CHIRAL QUBIT (BSA 18-13 & BSA 19-08)

Background

Superconducting qubits have made impressive progress in the world of quantum computing. However, existing realizations need to be operated at extremely low temperatures, requiring sophisticated refrigeration systems. This causes current quantum computers to be very large and expensive, creating the need to realize a technology that can be downsized for practical applications such as electricity generation.

Technology

Researchers at Stony Brook University (SBU) and Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) have developed a device, the Chiral Qubit, consisting of a micrometer‑sized loop made of a Dirac or Weyl semimetal. The technology is based on a macroscopic quantum phenomenon called the Chiral Magnetic Effect (CME), which involves the generation of electrical current induced by chirality imbalance in the presence of a magnetic field. The approximate conservation of chirality in Weyl and Dirac semimetals at sub‑micron scales allows the Chiral Qubit to hold at high temperatures, possibly approaching room temperature. A quantum qubit that is able to be operated at room temperature would revolutionize quantum computing by dramatically reducing the size and cost of the quantum processor, making it possible to create consumer quantum computing devices.