Zeno effect in diamonds could prove useful in quantum computing

Nature : The quantum Zeno effect , proposed in 1977, states that if a quantum system is measured continuously, its state will never change. The behavior was first observed in 1989 in laser-cooled ions, but now, a team of researchers led by Oliver Benson of Humboldt University in Berlin have recorded the effect in diamond crystals. Diamond has been used in quantum computing to store information, but the amount of information has been limited by decoherence —the tendency of quantum systems to change state. The ability to hold stored data in one state will be useful in quantum computing. To that end, Benson’s team used defects in the crystals known as nitrogen-vacancy centers , to trap free electrons. Then they manipulated the electrons with magnetic fields and a laser, which disrupted the electrons’ oscillations between their two spin states, thus preventing them from decaying—behavior indicative of the quantum Zeno effect. Adapting that effect for actual use in quantum computing is still some way off, but it adds to the evidence that diamonds are an important avenue for investigation.