One beam of light could revolutionize quantum sensors and navigation
Baku, July 10, AZERTAC
In a major breakthrough for quantum technology, Israeli and U.S. physicists announced on Thursday the discovery of a simple and powerful new method to protect atoms from losing information, according to the Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL). The technique could lead to smaller, cheaper, and more rugged quantum devices that are easier to deploy outside of a lab.
The method — developed by a team of scientists from Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Cornell University in the U.S. — uses a single laser beam to keep atoms’ internal spins aligned, dramatically reducing information loss caused by environmental noise. Their findings were recently published in the peer-reviewed Physical Review Letters journal.
In many quantum devices, atoms store information in a property called “spin,” which is extremely sensitive to disturbances. When atoms collide with each other or with the walls of their container, their spins lose alignment in a process called spin relaxation. This loss of coherence limits the accuracy and stability of quantum sensors, navigation systems, and memory devices.
Until now, protecting atomic spins from this kind of noise required operating in very weak magnetic fields, using bulky magnetic shields, or cooling atoms to near absolute zero. The new method changes that. By tuning the frequency of a single beam of light, the researchers found they could synchronize the spins of atoms, even as they moved, collided, and interacted in a warm environment with strong magnetic fields.
“This approach opens a new chapter in protecting quantum systems from noise,” the researchers said. “By harnessing the natural motion of atoms and using light as a stabilizer, we can now preserve coherence across a broader range of conditions than ever before.”
In lab experiments with warm cesium vapor, the team achieved a ninefold improvement in how long atoms maintained their spin orientation. Remarkably, this worked even when the atoms were bouncing off the walls of their container and undergoing frequent collisions. The light essentially acted like a conductor keeping a room full of spinning tops in sync — whereas before, the tops would quickly fall out of step.
Lead authors Avraham Berrebi and Mark Dikopoltsev, along with Prof. Ori Katz of Hebrew University and Prof. Or Katz of Cornell, say the method could make quantum devices smaller, more practical, and easier to operate in real-world conditions.
Atoms with spin are used in technologies like ultra-sensitive magnetometers, quantum sensors for brain activity or archaeological imaging, and navigation systems that don’t rely on GPS. These systems require atoms to maintain their spin state long enough to make accurate measurements—a task made far easier with this new technique.
Because it works in warm environments and doesn’t require extreme cooling or magnetic shielding, the method has the potential to simplify the design of future quantum devices. It could lead to more robust and accessible tools for science, medicine, industry, and more.
“This is a powerful yet elegant solution,” the team said. “Using just one beam of light, we can now keep atomic spins coherent in conditions that used to be far too noisy. It’s a major step toward making quantum technologies practical and scalable.”
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