The DOE’s Fermi National Accelerator and Argonne National Laboratory have been connected over a distance of 50km via the Illinois Express Quantum Network.
The experimental quantum network is being used to test the synchronicity of two clocks — one at Argonne and one at Fermilab. Scientists transmitted a traditional clock signal (blue) and a quantum signal (orange) simultaneously between the two clocks. The signals were sent over the Illinois Express Quantum Network. Researchers found that the two clocks remained synchronized within a time window smaller than 5 picoseconds, or 5 trillionths of a second.
The experiment marked the first time that quantum-encoded photons — the particle through which quantum information is delivered — and classical signals were simultaneously delivered across a metropolitan-scale distance with an unprecedented level of synchronization.
“To have two national labs that are 50 kilometers apart, working on quantum networks with this shared range of technical capability and expertise, is not a trivial thing,” said Panagiotis Spentzouris, head of the Quantum Science Program at Fermilab and lead researcher on the project. “You need a diverse team to attack this very difficult and complex problem.”
https://www.anl.gov/article/quantum-network-between-two-national-labs-achieves-record-synch
