary qubits, but practical implementations have struggled to achieve universality. Current topological approaches lack a complete set of operations needed for full-scale quantum computation. Neglectons are proposed to address specific missing capabilities and provide a pathway toward experimentally realizing universal topological quantum computers, potentially making topological approaches both more robust and functionally complete for scalable quantum computing.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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