"Multiplying" Light Signals Could Be Key to Ultra-Powerful Optical Computers:
An important class of challenging computational problems, with applications in graph theory, neural networks, artificial intelligence, and error-correcting codes can be solved by multiplying light signals, according to researchers from the University of Cambridge and Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology in Russia.
In a paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, they propose a new type of computation that could revolutionize analog computing by dramatically reducing the number of light signals needed while simplifying the search for the best mathematical solutions, allowing for ultra-fast optical computers.
[...] Professor Natalia Berloff from Cambridge's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics and PhD student Nikita Stroev from Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology have found that optical systems can combine light by multiplying the wave functions describing the light waves instead of adding them and may represent a different type of connections between the light waves.
They illustrated this phenomenon with quasi-particles called polaritons – which are half-light and half-matter – while extending the idea to a larger class of optical systems such as light pulses in a fiber. Tiny pulses or blobs of coherent, superfast-moving polaritons can be created in space and overlap with one another in a nonlinear way, due to the matter component of polaritons.
"We found the key ingredient is how you couple the pulses with each other," said Stroev. "If you get the coupling and light intensity right, the light multiplies, affecting the phases of the individual pulses, giving away the answer to the problem. This makes it possible to use light to solve nonlinear problems."
[...] There are still many challenges to be met before optical computing can demonstrate its superiority in solving hard problems in comparison with modern electronic computers: noise reduction, error correction, improved scalability, guiding the system to the true best solution are among them.
"Changing our framework to directly address different types of problems may bring optical computing machines closer to solving real-world problems that cannot be solved by classical computers," said Berloff.
Journal Reference:
Nikita Stroev, Natalia G. Berloff. Discrete Polynomial Optimization with Coherent Networks of Condensates and Complex Coupling Switching, Physical Review Letters (DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.050504)
(Score: 1) by fustakrakich on Friday February 26 2021, @05:57AM
You could get hit by a rogue wave [youtu.be]
La politica e i criminali sono la stessa cosa..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @11:02AM (1 child)
They forgot to take into account quasi-particles called darktrons - which are half-dark and half-antimatter. Tiny pulses or blobs of coherent, superfast-moving darktrons can be created in a coked-up physicists's mind and overlap with other physicist's hallucinations in a nonlinear way, due to the antimatter component of darktrons.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @02:31PM
They're called blacktrons, and they matter.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 26 2021, @12:34PM (1 child)
With the new polaritrons we'll be able to be served ads even better tailored to our browsing history. Thank fuck for the multiplying optical wavefunctions.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday February 26 2021, @12:59PM
Where the fuck is my Optalysys desktop supercomputer [extremetech.com]?
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 2) by Muad'Dave on Friday February 26 2021, @01:57PM
Adding two RF signals results in f1 and f2. Multiplying them (also known as mixing) results in f1+f2 and f1-f2. This is how heterodyning [wikipedia.org] works.