MSU scientists packaged a quantum memristor into a photonic format: neural networks will switch from optics to ions without changing algorithms

Specialists from Lomonosov Moscow State University and Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences have developed an experimental quantum memory element based on ultracold ions, capable of simultaneously storing data and performing computations. As reported to TASS by the university's press service, the ionic memristor could become the hardware basis for future quantum neural networks.

The key achievement is the recording of the ionic memristor's parameters in a unified mathematical format, which was originally created for the photonic platform.

This means that algorithms developed to control photonic quantum memristors can be directly applied to the ionic system without adaptation. The same mathematical apparatus allows analyzing the memristive properties of other ions, making the technology platform-independent.

Thus, hardware dependency is eliminated: an algorithm created for one architecture works on another without modification. This is a critically important bridge between laboratory prototypes and future industrial quantum neural networks, where computation and memory are combined in a single device.

The results are published in the international scientific journal "JETP Letters".