Scientists may have just cracked quantum computing’s biggest problem—by turning to one of nature’s most familiar forces: magnetism.
A team from Chalmers University of Technology, Aalto University, and the University of Helsinki has unveiled a new class of exotic quantum material that could finally make qubits, the fragile building blocks of quantum computers, resilient against disturbances from the outside world.
The Strange Rules Of The Quantum World
At the quantum scale, particles refuse to play by classical rules. They can exist in multiple states simultaneously, influence each other instantly across distances, and form entangled webs of information. Harnessing these effects, quantum computers promise to crack problems that even the world’s fastest supercomputers can’t touch, from simulating complex molecules for drug discovery to optimizing vast logistics systems. Qubits are exquisitely sensitive. A stray vibration, a flicker of heat, or a tiny magnetic fluctuation can collapse their delicate quantum state, a process known as decoherence. This fragility has long been the field’s most significant obstacle, preventing quantum machines from scaling into practical use.
Stability Through Topology
One leading strategy to overcome decoherence involves topological materials, special solids where quantum states are preserved by the material’s very structure rather than external conditions. These materials can host topological excitations, quantum states that remain stable even when disturbed.
Until now, most attempts at topological quantum computing relied on a rare ingredient: spin–orbit coupling, the quantum interaction that ties an electron’s spin to its motion. But suitable materials are few and notoriously difficult to engineer.
A Magnetic Shortcut
The breakthrough replaces exotic recipes with an everyday ingredient: magnetism.
By engineering a material in which magnetic interactions stabilize qubits, the researchers demonstrated robust topological excitations without relying on rare spin–orbit effects. Magnetism is abundant in nature, making this approach far more scalable.
“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 Guangze Chen, postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers and lead author of the study.
A Computational Compass
To guide the search for additional such materials, the team also developed a computational tool that can directly quantify a material’s topological behavior. This accelerates the search for candidates that could serve as the foundation for future quantum machines.
Toward Practical Quantum Platforms
The findings are still in the lab and theory stage, but the implications are profound. If magnetism can indeed deliver stable qubits, it could unlock the next generation of quantum platforms, computers powerful enough and reliable enough to move beyond demonstration experiments and into solving real-world problems.
“This is a completely new type of exotic quantum material that can maintain its quantum properties when exposed to external disturbances,” said Chen. “It can contribute to the development of quantum computers robust enough to tackle quantum calculations in practice.”
Everyday Magnetism, Extraordinary Machines
For decades, quantum computing has teetered between promise and frustration, hampered by the fragility of its qubits. By grounding stability in magnetism—one of the most common forces in physics—scientists may have opened a new frontier.
If successful, the future quantum computer might not just be a delicate lab instrument, but a robust, industrial-scale machine, its power anchored by the same magnetic forces that guide a compass needle.
