Researchers have, for the first time, succeeded in ‘teleporting’ quantum information between two points on a rudimentary network.

The breakthrough could prove to be a game changer for the future of quantum internet and would allow information to be transported instantly.

Additionally, it could help bring about a promised quantum computing revolution as well as a change in how networks function.

The breakthrough was executed using greatly improved quantum memory, as well as enhanced quality of the links between the three nodes of the network.

QuTech researchers – a collaboration between Delft University of Technology and the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO) – have published their findings in the Nature scientific journal.

Scientists created a three-node quantum network, giving each of those nodes a name: Alice, Bob, and Charlie. The experiment then consisted of three parts.

First, researchers prepared the “teleporter” by creating an entangled state between Alice and Charlie. The two nodes had no direct physical connection but were both directly connected to the Bob node.

Alice and Bob then created an entangled state between their processors. Bob then stored his part of the entangled state. Next, Bob created an entangled state with Charlie.

The next stage involved what researchers call quantum mechanical “sleight of hand”. By carrying out a special measurement in his processor, Bob sends the entanglement forward. This resulted in Alice and Charlie then also being entangled, meaning the ‘teleporter’ would then be usable.

Scientists hope the research represents a first step towards building a larger quantum network built on the sharing of quantum information.

Follow-up research will now focus on reversing steps one and two of the teleportation protocol. This means first creating (or receiving) the quantum bit to be teleported and only then preparing the teleporter for carrying out the teleportation.

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Reversing the order is particularly challenging, researchers said, as the information to be teleported must be stored while the entanglement is being created. Despite this, it comes with a significant advantage as the teleportation can then be carried out completely “on request.”

That future is still “some way off,” but the paper offers a possible path forward to building real world applications of the technology in the future.

Ronald Hanson, the Delft physicist who oversees the team, commented: “It’s really teleportation as in science-fiction movies.

“The state, or information, really disappears on one side and appears on the other side, and because it’s not travelling the space in between, [the data] can also not get lost.”

In the future, turning this research into a usable, real-world technology will require more robust systems, as well as new infrastructure and interfaces that should improve the efficiency of the system.

Quantum technology has applications across sectors, and the potential to help quantum simulators to solve important mysteries of physics, chemistry and biology – such as how to make high-temperature superconductors for highspeed trains, or to produce more effective pharmaceutical products.

In Scotland, funding has been provided to aid research into the innovative technology. Glasgow University researchers gained £3 million in funding in March 2022 for the Empowering Practical Interfacing of Quantum Computing (EPIQC) project aiming to bring the technology out of the lab and into the real world.

Researchers from across the UK will work together over the next four years to co-create new ways to bridge the gap between current quantum computers and information and communication technologies.

In a study led by the University of St Andrews, researchers discovered a unique type of light made using an ancient Namibian gemstone could be crucial in the development of new light-based quantum computers, researchers believe.

Scientists used a cuprous oxide (Cu2O) gemstone mined in Namibia to produce hybrid particles of light and matter known as ‘Rydberg polaritons’.

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