Scientists from the University of Sydney have made a groundbreaking achievement by using a Quantum computer for the engineering and direct observation of a key process in chemical reactions. This breakthrough allowed them to slow down the process by 100 billion times, opening new opportunities in material science, drug creation, and solar energy collection.
The study’s co-leader, Vanessa Olya Agudelo, a graduate student, emphasized the significance of understanding these processes: “Realizing the main processes that occur inside the molecules and between them, we can discover a new world of opportunities… It can also help improve other processes related to the interaction of molecules with light, such as the formation of smog or damage to the ozone layer.”
The highlight of the study was the observation of the interference sample of one atom caused by a geometric structure in chemistry known as a “conical intersection.” These intersections play a crucial role in rapid photochemical processes like photosynthesis.
Chemists have been attempting to observe such geometric processes since the 1950s, but their extreme speed made it impossible. However, scientists overcame this challenge by conducting an experiment on a quantum computer, which allowed them to slow down the process by 100 billion times. The results of their research are published in the journal Nature Chemistry.
Dr. Christoph Valah, a physicist from the school of physics, provided an analogy to help understand the significance of this achievement: “It’s like modeling air flows around the wing of an aircraft in an aerodynamic pipe. However, this was not a digital approximation of the process – this was a direct observation of quantum dynamics.”
The leader of the research group, Associate Professor Ivan Kassal, highlighted that this discovery will contribute to a better understanding of ultra-fast molecular dynamics and how molecules change on the fastest time scale.
This study was the result of collaboration between chemistry theorists and experimental quantum physicists, with the support of Professor Michael Bieursuk’s quantum computer in the quantum management field.