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Quantum computing
Cryogenic design and control of a superconducting quantum computer at Forschungszentrum Jülich
Information dovetails the areas of simulation and data sciences of high-performance computing (HPC), quantum computing, brain research, neuromorphic computing and the research on bio-based and nanoelectronic-based information technologies of the future.
Jülich researchers use JUWELS and JURECA – two of the currently most powerful supercomputers in the world – to obtain, by means of simulations, answers to complex questions in climate research, neuroscience, materials research and other fields. They also develop modular hardware architectures for exascale computing. Many research results are based on large data volumes: Jülich scientists are therefore focusing not only on “big data” but also on certain types of artificial intelligence (AI) such as machine learning.
Quantum technology will change our world – in science, industry and business. Jülich scientists are researching this technology from the basics to application. In the joint project QSolid, which is coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich, a complete quantum computer based on cutting-edge, German technology will be created in the next few years.
Technology-based information processing is closely linked to research on biological systems. Learning from the brain – this is the basis of innovative computing concepts such as neuromorphic computing: the brain uses very little energy to process and store huge amounts of information. Jülich researchers develop components, architecture and software concepts needed for neuromorphic computers.
Decoding the human brain in all its complexity using digital methods is the vision of the EU-funded Human Brain Project. Artificial intelligence helps to develop a high-resolution atlas of the brain.
Jülich scientists have advanced a scanning tunnelling microscope so that it works almost vibration-free at extremely low temperatures. It is therefore far more suitable than conventional devices for exploring the unusual properties of quantum materials near -273.15 degrees Celsius.
Specialized receptors in the brain mediate the effect of the “cuddling and bonding hormone”, oxytocin. Jülich researchers carried out computer simulations that show how a mutation of these receptors affects the cellular response. The results help to understand why oxytocin nasal sprays are not always effective in people with autism.
Using a scanning tunnelling microscope with special measuring tips, Jülich physcists were able to measure the extraordinary electrical properties in ultra-thin topological insulators for the first time. These materials are considered promising components of quantum bits with a particularly low susceptibility to errors.
Jülich researchers set a speed record in simulating a cerebral cortex network on the prototype of a neuromorphic IBM computer. The network works four times faster than its biological model.
North Rhine-Westphalia joins forces for the dawn of the quantum age by establishing a new network. Forschungszentrum Jülich is on board.
In the journal Science, brain researcher Prof. Katrin Amunts and supercomputer expert Prof. Thomas Lippert, both from Forschungszentrum Jülich, explain why advances in neuroscience are closely linked to developments in high-performance computing.
Not even the special rules of the quantum world allow information to be transmitted arbitrarily fast. An international team with Jülich participation has now determined the highest speed at which this is possible.
Aβ oligomers are prime suspects in the search for the causes of Alzheimer’s dementia. Researchers from Jülich, Düsseldorf and Cologne found out that these protein clumps form 8,000 times faster in a weakly acidic environment than at neutral pH.
images: Forschungszentrum Jülich/Sascha Kreklau
