#quantumclock

Quantum CIO

As quantum computing becomes a reality for organizational infrastructure, the CIO has a new responsibility. This technology is called a “double-edged revolution” since it weaponizes new encryption schemes and provides unprecedented computing power for research and artificial intelligence. Quantum readiness is increasingly essential for IT administrators to maintain organizational resilience and public confidence, not only a technical advancement. The industry now agrees that quantum-safe technologies will be implemented “when,” not “if.”

Accelerating Quantum Clock

The concept that quantum threats are decades away is a major challenge for CIOs. According to IBM's quantum-centric supercomputing CTO Jerry Chow, the path for such systems is accelerating. IBM has ambitious aspirations for its 200-logical-qubit “Starling” system in 2029 and its 1,000-logical-qubit “Blue Jay” system in 2033.

A million qubit machine might crack RSA-2048 encryption, but Nobel Laureate John Martinis warns that algorithmic advances may arrive sooner. Martinis noted during the Palo Alto Networks Quantum Safe Summit that organizations have time to prepare, but not forever. The change involves switching from “quantum-classical hybrids” to native quantum algorithms that leverage entanglement and superposition to solve mathematical issues classical logic cannot map.

Instant Danger: Harvest Now, Decrypt Later

The most pressing reason for swift action is “Harvest Now, Decrypt Later” (HNDL). Attackers intercept and store encrypted financial data, state secrets, and intellectual property to decipher it when quantum hardware improves. If an organization's data is older than ten years, retroactive assaults are possible.

A Deloitte poll found that over half of experts believe HNDL threatens their companies, yet few have completely inventoried their key data. Strategic CIOs want to protect this data before the “quantum clock” runs out.

Standardization and 2035 Mandate

NIST, which has established implementation standards, is leading the post-quantum cryptography (PQC) shift. CIOs face a major change with the 2035 federal mandate to adopt PQC standards. Regulated areas like finance, healthcare, and defense should follow this schedule for compliance and interoperability.

NIST and CISA recommend “cryptographic agility” for businesses. This is the new IT architectural gold standard since it allows encryption method swapping without system modification.

Resilience Action Plan: Three Pillars

CIOs should manage this transformation with a methodical operational structure with three phases:

Discovery and CBOM. Most companies don't have a Cryptographic Bill of Materials since encryption is often hidden in cloud-native microservices and older operational technology. CIOs should use automated technologies and firewall telemetry to map RSA and ECC usage.

After creating an inventory, CIOs must rank remediation by data shelf life in Phase II: Systemic Protection and Data Segmentation. Even though session tokens expire fast, sensitive PII and firm trade secrets must be kept private for decades. The 2025 Ponemon-Sullivan Privacy Report found that 36% of stored data is mission-critical, yet inadequate classical encryption protects much of it.

Phase III: Solving the Legacy Anchor: Satellites, medical equipment, and mainframe applications are difficult to upgrade. Cipher translation allows next-generation firewalls to act as a bridge by quickly turning weak traffic into quantum-secure sessions, future-proofing hardware without a “rip and replace” project. Advance Large-Scale Logical Qubits is another Quantum News article.

Operationalizing Future

Quantum readiness is essential for responsible IT modernization. U.S. Federal CISO Mike Duffy warns that ignoring PQC readiness now is risking future technological debt. This migration is not a side project and requires a dedicated budget, executive endorsement, and strict vendor monitoring. CIOs must demand PQC roadmaps from suppliers and review each new procurement for cryptographic agility.

In conclusion

A group of quantum physicists has developed a revolutionary method for ultra-high-precision sensing using Subradiant Collective States, a scientific breakthrough that could revolutionise measurement accuracy. This paper provides a powerful new quantum metrology platform under Diego Zafra-Bono, Oriol Rubies-Bigorda, and Susanne F. Yelin that could advance a variety of technologies, from highly sensitive gravitational sensors to high-stability atomic clocks. The paper develops a precise sensing mechanism using collective atomic states' unique properties.

Precision sensing requires narrowing the sensing element's spectrum properties, which is often done by spectroscopy. More narrow characteristics allow scientists to better quantify a frequency shift caused by an external perturbation like a gravitational field or electromagnetic fluctuation. Zafra-Bono, Rubies-Bigorda, and Yelin suggest a way to naturally obtain these extremely narrow features using carefully prepared atomic arrays.

