A key open problem in physics is the correct way to combine gravity (described by general relativity) with everything else (described by quantum mechanics). This problem suggests that general relativity and possibly also quantum mechanics need fundamental corrections. Most physicists expect that gravity should be quantum in character, but gravity is fundamentally different to the other forces because it alone is described by spacetime geometry. Experiments are needed to test whether gravity, and hence space-time, is quantum or classical. We propose an experiment to test the quantum nature of gravity by checking whether gravity can entangle two micron-sized crystals. A pathway to this is to create macroscopic quantum superpositions of each crystal first using embedded spins and Stern-Gerlach forces. These crystals could be nanodiamonds containing nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centres. The spins can subsequently be measured to witness the gravitationally generated entanglement. This is based on extensive theoretical feasibility studies and experimental progress in quantum technology. The eventual experiment will require a medium-sized consortium with excellent suppression of decoherence including vibrations and gravitational noise. In this white paper, we review the progress and plans towards realizing this. While implementing these plans, we will further explore the most macroscopic superpositions that are possible, which will test theories that predict a limit to this.

We present a realistic implementation of a quantum engine powered by a phaseonium gas of coherently prepared three-level atoms – where quantum coherence acts as a thermodynamic resource. Using a collision model framework for phaseonium-cavity interactions and cavity optomechanics, we construct a full engine cycle based on two non-thermal reservoirs, each characterized by coherence-induced effective temperatures. This configuration enhances the efficiency of a simple optomechanical engine operating beyond standard thermal paradigms. We further address scalability by coupling a second cavity in cascade configuration, where the same phaseonium gas drives both cycles. Our results demonstrate the operational viability of coherence-driven quantum engines and their potential for future thermodynamic applications.

We introduce and validate a machine-learning assisted quantum sensing protocol to classify spatial and temporal correlations of classical noise affecting two ultrastrongly coupled qubits. We consider six distinct classes of Markovian and non-Markovian noise. Leveraging the sensitivity of a coherent population transfer protocol under three distinct driving conditions, the various forms of noise are discriminated by only measuring the final transfer efficiencies. Our approach achieves ≳86% accuracy in classification providing a near-perfect discrimination between Markovian and non-Markovian noise. The method requires minimal experimental resources, relying on a simple driving scheme providing three inputs to a shallow neural network with no need of measuring time-series data or real-time monitoring. The machine-learning data analysis acquires information from non-idealities of the coherent protocol highlighting how combining these techniques may significantly improve the characterization of quantum-hardware.

The study of exoplanetary atmospheres traditionally relies on forward models to analytically compute the spectrum of an exoplanet by fine-tuning numerous chemical and physical parameters. However, the high-dimensionality of parameter space often results in a significant computational overhead. In this work, we introduce a novel approach to atmospheric retrieval leveraging on quantum extreme learning machines (QELMs). QELMs are quantum machine learning techniques that employ quantum systems as a black box for processing input data. In this work, we propose a framework for extracting exoplanetary atmospheric features using QELMs, employing an intrinsically fault-tolerant strategy suitable for near-term quantum devices, and we demonstrate such fault tolerance with a direct implementation on IBM Fez. The QELM architecture we present shows the potential of quantum computing in the analysis of astrophysical datasets and may, in the near-term future, unlock new computational tools to implement fast, efficient, and more accurate models in the study of exoplanetary atmospheres.