The study of quantum science might sound like something you heard on a sci-fi show — but it’s the next frontier of technology in the real world.
Joseph Maciejko, an associate professor in the Department of Physics at the University of Alberta, is exploring that frontier. Maciejko is acting director of the Edmonton node of Quantum Horizons Alberta (QHA), a new $25-million, provincewide network created in a partnership between the universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge to explore theoretical quantum research. His work as a condensed matter physicist explores the tiniest building blocks of our world — many of which we don’t know a lot about.
Recently, Maciejko spoke at a Science Talks webinar about quantum materials and their potential impact on the technology that we use every day. Here’s what he shared.
Endless Possibilities
Maciejko’s research focuses on emergent phenomena that arise when, instead of tracking one particle and its singular movements, you look at the interactions and behaviours of many particles together.
Think about particles as pieces of Lego. There are different kinds of bricks, and the rules on how they can be assembled are pretty clear: the studs need to line up, everything should be at a 90-degree angle and the pieces click together. Despite there being a finite type of bricks and ways to connect them, there are still an infinite number of things you can create with Lego — or at least, it’s almost impossible to enumerate all the possibilities.
“I would argue that it’s the same for physics,” says Maciejko. “We understand the smallest bits. But sometimes this doesn't help us understand what happens when you have a huge number of particles coming together in actual materials.”
"You might look at the behaviour of a single bird and think about how fast it flies or the trajectory it follows,” says Maciejko. “But when you look at a whole flock of birds, a beautiful pattern emerges — one that you would have never guessed just by studying that single bird."
Flock Mentality
To learn about the world at the most fundamental level, physicists use particle colliders, enormous machines that cause atoms to collide into each other at very high energies — revealing even smaller particles, like electrons and quarks. Condensed matter physicists like Maciejko have discovered that when the same matter is studied at much lower energy and temperatures it often behaves as though it is made up of new particles that haven’t been identified or understood yet.
At the level of an individual electron, for example, properties like magnetism or superconductivity don’t exist. It’s only when particles can interact with one another that we see these behaviours arise, says Maciejko. Understanding emergent phenomena is critical to creating real-world quantum applications and the next generation of devices.
Limitless Computing
The computers we use in everyday life can do a lot, but they use a binary for their processing, meaning data is stored as either zeros or ones. Quantum computing, however, does not have that limitation. Quantum mechanics allow for the linear superposition of two states — instead of an either-or situation like a binary, data can essentially be a zero and a one at the same time.
Because of this, the quantum realm hosts incredible potential for future technologies, including a huge increase in computational speed and power, says Maciejko. Quantum computing promises efficient computation for difficult optimization problems and unprecedented measurement sensitivity.
While quantum computers don’t yet exist in their final form, they will likely be bespoke systems that serve very specific purposes for very specific businesses — such as drug development or cybersecurity. They’ll also be physically gigantic and function at temperatures close to absolute zero.
The Unknown
Unlike experimental and applied quantum research, like quantum computing, the tangible results of today’s theoretical quantum science research — which Maciejko is working on at QHA — are completely unknown.
Imagine what it was like to discover electricity, the atom or the molecular structure of DNA. Those discoveries, which came from basic, theoretical research, were transformational to the human condition. They changed the way we understand, experience and live in our world. They gave us completely novel information to work with to better it.
Basic quantum science research has the potential to do the same — to lead us to a whole new scientific reality that presents opportunities to solve today’s big problems and future problems we haven’t even imagined yet.
“Where do we go from here?” asks Maciejko. “I think the fun in this field has really just begun.”
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