Scientists from the Austrian Academy of Sciences and the University of Vienna, together with quantum physicists from the University of Science and Technology of China, have worked together towards a concept we thought can only exist in sci-fi. They have experimented and achieved quantum teleportation.
The experiment
The team worked simultaneously from Vienna, Austria, and Hefei, China to show this three-dimensional quantum teleportation from one computer chip to another. In the paper they submitted on August 2, 2019, they explained the process to teleport the quantum state from one photon to another in a distant location.
For the first time, researchers have teleported a qutrit, a tripartite unit of quantum information. https://t.co/nNiTyMMkk9
— Scientific American (@sciam) August 6, 2019
In previous years, scientists had only achieved two-level state teleportation, called “Qubits.” Currently, they teleported 12 three-level states called “Qutrit,” with a teleportation fidelity of 0.75.
For those confused as to what it is, quantum teleportation is the transmission of the state of one particle from one place to another. For example, I have the physical state of a live dog at my house. I can teleport the information to other particles in another country and recreate the live dog there. However, the laws of quantum mechanics don’t allow cloning of quantum states. As a result, the original dog will be disembodied. That is why human teleportation is far from happening.
"Quantum Teleportation in High Dimensions"
A qutrit* has been teleported for the first time.* quantum superposition of 3 basis states: α ⎪0〉+ β⎪1〉+ γ ⎪2〉
Letter: https://t.co/wHNirib8h7
Synopsis: https://t.co/aqJhpW4w66 pic.twitter.com/Ak6qCQZ7cE— Physical Review Lett (@PhysRevLett) August 15, 2019
If we cannot teleport ourselves yet, what can we do with this discovery?
This accomplishment opens the possibility to transmit information at the speed of light. They achieve it by using photon particles to teleport information over long distances. With this step, quantum computers and quantum internet could be a reality soon. Also, with a quantum internet, all transactions will become almost unhackable because any intrusion will leave a measurable mark.
For a more detail explanation of how quantum teleportation works, you can watch the video below that simplifies things further.
YouTube: How to Teleport Schrödinger’s Cat
Photo credit: The feature photo has been taken by Masami.
Sources: University of Vienna / Daniel Garisto (Scientific American) / Quantum teleportation in high dimensions (Cornell University Archive)
