Exotic Material Magnetism Opens Path for Robust Quantum Computers

A research team from Chalmers University of Technology, Aalto University and the University of Helsinki has identified a new class of quantum material that uses magnetism to stabilise qubits. The material demonstrates robust topological excitations, offering a potential pathway to reducing the environmental sensitivity of quantum computing components.

The research is published in Physical Review Letters.

Topological materials as a route to stability

Quantum computers are designed to use quantum mechanical phenomena—such as superposition and entanglement—to perform calculations that may be beyond the reach of classical systems. However, current devices are highly vulnerable to external noise, including thermal fluctuations, magnetic fields and mechanical vibrations. These perturbations cause qubits, the fundamental units of quantum information, to lose coherence, limiting the computational power and scalability of quantum systems.

One of the leading strategies to address this challenge involves developing materials that naturally preserve quantum states through their topology. Topological materials can support exotic states of matter that are less susceptible to environmental disruption. In particular, quantum states known as topological excitations, which are protected by the material's structure rather than external conditions, offer improved stability.

The research team has now introduced a quantum material that exhibits such excitations. Unlike previous approaches, which relied on rare interactions such as spin-orbit coupling, the new method employs magnetic interactions to create and maintain these states. Magnetism is a more commonly available property across a broad class of materials, expanding the search space for suitable quantum computing components.

“This is a completely new type of exotic quantum material that can maintain its quantum properties when exposed to external disturbances. It can contribute to the development of quantum computers robust enough to tackle quantum calculations in practice," said Guangze Chen, a postdoctoral researcher in applied quantum physics at Chalmers and lead author of the study.

A shift away from spin-orbit coupling

Traditional efforts in topological quantum computing have depended on materials where spin-orbit coupling plays a central role. This interaction links an electron's intrinsic spin to its motion around the nucleus, enabling the emergence of topological states. However, few materials exhibit strong spin-orbit coupling, and engineering them has proven difficult.

In contrast, the new study shows that magnetically driven interactions can be used to stabilise quantum states in a comparable way. This change in strategy allows researchers to examine a wider variety of candidate materials.

“The advantage of our method is that magnetism exists naturally in many materials. You can compare it to baking with everyday ingredients rather than using rare spices”, explained Chen. “This means that we can now search for topological properties in a much broader spectrum of materials, including those that have previously been overlooked.”

Development of new computational tools

To support this shift in methodology, the team has also developed a computational tool that can directly quantify the topological characteristics of candidate materials. The tool can directly calculate how strongly a material exhibits topological behaviour.

“Our hope is that this approach can help guide the discovery of many more exotic materials," said Chen. “Ultimately, this can lead to next-generation quantum computer platforms, built on materials that are naturally resistant to the kind of disturbances that plague current systems.”

While the work represents a step forward in the materials science of quantum computing, the findings are currently limited to theoretical and laboratory-based studies. Further work is needed to translate these advances into functional quantum devices.

Reference: Lippo Z, Pereira EL, Lado JL, Chen G. Topological zero modes and correlation pumping in an engineered kondo lattice. Phys Rev Lett. 2025;134(11):116605. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.116605

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