Breakthrough with Potential Imaging Project

A project led by University of Bristol quantum physicist Hatim Salih and highlighted as one of the top breakthroughs of 2017,* was implemented by academics from the University of Science and Technology of China, including Jian-Wei Pan, who experimentally transmitted information using quantum physics without the exchange of any particles.

This was based on a new quantum-communication scheme that does not require the transmission of any photons, proposed by Salih and colleagues at KACST in Riyadh and Tamu in Texas four years ago. In 2017 a team led by Pan created such a system in the laboratory and transferred a simple image while sending (almost) no photons in the process.

Dubbed “counterfactual imaging” the process could provide a solution to imaging delicate pieces of ancient art that cannot be exposed to direct light.

Responding to the recognition of his team’s contribution, Hatim Salih said: “You do science for the thrill of discovery and for further understanding of how the universe works- but it’s nice to get some recognition along the way, especially from your peers.”