The discovery of the Atom interaction is invaluable for future quantum technologies

By breaking with convention, physicists at the University of Otago have opened up new research and technology opportunities regarding the world's basic building block, Atoms.

In a study recently published in Nature Communications, the researchers placed an atom in each of the two laser beams before bringing them together until they begin to interact.

Associate Professor, co-author of the Department of Physics, Mikkel F. Andersen, explains that this allows atoms to exchange properties in a way that could be "very useful" for future quantum technologies.

"Our work is an important step in our ability to control the atomic world," he said.

As atoms are like magnets, when the pair begins to interact, they begin to change direction, counterbalancing each other.

This is the first time that this "pure basic interaction test" is presented in a laboratory using two single atoms. Previous experiments were based on several atoms, which can lead to undesirable consequences, such as chemical reactions between atoms.

By showing how to build multi-atom quantum systems from the bottom up, scientists can do things impossible with conventional methods.

"Assembling small physical systems atom, atom, in a controlled way, opens a multitude of research and opportunities that are not otherwise possible.This also causes atoms to display different behaviors than those who were in the system "Dr. Andersen said.

This includes a finite temperature quantum entanglement resource. This is important because the entangled particles remain connected, even over great distances, and the actions performed on one affect the other.

Entanglement can be used to improve technologies because, since atoms are interconnected, they can cooperate for a given task rather than working alone.

"When we get to the point of exploiting quantum entanglement, we will have a second quantum technological revolution, as we did with lasers, which made the Internet possible.

"That's why it's important to develop a robust entanglement technology – and New Zealand is at the forefront of this research."