Quantum computers that can catch their own mistakes could make it possible
to build huge telescopes the size of a planet. The approach would allow
astronomers to get past constraints with current telescopes to clearly view
distant objects in space.
Astronomers trying to take images of faraway stars and planets are at the
mercy of whatever faint light reaches their telescopes. They can increase
the resolution by using arrays of interconnected telescopes called
astronomical interferometers. However, to obtain sharp images of some of the
most distant objects, such arrays would have to span thousands of kilometres
and, at this size, image-sharpening techniques based on classical physics no
longer work.
Astronomers can often ignore light’s quantumness, but when so little of it
reaches the telescope its particles no longer behave in classical ways, says
Daniel Gottesman at the University of Maryland, who wasn’t involved with the
project. “That means this light is really quantum, there’s just no way
around that,” he says.
Zixin Huang at Macquarie University in Australia and her colleagues have now
found that quantum methods could enable large interferometers to handle
light that effectively arrives one photon at a time and resolve fuzzy
images. The approach borrows a technique originally developed for
communication between quantum computers.
As particles of starlight enter the telescopes, they would be recorded into
a quantum version of a hard drive made up of specially prepared atoms. Their
energies and arrival times would result in the hard drive atoms changing
into a different state.
Light from the same star reaching the interferometer would be
quantum-mechanically entangled. This means that the individual telescopes
can effectively act as one large telescope without losing any data when they
talk to each other to create an image.
To process that information, scientists would use quantum computers
programmed to find and correct their own mistakes during computation.
Without this, the process would be vulnerable to glitches and errors that
would affect the final image.
Huang’s team is the first to propose using these self-correcting quantum
computers for astronomy and the analysis shows that they could produce sharp
images even if more than 10 per cent of the starlight data succumbed to
glitches.
Thanks to quantum mechanics, a giant telescope using the team’s method could
have a resolution thousands of times higher than any existing or planned
interferometer.
This is an example of using quantum technology for a task where a classical
counterpart simply doesn’t exist and it gives a way of getting around a
classical limitation, says Emil Khabiboulline at Harvard University.
Many of the components needed to build a telescope with the new system have
already been individually tested, but some obstacles remain, like making
sure that it isn’t too costly for distant telescopes in an array to exchange
quantum information. “There are many more challenges that need to be
addressed for a planet-sized device, but this is a good first step,” says
Huang.
A similar approach could be used to help see further into space and uncover
previously inaccessible details. Huang is already studying how to improve
our understanding of signals that come from water or hydrogen on planets
outside of the solar system, which could be indicators of life.
Reference:
arXiv,
arxiv.org/abs/2204.06044
Tags:
Space & Astrophysics
The logical continuation is to connect the quantum network of the solar system with the interstellar information field to save humanity.
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