Entanglement in a qubit-qubit-tardigrade system

Abstract Quantum and biological systems are seldom discussed together as they seemingly demand opposing conditions. Life is complex, ‘hot and wet’ whereas quantum objects are small, cold and well controlled. Here, we overcome this barrier with a tardigrade—a microscopic multicellular organism known...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:New journal of physics 2022-12, Vol.24 (12), p.123024
Main Authors: Lee, K S, Tan, Y P, Nguyen, L H, Budoyo, R P, Park, K H, Hufnagel, C, Yap, Y S, Møbjerg, N, Vedral, V, Paterek, T, Dumke, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atmospheric pressure
Biology
Electric dipoles
Entangled states
Experiments
Harmonic oscillators
Metabolism
Microorganisms
Physics
quantum biology
Quantum entanglement
quantum theory
Qubits (quantum computing)
superconducting qubit
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Summary:Abstract Quantum and biological systems are seldom discussed together as they seemingly demand opposing conditions. Life is complex, ‘hot and wet’ whereas quantum objects are small, cold and well controlled. Here, we overcome this barrier with a tardigrade—a microscopic multicellular organism known to tolerate extreme physicochemical conditions via a latent state of life known as cryptobiosis. We observe coupling between the animal in cryptobiosis and a superconducting quantum bit and prepare a highly entangled state between this combined system and another qubit. The tomographic data shows entanglement in the qubit-qubit-tardigrade system, with the tardigrade modelled as an ensemble of harmonic oscillators or collection of electric dipoles. The animal is then observed to return to its active form after 420 h at sub 10 mK temperatures and pressures below 6 × 10 − 6  mbar, setting a new record for the conditions that a complex form of life can survive.
ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/aca81f