Developed 4-dimensional metamaterial could revolutionize quantum computing

As all people on earth experience, we are creatures that experience our environment in three dimensions (3D). We experience our daily life on the X, Y and Z axes, or more precisely, up-down, right-left, forward-backward. But in recent years, scientists at the University of Missouri have been exploring the “fourth dimension” (4D), or synthetic dimension, as an extension of our current physical reality.

Developed 4-dimensional metamaterial

University of Missouri scientists have developed a new form of metamaterial based on the 4D synthetic dimension method. According to the official statement, scientists have successfully created a new synthetic metamaterial with 4D capabilities, including the ability to control energy waves at the surface of a solid material. These waves, called mechanical surface waves, form the basis of how vibrations move across the surface of solid materials.

Guoliang Huang, co-author of the study, said in an official statement, “Traditional materials are limited to only three dimensions with X, Y, and Z axes. But now we are building materials in synthetic dimension, or 4D, which makes the energy wave path exactly what we want as we travel from one corner of a material to the other. “It allows us to manipulate it to go where it is.”

Where will 4D material be used?

While the team’s discovery is a building block at this stage that other scientists can pick up and adapt as needed, the material also has the potential to be scaled up for larger applications related to civil engineering, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and national defense uses.

This new metamaterial was developed using a field of mathematics known as topology. This branch deals with the study of shapes and their arrangement in space. This groundbreaking discovery was made possible by a technique called topological pumping. Topological pumping could one day lead to significant advances in quantum mechanics and quantum computing, enabling the development of higher-dimensional quantum-mechanical effects.

The material can also be used to develop technical solutions for earthquake resistant structures. “90 percent of the energy from an earthquake is radiated across the earth’s surface. Therefore, covering a pillow-like structure with this material and placing it under the building could potentially help prevent the structure from collapsing during an earthquake,” Huang said in a statement.