Quantum technologies with hybrid systems

TLDR

Current physics research focuses on creating practical quantum technologies, with devices for information processing, secure communication, and sensing built from photons, atoms, spins, superconducting, and nanomechanical systems, each chosen for specific strengths, and hybrid systems combining complementary components aim to enable multitasking capabilities. The article reviews the theoretical ideas and experimental realizations of hybrid quantum systems, aiming to develop devices that can reliably store, process, and transmit quantum information. The authors outline key theoretical concepts and early experimental demonstrations of hybrid quantum systems, highlighting their opportunities, challenges, and future prospects.

Abstract

An extensively pursued current direction of research in physics aims at the development of practical technologies that exploit the effects of quantum mechanics. As part of this ongoing effort, devices for quantum information processing, secure communication, and high-precision sensing are being implemented with diverse systems, ranging from photons, atoms, and spins to mesoscopic superconducting and nanomechanical structures. Their physical properties make some of these systems better suited than others for specific tasks; thus, photons are well suited for transmitting quantum information, weakly interacting spins can serve as long-lived quantum memories, and superconducting elements can rapidly process information encoded in their quantum states. A central goal of the envisaged quantum technologies is to develop devices that can simultaneously perform several of these tasks, namely, reliably store, process, and transmit quantum information. Hybrid quantum systems composed of different physical components with complementary functionalities may provide precisely such multitasking capabilities. This article reviews some of the driving theoretical ideas and first experimental realizations of hybrid quantum systems and the opportunities and challenges they present and offers a glance at the near- and long-term perspectives of this fascinating and rapidly expanding field.