ISIS ISIS and the UK Government's Quantum Strategy

ISIS and the UK Government's Quantum Strategy

The UK's National Quantum Strategy sets out a ten-year plan for realising the potential of quantum technologies in the UK. These technologies take atomic-scale phenomena and use them to find new ways of manipulating information, which could then lead to complex computational problems being solved in a fraction of the time. The applications of quantum computing span a range of industries, from healthcare to environmental monitoring.

Our limited knowledge of the quantum mechanical world will be holding us back from realising better high-performance computing, quantum computing, and other transformative technologies. This is why curiosity driven research and materials discovery occupies such an important role in society's response to its grand challenges. We can only unlock new technological capabilities by understanding the basic properties of materials and identifying new trends in their behaviour that can ‘emerge’ under certain conditions.

Scientists at ISIS Neutron and Muon Source alongside industrial and academic partners are researching a range of materials that could have applications in next generation storage devices or new technologies for processing information. Some recent examples are highlighted below.

For more information contact Professor Sean Langridge

New route to quantum spin liquid materials discovered for first time
A new route to materials with complex ‘disordered’ magnetic properties at the quantum level has been produced by scientists from the University of Birmingham for the first time.
Investigating the phase transition of a Kitaev quantum spin liquid
ISIS scientist Frank Kruger and PhD student Huanzhi Hu have used theoretical modelling to study a crucial phase transition in this novel and exotic state of matter.
Combining techniques and crossing continents to uncover a quantum spin liquid phase
A research collaboration bringing people together from eight different countries has used muon spin relaxation, alongside other techniques, to reveal a quantum spin liquid phase in a previously unstudied material.
ISIS instruments put experimentalists in the driving seat
Using the unique capabilities of neutron and muon instruments at ISIS, a team from the Germany, Switzerland, Canada, the UK and USA have been able to characterise the phases of a complex magnetic material.
Gravity Defying Fluids
Liquid 4He has long been known to exhibit superfluidity, a phenomenon where it seemingly defies gravity by flowing uphill and escaping any open container.
Steering skyrmion strings using a thermal gradient
Researchers from ShanghaiTech, Diamond Light Source, ISIS and the University of Oxford have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of magnetic skyrmions.
Combining techniques to explore a curious quantum ground state
By using muon spectroscopy, inelastic neutron scattering and other techniques, researchers have been able to characterise the quantum ground state of a perovskite material.
Using SANS to study skyrmions
Researchers investigate the behaviour of samples with magnetic skyrmions to annalyse their formation mechanism.
Neutrons enable the distinction between single-k and multi-k structures
Researchers show that it is possible to distinguish between single-k and multi-k structures without the need for single crystals or external fields.
Finding a quantum state in a natural mineral
Using muon spin spectroscopy, researchers have found new evidence that the mineral, szenicsite, is dominated by the novel quantum state known as the Majumdar-Ghosh point.
Showing the value of using a full toolbox of techniques for evaluating quantum materials
Only by using the combination of polarised neutron reflectometry, X-ray spectroscopy and magnetotransport have researchers been able to characterise individual layers of a potential candidate for building future quantum computers.
Magnetic excitations for information transfer without heat loss
Just as electrons flow through an electrical conductor, magnetic excitations can travel through certain materials. Such excitations, known as "magnons" in analogy to the electron, could transport information much more easily than electrical conductors.
The Devon vs Cornwall cream tea debate – but for spintronic systems
It’s a longstanding debate in Britain as to whether you should spread jam or cream first on your scones. Researchers have found that the order in which you assemble magnetic and superconducting materials also makes a difference.
Twenty years on, neutron data help scientists to witness “spooky” entanglement in quantum magnets
Using ISIS data from an experiment in 2000, researchers have demonstrated the viability of a “quantum entanglement witness” capable of proving the presence of entanglement between magnetic particles, or spins, in a quantum material.
Layering Up
Using muons, researchers have been able to identify layers of different quantum spin liquid phases present in the same material.
Finding a quantum spin liquid in a distorted honeycomb
A group of researchers used the MuSR, MERLIN and WISH instruments, along with theoretical modeling, to investigate the unconventional magnetism in a honeycomb oxide material.
Insights into Chiral Superconductors
Topological superconductors (SCs) are novel phases of matter, potentially useful in fault-tolerant quantum computation.
Could rotating molecules be the key to designing Quantum Spin Liquids?
Researchers have discovered a new way of designing quantum spin liquids; exotic materials that may impact on areas as diverse as IT and superconductivity
Characterising a quantum spin liquid candidate
Using MuSR, the magnetic behaviour of Zn-barlowite has been characterised, highlighting its potential as a quantum spin liquid.