"Tying Knots in Quantum Computing," Charles Marcus, Center for Quantum Devices, Niels Bohr Institute

Do opposites attract? At first glance, qubits, the basic units of quantum computing, have little in common with topology, the branch of mathematics that describes shapes, but can the two be married? Can we tie the knot?

In theory, it seems that the stability and hidden character of knotted string may carry over into quantum mechanics. We know that a knot in a piece of string can be difficult to remove. By imbedding a qubit in a mathematical “knot,” might the qubit, which is susceptible to mis-measurement, be stabilized?

This talk reviews the connection between qubits and topology from an experimental point of view and describe the challenge of building a system to store quantum information in knots using emergent particles in solid state systems. This is part of the emerging fields of topological condensed matter physics and topological quantum information.