Physicists from the Institute of science and technology Austria by colleagues from the USA, the UK and Italy created a prototype radar that uses quantum entanglement to detect the object. This technology in the future may find application in biomedical scanners with ultra-low power consumption. Details about the development of is discussed in an article published in the journal Science Advances.
Researchers unveiled the technology, called microwave quantum-illumination (from the English microwave quantum illumination) and based on entangled photons. In quantum entanglement two particles remain interconnected, regardless of how far they are from each other. This allows the radar to operate even in conditions of strong thermal noise, where the classical system is often ineffective.
Scientists have puzzled photons at a temperature a few thousandths of a degree above absolute zero (-273,15 degrees Celsius). One group of photons, called the signal, went to object, but over another group — idler photons were measured in the conditions without interference and noise. When the signal photons are reflected from the object, the entanglement is destroyed, but there remains a correlation, which can determine the presence or absence of the target object.
Prototype testing has shown that it is possible to detect an object with low reflectivity at room temperature. Quantum illumination can solve the problem of low sensitivity of the radar system, which is difficult to distinguish between radiation reflected from the object, from the natural background noise.
