Researchers have implemented a quantum-based method to observe a quantum effect in the way light-absorbing molecules interact with incoming photons. Known as a conical intersection, the effect puts limitations on the paths molecules can take to change between different configurations. The observation method makes use of a quantum simulator, developed from research in quantum computing, and offers an example of how advances in quantum computing are being used to investigate fundamental science.
Researchers at Duke University have implemented a quantum-based method to observe a quantum effect in the way light-absorbing molecules interact with incoming photons. Known as a conical intersection, the effect puts limitations on the paths molecules can take to change between different configurations.
The molecule can't stay in the top state -- its electrons are out of position relative to their host atoms. To return to the more favorable lower energy state, the molecule's atoms begin rearranging themselves to meet the electrons. The point where the two mountains meet -- the conical intersection -- represents an inflection point.
Measuring this quantum effect has always been challenging because it is both short-lived, on the order of femtoseconds, and small, on the scale of atoms. And any disruption to the system will prevent its measurement. While many smaller pieces of the larger conical intersection phenomenon have been studied and measured, the geometric phase has always eluded researchers.
Based on how the ions are moved and the quantum state that they're placed in, they can fundamentally exhibit the exact same quantum mechanisms as the motion of atoms around a conical intersection. And because the quantum dynamics of the trapped ions are about a billion times slower than those of a molecule, the researchers were able to make direct measurements of the geometric phase in action.The results look something like a two-dimensional crescent moon.
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