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Updated: May 2, 2026

Scalable Quantum Integrated Circuits on Superconducting Two-Dimensional Electron Gas Platform
Published on: August 2, 2019
Using thermal boundary conditions to engineer the quantum state of a bulk magnet
M A Schmidt1, D M Silevitch, G Aeppli
1The James Franck Institute and Department of Physics, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637.
Abstract:
The degree of contact between a system and the external environment can alter dramatically its proclivity to quantum mechanical modes of relaxation. We show that controlling the thermal coupling of cubic-centimeter-sized crystals of the Ising magnet LiHo(x)Y(1-x)F4 to a heat bath can be used to tune the system between a glassy state dominated by thermal excitations over energy barriers and a state with the hallmarks of a quantum spin liquid. Application of a magnetic field transverse to the Ising axis introduces both random magnetic fields and quantum fluctuations, which can retard and speed the annealing process, respectively, thereby providing a mechanism for continuous tuning between the destination states. The nonlinear response of the system explicitly demonstrates quantum interference between internal and external relaxation pathways.
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