Chinese scientists achieve significant advancement in quantum simulation technology

A Chinese research team has realized the fractional quantum anomalous Hall state of photons for the first time by using an independently developed quantum experimental system, the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) said on Monday, Xinhua reports. 

Previously, the fractional quantum anomalous Hall state, a bizarre quantum phenomenon, was mostly observed in electrons. But the USTC research team uses photons to simulate it.

This breakthrough in quantum simulation technology is expected to propel advancements in quantum physics research and quantum computing, said Pan Jianwei, a renowned Chinese quantum physicist and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), at a press conference.

The team from the USTC, led by Pan and Lu Chaoyang, has independently developed and named a new type of superconducting qubit, Plasmonium in the research.

This groundbreaking achievement has successfully addressed two crucial challenges in realizing the fractional quantum anomalous Hall effect with photons, providing new means for experimental observation and manipulation of quantum.

The synthetic, controllable, and more powerful quantum simulation approach, which breaks free from the limitations of natural systems, can be utilized to investigate further mysteries of quantum states and explore the realization of fault-tolerant universal quantum computation, Pan said.

The Hall effect refers to the phenomenon where a voltage is generated perpendicular to the direction of both the current and the magnetic field when a current passes through a material placed in a magnetic field. This effect was discovered by American scientist Edwin Hall in 1879 and has been widely applied in the field of electromagnetic sensing.

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