There were quantum channels. And now superchannels!

The 3rd Krakow-Torun-Oslo workshop, “Beyond Quantum” (November 26–December 1), has now concluded. It was an intense brainstorming week (as always) where the main topic—What’s next?—was discussed. Holmenkollen and the weather provided the perfect conditions for day-long sessions, interspersed with coffee sips and lunch breaks.

The main topic this year was superchannels, quantum operations that map quantum channels onto quantum channels (where quantum channels, in turn, map quantum states onto quantum states). Perhaps the topic for next year’s workshop will be super-superchannels (metachannels?).

Seminar: Frederik vom Ende

We invite all colleagues interested in open quantum systems and quantum information to the upcoming seminar by Frederik vom Ende from Freie Universität Berlin (please see the title and abstract below). The seminar will take place next Thursday, October 10th, at 13:00 in P35-PS439. Lunch will be provided on-site.

Quantum-Dynamical Semigroups and the Church of the Larger Hilbert Space

The idea underlying open systems theory is to describe the evolution of non-isolated systems—at least approximately—via a differential equation ρ'(t)=Lρ(t) with L of a special form, called Lindblad- or GKSL-form. This is, however, not the only way to tackle this problem; another successful approach is to consider the system coupled to its environment, and then extract the system’s dynamics by tracing out the environment from the combined unitary evolution. While the physics literature features well-known approximations which guarantee when these two descriptions are compatible, in this talk we will investigate under what conditions they can match precisely: Our main result is that GKSL-dynamics can be written exactly as the reduced evolution of system plus some environment if and only if the environment is infinite-dimensional with an overall unbounded Hamiltonian. In doing so we obtain a second-order Taylor-approximation for bounded system-environment Hamiltonians, with some familiar coefficients.

Welcome to the Quantum Hub, Yves!

Professor Yves Rezus from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (Hogeschool van Amsterdam) joined the Quantum Hub last week for his one-year sabbatical. During his time, he will participate in various Quantum Hub activities, including outreach and teaching. Specifically, he will contribute to our course on Quantum Information Technology, which aligns perfectly with his efforts at the Hogeschool, where he is also establishing a practical course on Quantum Physics and Technologies. We anticipate many productive discussions on teaching strategies, methods, and approaches, enriched by his field experience!

Last but not least, as an expert in NMR technology, Yves can help to realize our dream to utilize our three-qubit machine as an experimental platform to explore NMR physics.

Visit from Kempten

Last Wednesday, Quantum Hub had the pleasure of welcoming Prof. Dr. Arthur Kolb, Vice President for Internationalisation and Equal Opportunities from Kempten University of Applied Sciences (Germany). Prof. Kolb showed great interest in our agenda and goals, particularly in the means and strategies we’re using to achieve them. He was especially curious about our two quantum computers. It sounds like Kempten might be diving into the quantum world soon too!

Commuting in a noncommutative space

Bridging quantum theory and gravitation is a great and mind-thrilling challenge. Non-commutative geometry is considered to be a candidate for such a bridge. This mathematical concept integrates quantum principles like the non-commutativity of operators into the fabric of spacetime.

We gained insights into this fascinating topic last Friday, April 12, from a talk by our guest speaker, Anna Pachol, an associate professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway. Anna provided an introductory overview of the field, which holds the potential to uncover the Holy Grail: a theory of quantum gravitation.

Although Anna resides in Oslo, she commutes to Kongsberg where the USN campus is located. If spacetime does indeed prove to be non-commutative (pending experimental verification or refutation), the title of this post will make perfect sense.

Exploring the Wonders of Quantum Mechanics: High School Visit to the Quantum Hub

At the end of November 2023, the Quantum Hub and DQUANT welcomed a group of high school students from the Kuben videregående skole eager to learn about quantum mechanics. The visit comprised detailed lectures and practical tutorials aimed at introducing the students to the intricate and beautiful world of quantum physics.

The day commenced with an overall introduction and motivation to the topic. This was followed by instructive lectures on solving the Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen atom. The different sessions provided an overview of the equation’s application beyond the ground state and its significance in understanding atomic behavior exemplified by quantized energy levels for the one-electron system.

Following the lecture, the students participated in hands-on tutorials exploring the basics of quantum computing. Quantum Hub affiliated students and researchers guided them through demonstrations and experiments elucidating concepts such as superposition and entanglement.

It is our hope that the visit left the students with a deeper understanding of the fundamental principles governing the quantum realm. As they departed, it is our hope that the experience had sparked a greater interest in the complexities of quantum mechanics among the budding scientists.

