Solid Light
What was learned in this research:
This study explores self-organized criticality, a concept from complex systems theory, where small events can trigger events of different sizes while yielding similar outcomes. This study was conducted with the hopes of a better understanding of quantum physics.
In this experiment, particles of the quantum level are controlled/manipulated with the system. The system for this experiment is studying a nanophotonic configuration. This structure allows studying light on the nanometric scale and its interaction with other objects. The system is made up of a gain-enhanced plasmonic heterostructure controlled by a coherent drive, in which photons approaching the Stopped Light Regime (a state where light is slowed down or even stopped, usually due to interactions with unique materials) interact with the presence of the effects in a system where the output and input aren’t directly proportional.
In the research, scientists discovered that particles in a superposition state can be controlled when the photons synchronize due to the stopped light regime. This is associated with two abrupt changes in the property of systems. One is the synchronization of the dynamics of photons. The other is an inversionless lasing transition, a technique used for light amplification by stimulated emission. As a result, the weak localization (the confinement of a light wave so that it is very intense in one particular area), which can lose energy, have random variations, and have complex interactions between particles, show that the frequency of events is inversely proportional to their size.
Scientists also observed that the systems show the behavior of self-organized criticality in a quantum context, where the particles are affected by quantum effects when the system’s effective critical “temperature” drops to zero.
What this means for Computers:
As computers have progressed, they have become smaller, more complex, and more powerful. However, computing devices are starting to reach the level where they are getting to their physical limits.
Transistors, the tiny switches found in computers, block and send electrical signals, thus sending the 1s and 0s for the computer to use. Electrical signals are made up of electrons, and this is where the problems with even more advanced computers start to show up. As transistors are getting smaller and smaller with every generation of computers, so is its effectiveness. Transistors are beginning to reach the point where the electrons in electrical signals can ignore the transistors and flow regardless due to quantum physics. At the quantum level, physics is much different than what we are used to, and regular computers stop making sense. Scientists are building devices known as quantum computers to overcome this issue. The research article from above is starting to shed some light on the solution and how scientists could control quantum physics to build more of these computers, thus launching a brand-new generation of computing.
I find this research to have merit. It shows potential in the science community as well as the technology sector. It allows us to advance our computer algorithms to account for more complex problems and create the cool sci-fi technology we all grew up to love. With it, we can have the space travel from Star Wars or even the time-traveling DeLorean from Back to the Future. Unfortunately, it needs more time to show more valid results that can impact computers, and it takes time before it can become a part of ubiquitous computing, but one day it will.
Research Article:
Citation:
Tsakmakidis, K. L., Jha, P. K., Wang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2018). Quantum coherence–driven self-organized criticality and nonequilibrium light localization. Science Advances. https://doi.org/aaq0465
