Quantum entanglement’s delicate nature may triumph over chaos in chemical reactions

Researchers have discovered that a strange quantum phenomenon can withstand catastrophic chemical reactions. This could ultimately prove useful in emerging quantum technologies or reveal surprising quantum properties in nature.

“Normally people describe chemical reactions as very chaotic. You put a bunch of atoms in there and they do a bit of a ‘dance’ and as the products form, they just pop out.” he says. Zhu Lingbang at Harvard University. He and his colleagues began investigating how this affects the quantum properties of molecules.

Quantum objects function as both particles and waves. The researchers focused on a property called coherence, which reflects the wave-like nature of molecules. Quantum entanglement connects objects closely even if they are far apart, and is closely related to coherence. Therefore, this experiment provides insight into the fate of entanglements during chemical reactions.

The quantum properties of molecules are most pronounced at extremely low temperatures, so the researchers studied potassium and rubidium atoms at temperatures just a billionth of a degree above absolute zero. To achieve this cooling, they placed the atoms in an airless chamber and used a precise combination of laser beams, magnetic fields, and microwave pulses to cool the atoms and bind them into molecules.

Although these molecules spontaneously undergo chemical reactions, Zhu and colleagues carefully controlled their initial quantum states, such as coherence and entanglement. After the reaction, the quantum properties of the resulting products were evaluated. These molecules manage to maintain their coherence, or wave-like nature, and can overlap and interfere with each other, like two waves, where the peaks and troughs do not match. I did.

Yong Chen Researchers at Purdue University in Indiana say experiments like this open the door to a new phase of quantum research, allowing scientists to move beyond passively revealing quantum properties to discovering ways to control them. states that it will be found. But future experiments may be able to diagnose molecular entanglements more directly, he says.

The research team is now using the quantum properties of molecules to control the type or number of products produced by a reaction, suggesting that chemical reactions that occur in nature contain more quantum nature than previously thought. Zhu said they are researching ways to gather hints about whether or not there is a possibility.