To infinity and beyond
How a UQ researcher intends to take a quantum leap to defy sceptics and multiply our understanding of the universe.
Quantum computing, quantum physics and quantum engineering can be difficult concepts to grasp.
Yet, their potential impact is blatantly clear.
“Quantum computing could conceivably be a million times more powerful than today’s computers,” says UQ School of Mathematics and Physics Associate Professor Arkady Fedorov.
“You would be able to work on a million computations at once, while a normal computer allows you to work on just one computation.”
At its heart, quantum computing works on the concept of parallelism – the ability to exist in multiple states at once.
Arkady Fedorov works with colleagues at UQ's Superconducting Quantum Devices Laboratory
Philosophically, it is akin to imagining yourself existing across an infinite number of dimensions.
While traditional computing works on binary, the arrangement of 0s and 1s in all manner of combinations which guide computers to process information sequentially, quantum theory is based on qubits, a basic unit of quantum information that is analogous to the classical binary ‘bit’.
Qubits can take on the superposition of 0 and 1 simultaneously – and a combination of everything in between.
Arkady Fedorov works with colleagues at UQ's Superconducting Quantum Devices Laboratory
Arkady Fedorov works with colleagues at UQ's Superconducting Quantum Devices Laboratory
“Quantum computing could conceivably be a million times more powerful than today’s computers.”
- Arkady Fedorov
“They are fluid, not binary,” award-winning Professor Shohini Ghose of Wilfrid Laurier University, California explains in a popular TED talk.
“They contain some probability of one (value) and the other.
“Their identity is on a spectrum...we don’t experience fluid quantum reality in our everyday lives.”
The punchline to quantum theory is that if you are starting to get confused, you are starting to understand it.
Rather than being a joke or a flight-of-fancy though, there are some immense applications for quantum computing that could revolutionise the way we live.
Security, medical diagnosis, drug development, internet capability, electoral processes, financial strategy, encryption and, yes, even teleportation are all areas where exciting quantum applications are being conceived and explored.
For these exciting notions to progress, however, there needs to be significant advancements made in computer engineering.
Which is where Dr Fedorov and his collaborators come into the picture.
A post-doctorate and PhD student look at measurement data in UQ’s Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab.
A post-doctorate and PhD student look at measurement data in UQ’s Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab.
“We are working on superconducting materials, with very low temperatures close to zero,” Dr Fedorov says.
“The same temperatures that exist in normal computing do not allow for materials to become superconducting.
“If we are talking about using quantum mechanics for computation, the generated heat and noise are of great importance.
"That is why superconducting materials are one of the most promising solutions.”
Not only is heat management important for financial, environmental, safety and durability reasons, but heat also brings about quantum decoherence – a state that destroys the very interactions that underpin the computations of quantum technology.
"If we want to use superconductors, operating at room temperature is simply not possible.”
Loss of information is a critical hurdle.
“In principle, quantum computing can happen at room temperature, but that makes it hard to protect against decoherence,” Dr Fedorov explains.
“Furthermore, if we want to use superconductors, operating at room temperature is simply not possible.”
A post-doctorate and PhD student look at measurement data in UQ’s Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab.
Dr Fedorov says it’s debatable how far away we are from translating all the theory into a practical quantum computer.
“Some say it is imminent. Some sceptics believe it will never happen,” he says.
“The basic fundamentals have been demonstrated, but the technology is very difficult and very expensive to overcome.”
However, Dr Fedorov remains optimistic.
He believes quantum computing – solving computations traditional computers cannot – will happen in the next 10 to 15 years.
It’s a career path he has followed since becoming fascinated with the topic in his home nation of Russia.
Dr Fedorov attended St Petersburg State University, completing both his Bachelor and Master of Physics, before moving to the United States and undertaking a PhD at Clarkson University, New York State.
Before joining UQ in 2013, his career also took him to Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland.
“In high school, I participated in competitions in maths and physics and soon learnt that it was something I could understand and do quite well,” Dr Fedorov says.
“I solved physics problems and found it interesting to combine rigorous mathematics with physical approximations.
“Around the time I was looking to undertake a PhD was when quantum computing came to prominence. It seemed a revolutionary idea and captivated my mind.”
“We are turning theoretical understanding into real life.”
While quantum behaviour may seem an abstract concept to many of us, Dr Fedorov sees it in a different light.
“Compared to other fields, I actually feel you retain a lot of control,” he says.
“Even though I’m an experimentalist at heart, I do have a background in engineering and math, and I like turning theoretical concepts into reality.
Dr Fedorov says that while in previous decades, quantum theory was all about fully understanding the concept, researchers are now focused on how to use that knowledge.
“You not only have to understand how it works, you have to understand all manner of challenges, and therefore understand precisely what is needed to make it work," he explains.
“We are turning theoretical understanding into real life.”
In 2016, Dr Fedorov was awarded a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award to develop compact, low-cost technologies to provide a competitive advantage in large-scale quantum systems.
Key focuses have been developing devices on a chip that enhance measurement sensitivity, better protecting quantum systems from noise, and developing circuits with innovative functionality.
Working with UQ’s Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Engineered Quantum Systems, he continues to make strides in this regard.
“We are looking towards large-scale fabrication with potentially very small costs per element,” Dr Fedorov says.
“It is fine to say we can build a quantum computer, but for this to be useful to humankind on a wider scale, there needs to be consideration of commercialisation prospects.”
And how endless are the possibilities if all the pieces fall into place?
Imagine not only quantum computers, but a quantum network that reflects the internet in an elaborately magnified state.
It is then we could witness some of the greatest mysteries of the universe unravel before our eyes and those of future generations.
The story so far:
2005: Dr Fedorov completes his PhD at Clarkson University, USA, and starts as a postdoctoral researcher in Germany, working on superconducting quantum bits.
2008: Dr Fedorov designs, fabricates and measures his first superconducting quantum bit.
2012: Dr Fedorov demonstrates the first three-qubit operation with superconducting qubits.
2013: Dr Fedorov establishes the Superconducting Quantum Devices Lab at UQ and is appointed a Chief Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence on Engineered Quantum Systems.
2013: Dr Fedorov demonstrates the first quantum teleportation in any of the solid-state systems.
2015: Dr Fedorov receives an ARC Future Fellowship titled Distributed quantum networks with cascaded superconducting circuits to work on quantum networks.
2016: Dr Fedorov receives a UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award to work on quantum non-reciprocal devices.
2016: Dr Fedorov's team performs the first demonstration of contextuality with superconducting qubits.
2018: Dr Fedorov's team performs the first demonstration of a microwave diode using quantum non-linearity.
Image credit: Getty Images/johnason. Opening video credit: Getty Images/kirill4mula.
Contact details
Associate Professor Arkady Fedorov
School of Mathematics and Physics
Email: a.fedorov@uq.edu.au
Phone: +61 7 336 53418
Web: researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/2756
Last updated 12 September 2019.
Read more about how UQ researchers are making an impact.
Associate Professor Arkady Fedorov
Associate Professor Arkady Fedorov
Associate Professor Arkady Fedorov
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