Demon changing a quantum phase (IMAGE)
Caption
Environmental noise, here represented as a little demon, can affect the state of a quantum computer by changing the phases of various branches of its wave function in an unpredictable fashion; we call this dephasing. Here, the position of the hand of the clock represents the phase of a particular branch of the wave function. Its modification, not known to us, will affect the delicate ballet of phase recombination which quantum computations rely on.
Credit
L. Lami
Usage Restrictions
Free to use in the context of this study
License
Original content