Quantum computer parts are sensitive and need to be cooled to very low temperatures. Their tiny size makes them particularly susceptible to a temperature increase due to the thermal noise that is produced by environment and or other components nearby. Dr Shabir Barzanjeh, a postdoc at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (IST Austria), together with Dr André Xuereb from the University of Malta and Matteo Aquilina from the National Aerospace Centre in Malta has now proposed a novel method to keep quantum devices cool. Their approach, which they have proven to work theoretically, relies on quantum interference.
If a hotter object is placed next to a cooler one, the heat normally has only one option: it can only flow from the hotter object to the cooler one. Therefore, if one wants to cool an object that is already cooler than its surroundings, like it is done in a household fridge, an effort has to be made to achieve this. A new method for cooling down the elements of quantum devices such as qubits, the tiny building blocks of quantum computers, was now theoretically proven to work by a group of physicists.
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