Quantum entanglement is a defining property of quantum materials and the ultimate resource exploited by quantum computing and information processing. Despite this, quantum entanglement has proven to be a notoriously difficult property to extract from experimentally. A breakthrough over the last decade has been the connection that has been established between concepts in quantum information theory and condensed matter physics that is now leading to new ways to measure quantum entanglement in materials.
Work by University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers using neutron scattering to extract the quantum Fisher information from quantum spin systems and using this to determine the degree of entanglement, has been highlighted by the Department of Energy. These studies are showing significant promise and could have application to screening materials for quantum applications such as topologically protected quantum computing.
