The latest issue of New Scientist magazine features the cover article on 'Quantum Deep Space', entitled 'Space oddity: Putting quantum weirdness in orbit'. The article examines the issues that will arise in future space experiments where quantum and relativistic effects overlap, and makes reference to the work of Dr Ivette Fuentes from the School on relativistic quantum information.
Relativistic quantum information
In information theory we study how to send messages, how to transmit information in secure ways, how to compute and in general, how to process information. In order to process information, information must be stored in physical systems. Therefore, it is the underlying physical theory which sets the rules for which information tasks can be preformed and on their efficiency.
The field of information theory made great progress last century using the traditional 'classical' theories in physics. However, we also learned last century that there is a more fundamental theory of nature called quantum mechanics, applicable in particular on very small scales. It then became interesting to revise information theory in the light of this new physical theory, giving rise to the study of quantum information. We have been learning to exploit often quite bizarre quantum properties, such as entanglement, to improve information tasks. A good example of this is quantum teleportation.
Quantum theory is not a catch-all however, and the world also obeys the relativistic theories of Einstein. Previously, because of the different length scales involved in those two ideas (quantum = generally atomic or smaller levels, relativistic = much larger scales) there has been little consideration of any need to combine the two. However, in recent years, quantum experiments are reaching regimes, particularly in a space-setting, where relativistic effects start to kick-in. The research field of relativistic quantum information (RQI) aims to understand how to process information at this overlap.
Posted on Wednesday 22nd May 2013