Quantum teleportation: from light into matter

Science fiction dream: Sci-fi enthusiasts have dreamt of being able to teleport from one location to another since Gene Roddenberry popularised the idea in Star Trek.

Beam me up, Scotty
pic:http://www.gizmag.com

Researchers advance 'Quantum Teleportation'

This image shows crystals used for storing entangled photons, which behave as though they are part of the same whole. Scientists used these crystals in their process of teleporting the state of a photon across more than 15 miles (25 kilometers) of optical fiber. 
Credit: Félix Bussières/University of Geneva
credit: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?feature=4384

From light into matter: Physicists can't instantly transport matter, but they can instantly transport information through quantum teleportation. This works thanks to a bizarre quantum mechanics property called entanglement.

Teleporting over 25 kilometres: Researchers from the University of Geneva, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Institute of Standards and Technology used a superfast laser to pump out photons. Every once in a while, two photons would become entangled. Once the researchers had an entangled pair, they sent one down the optical fiber and stored the other in a crystal at the end of the cable. Then, the researchers shot a third particle of light at the photon traveling down the cable. When the two collided, they obliterated each other.


Memory After Triangulation: Though both photons vanished, the quantum information from the collision appeared in the crystal that held the second entangled photon.

Physicists think quantum teleportation will lead to secure wireless communication — something that is extremely difficult but important in an increasingly digital world. Advances in quantum teleportation could also help make online banking more secure.

The research was published in Nature Photonics. (Quantum teleportation from a telecom-wavelength photon to a solid-state quantum memory)

Date:

September 21, 2014

Source:

Université de Genève

Summary:

Physicists have succeeded in teleporting the quantum state of a photon to a crystal over 25 kilometers of optical fiber. The experiment constitutes a first, and simply pulverizes the previous record of 6 kilometers achieved ten years ago by the same team. Passing from light into matter, using teleportation of a photon to a crystal, shows that, in quantum physics, it is not the composition of a particle which is important, but rather its state, since this can exist and persist outside such extreme differences as those which distinguish light from matter. (http://www.sciencedaily.com)