Majorana Zero Modes

Context: Researchers at Microsoft announced that they had figured out a way to create a strange kind of particle called Majorana zero modes, that could potentially revolutionise quantum computing. About Majorana Zero Mode:

• Majorana zero mode is a unique particle or bound state that belongs to the class of Majorana fermions.
• It was first proposed by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937. 
• Distinct characteristics: Majorana zero modes are bound states of particles that are their own antiparticles (counterpart particle with opposite quantum properties such as charge).
• This distinguishes Majorana zero modes from other particles in the quantum realm.

Application of Majorana Zero Mode:

• Enhanced Stability:
  • It provides increased stability for qubits, the fundamental units of information in quantum computing.
  • Qubits: Just like bits (1 and 0) are the basic units by which computers process information, ‘qubits’ or ‘quantum bits’ are the units of process by quantum computers.
    • A quantum computer stores information in the form of quantum bits (qubits) that can take on various combinations of zero and one.
  • Even if one entity within the bound state is disturbed, the overall qubit remains protected and retains encoded information.
• Topological Quantum Computing:
  • Majorana zero modes enable topological quantum computing, utilizing non-Abelian statistics.
  • Non-Abelian statistics introduce an additional degree of freedom, allowing for different outcomes based on the order of computational steps.
  •  It provides enhanced stability for qubits in quantum computing.

Antiparticle It is a subatomic particle having the same mass as a given particle but having an opposite electric or magnetic property.  Fermion All subatomic particles that make up matter are called fermions. The Dirac equation predicted the existence of an antiparticle for each particle, such that if the two meet, they annihilate each other. Fermions which have their own antiparticles are called Majorana fermions.

 News Source: The Hindu