New theory of electron spin to aid quantum devices

Electrons—those tiny subatomic particles that help make up the atoms in our bodies and electricity flowing through your phone or computer—have certain properties like mass and charge that anyone taking a high school physics class could will be familiar. But electrons also have a more abstract property known as spin, which describes how they interact with magnetic fields.

electron spin of particular importance to a field of research called spintronics, which aims to develop quantum Electronic Components Which use spin in memory storage and information processing. Spin is also the center of qubits—the basic unit of information used in them. quantum computing,

The problem with using spin in these quantum devices is that its quantum states can be easily disrupted. To be used in a device, the electron spin needs to preserve its quantum state for as long as possible to avoid loss of information. This is known as spin coherence, and it is so fragile that even the tiny vibrations of the atoms that make up the device can irreversibly erode the spin state.

In a new paper published in the journal physical review paper, Marco Bernardi, Professor of Applied Physics, Physics and Materials Science; and Jinsu Park, postdoctoral scholarly research associate in applied physics and materials Sciencedeveloped a new theory and numerical calculation to predict spin decoherence in materials with high accuracy.

Bernardi explains: “Existing theories of spin relaxation and decoherence focus on simple models and qualitative understanding. After years of systematic effort, my group has developed computational tools to study quantitatively how electrons Interact and transfer content.

“This new paper takes our work a few steps forward: we have adapted the principle of electrical transport to study spin, and discovered that this method captures the two main mechanisms governing spin decoherence in materials. can- spin scattering by nuclear vibration, and spin precession modified by nuclear vibration. This integrated treatment allows us to study the behavior of electron spin In a wide range of materials and devices required for future quantum technologies.

“It is almost astonishing that in some cases we can predict spin decoherence times, with an accuracy of a few percent of the measured values—up to billionths of a second—and reach the subtle details of spin motion beyond the reach of experiments.” Ironically, our research tools—computers and quantum mechanics-can now be used to develop new computers that use quantum mechanics.”

The paper describing the research, titled Predicting Phonon-Induced Spin Decoherence from First Principles: Colossal Spin Normalization in Condensed Matter,” appears in the November 2 issue of physical review paper,

Its companion paper describes the theory in detail, titled “Many-body theory of phonon-induced spin relaxation and discontinuity”, appearing in issue 17 Physical Review B As an editor’s suggestion.