Quantum sensors that integrate Diraq's qubits could dramatically enhance our understanding of the Universe.

Diraq’s silicon spin qubits are key to building the world’s first utility-scale quantum computer, but they could also be leveraged by high-energy physicists with a loftier ambition: teasing out some of the Universe’s longest-standing mysteries.

The standard model of particle physics is the go-to explanation for how the Universe works, but the model has some curious inconsistencies that have confounded physicists. For example, it fails to account for the observation that the Universe is replete with intriguing stuff known as dark matter.

By observing galaxies in the early Universe, like those in the Hubble Telescope image above, scientists have figured out the ratio of ‘normal’ to ‘dark’ matter. Astoundingly, there should be five times as much dark stuff as all the normal matter we see around us. But the origin and character of dark matter remain unclear.

Diraq and its partners at Fermilab are building a powerful quantum sensor with a view to probe physics that extends beyond the standard model. The collaboration has set its sights on key applications for the sensor, one of which is the search for axions — hypothetical particles that could provide an explanation for dark matter, as well as a perplexing scarcity of ‘antimatter’ in the Universe.

The sensor will integrate Fermilab’s cutting-edge technology for low-noise detection of charged particles with Diraq’s silicon spin qubits. By protecting the quantum states of these qubits using quantum error correction, the sensor should be able to distinguish between noise in the detector’s surroundings, and extremely faint signals that indicate the presence of axions.

Image: https://science.nasa.gov/image-detail/image2stscihp1733bf2146x2400/