A research team at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, led by professor of the department of physics Amarendra Kumar Sarma have studied the workings of quantum entanglement, a phenomenon that continues to baffle the finest scientific minds of the world.
The team’s theoretical research on cavity optomechanics has potential applications in quantum information science and can contribute towards understanding the boundary between classical and quantum physics.
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Cavity optomechanics refers to the interaction between light and mechanical objects at low-energy scales.
The team comprising of Sarma and his research scholars, Subhadeep Chakraborty and Sampreet Kalila, have recently summarized their understanding in an invited review article in a prestigious research journal AVS Quantum Science published by American Institute of Physics.
“Nobody knows how or why quantum entanglement happens. However, that does not make it unreal – numerous experiments have established it being a real phenomenon in subatomic systems,” said Amarendra Kumar Sarma
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Quantum entanglement is the building block of the second generation of quantum technology such as quantum computation, quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation and quantum dense coding, he said.
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“In simplified terms, a cavity optomechanical system refers to a set of mirrors where one of the mirrors is fixed while the other one is slightly movable”, explained Sarma.
Surprisingly, this simple model can explain the physics of a plethora of complicated optomechanical systems.
Such systems provide a universal tool to achieve quantum control of mechanical motion.
Beyond application, the research helps to understand the boundary between classical and quantum physics.
“We have come up with various practical schemes to enhance quantumcorrelations in optomechanical systems,” said the IIT professor.
Apart from entanglement the team is also studying the aspects of qubit transfer, photon and phonon blockade in such systems owing to their tremendous applications in quantum communication and information sciences.
The team has also dealt with the issue of “entanglement sudden death” under the influence of a local noisy environment, a stumbling block encountered by scientists a decade ago.
The team has proposed a scheme to tackle such shortcomings using an optomechanical platform.
Sarma was invited to write a review article for the journal of the American Institute of Physics in recognition of his seminal works in quantum optics.
He along with his team has published their research articles in the area of quantum optics in various prestigious journals such as Physical Review A, Journal of Optical Society of America B, Annals of Physics, and Scientific Reports.
Scientists across the world continue to study quantum physics to help unravel the workings of the universe.
This study of subatomic particles and forces forms the basis of the computer chip,the electric current, laser power, and even light from the sun.
One of the most fascinating, and perhaps bizarre traits of quantum mechanics is quantum entanglement, the interaction among quantum systems such as subatomic particles, in ways not possible in our larger, perceivable classical world.
When two subatomic particles, like a pair of electrons, are entangled, it is impossible to measure the properties of one without affecting the other.
No matter how far they move apart, if one is tweaked, measured, or observed, the other seems to instantly respond even if the whole world now lies between them.