Nobel Prize Physics 2022 announced. The prize goes to quantum technology

The Nobel Prize in Physics has recently been announced.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the Nobel Prize in Physics 2022 to Alain Aspect, John Clauser, and Anton Zeilinger for experiments with entangled photons, establishing the violation of Bell inequalities and pioneering quantum information science.

Their ground-breaking experiments with entangled quantum states, in which two particles behave as if they are a single unit even when separated.

Their findings have paved the way for new quantum information-based technology.

The root of the study dates back to the 60s

As stated by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, applications for quantum mechanics' intangible effects are beginning to emerge. Today, a wide range of research is being done on quantum networks, computers, and secure quantum encrypted communication.

The fact that quantum mechanics permits two or more particles to coexist in an entangled state is a crucial aspect of this advancement. Even if two particles are far away, what happens to one of them in an entangled pair affects what happens to the other particle.

Whether the correlation was caused by hidden variables—instructions that tell the particles in an entangled pair whose result they should provide in an experiment—was debated for a very long time.

Three scientists gave wing to the study

John Clauser expanded on John Bell's theories, which resulted in an actual experiment. His measurements, which obviously violated a Bell inequality, supported quantum theory when they were made. This indicates that a theory incorporating hidden variables cannot displace quantum mechanics.

The setup was developed by Alain Aspect, who utilized it to close a significant gap. After an entangled pair had left its source, he could change the measurement settings, ensuring that the settings in place at the time the pair was released had no bearing on the outcome.

Anton Zeilinger began to employ entangled quantum states using sophisticated techniques and extensive testing. His research team has also proven the existence of a phenomena known as quantum teleportation, which enables the remote transfer of a quantum state from one particle to another.

“It has become increasingly clear that a new kind of quantum technology is emerging. We can see that the laureates’ work with entangled states is of great importance, even beyond the fundamental questions about the interpretation of quantum mechanics,” says Anders Irbäck, Chair of the Nobel Committee for Physics.