Computing: "‘The next quantum breakthrough will happen in five years"

From Madrid's El País, February 3:

Jian-Wei Pan: ‘The next quantum breakthrough will happen in five years’

The leading expert talks to EL PAÍS about his latest research, which paves a way forward for computing and to understanding the interactions of particles at the atomic and subatomic level

Any leap in quantum computing multiplies the potential of a technology capable of performing calculations and simulations that are beyond the scope of current computers while facilitating the study of phenomena that have been only theoretical to date.

Last year, a group of researchers put forward the idea in the journal Nature that an alternative to quantum theory based on real numbers can be experimentally falsified. The original proposal was a challenge that has been taken up by the leading scientist in the field, Jian-Wei Pan, with the participation of physicist Adán Cabello, from the University of Seville. Their combined research has demonstrated “the indispensable role of complex numbers [square root of minus one, for example] in standard quantum mechanics.” The results allow progress to be made in the development of computers that use this technology and, according to Cabello, “to test quantum physics in regions that have previously been inaccessible.”

Jian-Wei Pan, 51, a 1987 graduate of the Science and Technology University of China (USTC) and a PhD graduate of Vienna University, leads one of the largest and most successful quantum research teams in the world, and has been described by physics Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek as “a force of nature.” Jian-Wei Pan’s thesis supervisor at the University of Vienna, physicist Anton Zeilinger, added: “I cannot imagine the emergence of quantum technology without Jian-Wei Pan.”....

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I have never had a Nobel physics laureate describe me as a 'force of nature.'