A new quantum teleportation record has been set, transmitting information via entangled photons across 143 kilometers (89 miles). This is a major step toward launching a quantum satellite mission for encrypted communication.
The experiment was conducted by an international research team in the Canary Islands between La Palma and Tenerife, only a few months after the previous record of 97 kilometers (60 miles) was set in China.
In quantum teleportation, the particles are connected but not actually transported, meaning information can be relayed without being intercepted. It could also be used to network future quantum computers.
“The realization of quantum teleportation over a distance of 143 kilometers has been a huge technological challenge,” said study co-author Xiao-song Ma at Yale University in a press release.
“An important step for our successful teleportation was a method known as ‘active feed-forward,’ which we have used for the first time in a long-distance experiment,” he explained. “It helped us to double the transfer rate.”
This technique improves the signal deciphering efficiency by relaying conventional data with the quantum information.
The research will help pave the way for long-distance experiments to send messages between satellites or between Earth and satellites, potentially allowing quantum communication on a global scale.
“In satellite-based experiments, the distances to be traveled are longer, but the signal will have to pass through less atmosphere,” said study co-author Rupert Ursin at the Austrian Academy of Sciences in the release.
“We have now created a sound basis for such experiments.”
The findings were published in Nature on Sept. 6.
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