by Taro Porschke
Microsoft has recently engineered a new state of matter in order to create a more powerful computer. No, this is not satire.
While the above statement is somewhat oversimplified, the general gist of it is true - new topological superconductors have been created in order to stabilize qubits, which has resulted in the creation of Majorana 1, Microsoft's latest and greatest chip.
I hope you liked my bundle of jargon. So, to simplify this, let's start with what quantum computing is.
Quantum Computing
Bits, the 0's and 1's which make up the most basic unit of digital information, are essential to any computer. They're part of every piece of information in every computer, which, I assure you, is a lot. 8 bits make up 1 byte, which is translated into your kilobytes (approx. 1 thousand bytes), megabytes (approx. 1 million bytes), gigabytes (approx. 1 billion bytes), and terabytes (approx. 1 trillion bytes).
On the other hand, quantum computers use qubits - quantum bits (ingenious, right?) - to store their information. Qubits are far superior for two reasons, both of which have explanations within quantum mechanics.
The first reason is superposition. Regular bits can only be either 0 or 1. However, qubits have the quality of superposition, allowing them to be both 0 and 1 at the same time. I will not even try to explain this.
The second reason is entanglement. Regular bits are always only independent objects with their own independent values. However, qubits can be combined into inseparable, linked states which allows for manipulation of multiple information values at once.
Quantum computing is used for special tasks, and has its strengths and weaknesses vs classical computers. Fittingly, quantum computers are especially good at... modeling quantum systems! Understanding these systems is important to contributing to further scientific research and development, especially concerning the development of new drugs and material science.
Right now, quantum computers are a little behind in the computing power race against classical machines, like supercomputers. This is largely due to the fact that qubits are very unstable - and if they are increased in size, the best way to stabilize them, chips lose computing power since less qubits can be included in the chip. But, since quantum computing is such a novel field and more breakthroughs like Microsoft's are likely to come, much more can be expected soon.
So, let's start to tackle Microsoft's newest state of matter and my new favorite buzzword, topological qubits.
Topology
Welcome to Topology 101. Here is your first problem:
1. (a) Let [n] denote the totally ordered set {0, 1, . . . , n}. Let φ : [m] → [n] be an order preserving function (so that if i ≤ j then φ(i) ≤ φ(j)). Identifying the elements of [n] with the vertices of the standard simplex Δn , φ extends to an affine map Δm → Δn that we also denote by φ. Give a formula for this map in terms of barycentric coordinates: If φ(s0, . . . , sm) = (t0, . . . ,tn), what is tj as a function of (s0, . . . , sm)?
-18.905: Problem Set I, Algebraic Topology I, Prof. Haynes MillerJust kidding. But, topology is an extremely difficult subject - and how do we go from analyzing weird shapes like this:
to creating Majorana 1, Microsoft's breakthrough chip?
Well, apparently, with 17 years of research, anything is possible.
Topology helps with the creation of qubits since topology itself deals with the properties of objects that remain constant even after deformation. Topological qubits store their properties and information in systems which depend upon topology and are realized using anyons, quasiparticles which change their quantum state based upon the orientation and topology of their paths. This allows for the maintenance of information even through deformations and disturbances, making these qubits especially strong. On the contrary, regular qubits store information based on local quantum states, which are susceptible to noise and other disturbances, making them highly unreliable unless extremely large.
Now, for Majorana. Italian theoretical physicist Ettore Majorana who mysteriously went missing in 1938 had theorized, back in 1937, of the existence of fermions (a class of particles) which were their own antiparticles. These particles, duly dubbed Majorana particles, have now supposedly been proven to exist by Microsoft and are key to the Majorana chip. Every negative has its positive.
Since these particles are home to their own antiparticle, these particles are far more stable than regular qubits, unsusceptible to environmental disturbances, and can therefore be smaller. This would allow for more qubits than ever in a singular quantum computer, and, combined with the topological principles that make up Majorana particles, allows for a faster and stronger qubit, breaking through previous limitations of quantum computing power.
The State of Matter
But, we still haven't gotten to the new state of matter? How can these particles be used?
Well, that's another one of the breakthroughs: topoconductors. These topological superconductors are a new class of material which can create topological states of matter (as opposed to solids, liquids, gases) and harness the Majorana particles.
This new class of material is achieved by cooling indium arsenide (a semiconductor) and aluminum (a superconductor) to near absolute zero and tuning them with magnetic fields to achieve a topoconductor. I swear all of these words are real.
There's not much more information on this right now, since Microsoft probably doesn't want the world to take all the glory for their invention. Regardless, it'd probably be way too complex for anyone to understand through a Log article anyways.
Skepticism
There's a lot of skepticism about the whole topological qubit creation, though. Many scientists find themselves wary of Microsoft's claims, especially after they retracted similar "discoveries" a few years back, after they were found to be untrue.
And, similarly, there hasn't been evidence whatsoever of a topological qubit having been created - only that the architecture for handling it, a topoconductor may have been created. It is difficult to believe that Majorana particles, a scientific unicorn, have been magically found after all this time, by Microsoft who haven't published any other findings.
With no research papers and published science behind them, it is extremely difficult to be fully understanding of what Microsoft is doing. After all, science is all based on the rigorous scientific method, which requires that everyone share their work so that experiments and procedures can be replicated and redone to produce the same outcome.
While everything is still extremely new, and Microsoft will hopefully publish their research to truly confirm the existence of Majorana particles soon, it is probably safer to not get your hopes up high just yet.
Why Care?
So why do you care? Well, why should you have cared about the first supercomputer? Or, computer itself, for that matter? Quantum computing is still in its infancy, and will continue to grow, giving us more sophisticated development than ever in the fields of materials, pharmaceuticals, and science in general. Additionally, company optimization, financial and climate modeling, as well as cryptography face massive changes to come due to quantum computing.
On top of all of that, there's a bunch of new investment opportunities into quantum computing companies and startups, as well as possible application in AI. So, watch out for quantum computers and the Majorana chip - maybe, hopefully we'll see breakthroughs in medicine and other important fields quickly.
And, in the Intel vs AMD battle for best chip... I guess Microsoft wins?