This event was planned and led by A. Laestadius in close collaboration with S. Selstø, S. Denysov, and Owen Haugen Ogbebo.

On Quantum Supremacy (some reflections induced by Maksym Teslyk’s post)

He has attained supremacy in one particular line: he succeeds in inspiring a mysterious thrill (M. R. James)

The concept of High Concept crystallized in Hollywood in the 1980s: A movie whose title answers the question “What that movie is about?” and whose plot can be explained in two sentences. It is a highly visual movie and it has an appeal to all types of viewers, from retired army officers to nurses to young IT nerds. You can start watching  this movie from any point of its narrative and enjoy it and have a good feeling at the end. All this however does not mean that high-concept movies are mental toys made for dummies – these movies  are highly original and orchestrated  in a very thoughtful way. High Concept movies are planned to be box-office bombs (“We have no obligation to make history. We have no obligation to make art. We have no obligation to make a statement. Our obligation is to make money“, Don Simpson). Examples: “Top Gun” and “Jurassic Park”.

Low Concept movies are on the other edge of the spectrum: Complex plots (sometimes opposite – so trivial that you can pitch them in one sentence like “two guys are sitting in a restaurant and talking all the time”) and character (not action) – driven narratives. These movies are targeted to a specific audience, they are more demanding and often full of connotations – to literature, art, and other movies. Prospects for commercial success are slim. Examples: “My Nights Are More Beautiful Than Your Days” and “Faces”.

The High/Low Concepts can  be extended to science: A high-concept paper is a paper presenting exciting new results which is reflected in  the paper’s title and whose idea can be grasped by a lay person. Such a paper usually gets media coverage and journalists are happy to write about it. Example: “Washing Away Postdecisional Dissonance” or “Analytic thinking promotes religious disbelief”. Low-concept papers: Traditional scientific papers which can only be comprehended by experts. Examples: Open a random issue of “Journal of Topology” and pick a random paper.

Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor” (October, 2019) is a trickster, a low-concept wolf in a high-concept’s skin. The title tells about the message needed to be spread: Supremacy of quantum computers over classical ones has been demonstrated! Media coverage: It was mentioned in 409 News stories, 67 Blog posts, and 2,026 Tweets. It was hyped in newspapers and magazines, it was discussed in podcasts. By now, many lay people have heard of it.

But what is the essence? How precisely has supremacy been demonstrated? What is the idea of the proof-of-concept experiment reported? Even physicists or IT experts or mathematicians  are hardly able to get answers to these questions by simply reading the paper — because it is too cryptic, too demanding (one has to read several others – no less cryptic and demanding!  – papers before), and too technical. It is a Klein bottle, a promise of a joy of learning something really new and exciting which turns out to be a depressing realization that what is presented in the paper is super-specific and  expertise-demanding and therefore – incomprehensible.

So, what is the problem? The QC research is anyway a highly specialized field which demands substantial expertise. Should be Google blamed for this? Of course, not. However, my feeling is that the Google strategy in presenting results is on purpose cryptic and bombastic at the same time. It is OK, it is just a strategy, indeed legitimate as many others. It is my problem: I simply do not like it.

Nordic Quantum Life Science Roundtable in Helsinki

With some delay, we are reporting about an exciting event that took place in Helsinki (November 14-15th, 2023). 3rd Nordic Quantum Life Science Roundtable is a next link in the chain of all-Nordic meetings that are designed for key players in the field, aiming to catalyze Quantum Life Science (QLS) through knowledge sharing and exploring new possibilities within the intersection of Quantum Technologies and Life Sciences. The two previous ones took place in Stockholm (2021) and Copenhagen (2022).

Two members of OsloMet’ s Quantum Hub, Pedro Lind and Sergiy Denysov, have attended the meeting (the former one is a co-organizer of the event). We were excited to see how far Finland made it in closing the gap between the cutting-edge research in Quantum Computing and such sectors as health care and pharmacology (and related IT fields). We could one hope that one of those days Norway will reach this stage.

The venue was quite interesting: It is a former sea fortress Suomenlinna (Finnish) or Sveaborg (Swedish). A chilling place with a certain air, but, strange enough, it fitted nicely.

The most exciting thing we saved to the end: The next roundtable will be in Oslo, September 2024. It will be organized jointly by NordSTAR, Quantum Hub, and Simula Lab. A third engraving, “Norway 2024”, will be added soon to the silver goblet!