Collective Subradiance Power

This technology relies on sophisticated quantum mechanics phenomena that occur when light emitters like atoms are put at subwavelength distances. In this closely regulated environment, atoms interact with light collectively. This collective response creates superradiant and subradiant collective states.

The fast, coordinated demise of superradiant states releases energy as a blast of light faster than an atom. Conversely, subradiant states degrade much slower. The atoms' collective arrangement naturally suppresses their capacity to radiate energy into space. This greatly reduced decay rate is strongly related to an ultra-narrow spectral linewidth, which is desirable for high-accuracy metrology.

Researchers found strong, narrow dips in the transmission spectra of light that passes through the array of atoms due to subradiant states. Sharpness offers these features the sensitivity to detect minute outside perturbations with unprecedented precision.

Researchers developed a solid theoretical framework to model and predict this complex group interaction. This approach rigorously integrates many-body physics with quantum electrodynamics to accurately predict transmission spectra and optimise emitter design and placement for best performance.

Scale, Discontinuities, Non-Smooth Behaviour A crucial team finding is that the number of atoms involved improves external field sensitivity. By increasing the atomic array's physical size, sensitive sensors can be made easily and scalable. Quantum metrology requires scalable performance improvements.

However, the study provided important, often unexpected insights into the physics of 2D atomic arrays, the favoured geometric foundation for many proposed quantum devices. Their detailed investigation of these finite 2D arrays indicated complex non-smooth sensing performance.

The maximal sensitivity of a 2D array as a function of atom spacing shows a discontinuity, according to the study. This quick switch is caused by the minuscule energy differential between the array's bright and dark collective modes, which dictates the optimal geometric layouts for sensing. This study shows how even modest changes in atomic spacing can affect measurement precision, making it important for experimentalists.

Increased atom count in a finite array was also examined to determine sensitivity. Although finite arrays are less sensitive than their idealised, unlimited counterparts, the study found that performance approaches the infinite-array situation as atom array count grows. However, the sensitivity curve oscillates intricately, making the interaction complicated. According to these results, arrays with an even number of emitters may peak unexpectedly, demonstrating that adding atoms does not necessarily improve sensitivity monotonically. These results show how sensitive and sophisticated collective quantum systems are.

Revolutionising Sensors and Clocks

Successfully using subradiant collective states has huge practical implications. Potential atomic clock revolution is the most urgent application. Atomic clocks detect the exact light frequency needed to transition an atom. Subradiant Collective States' ultra-narrow characteristics could improve these quantum clocks' stability and precision, making them ideal for advanced navigation systems and basic physics research.

Beyond time applications, the approach offers great potential for more accurate spatially resolved imaging of atomic positions, enabling new, precise tools for materials science and biology, where atomic-level positioning is vital. Importantly, the great sensitivity can detect minor gravitational gradients or electromagnetic field changes. Geophysical surveys and innovative physics are enabled by this ability.

Practicality and Progress

The crucial discovery is that this heightened sensitivity persists even when theoretical models account for realistic experimental shortcomings. Bridge the gap between theoretical quantum advantage and real implementation to show high practical feasibility. Current experimental setups using subwavelength arrays can generate subradiant states with the potential to equal the best atomic clocks, especially when ultranarrow atomic transitions are included, according to calculations.

Excalibur Royal Navy

Technology advanced when the Royal Navy's Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle (XLUUV), XV Excalibur, demonstrated a quantum optical atomic clock. This groundbreaking experiment deployed a high-precision quantum device in an underwater watercraft for the first time.

The trial submarine had Infleqtion's Tiqker quantum clock. The Submarine Delivery Agency's Autonomy Unit, Royal Navy, UK quantum business Infleqtion, and submarine maker MSubs Ltd. collaborated. The 12-meter-long, 19-ton-displacement XV Excalibur, developed for Project CETUS, is a vital autonomous testbed.

Why We Need Underwater Quantum Clocks

Submersibles lack reliable GPS signals, making navigation difficult for crewed and uncrewed vessels. Submarines utilise INSs to track their movements. However, the microwave-based atomic clocks that operate these systems exhibit a small amount of “drift” over time, resulting in cumulative vessel position mistakes. These timing flaws reduce the sub's position accuracy to several kilometres after days or weeks underwater.

Benefits of Quantum

The Tiqker quantum clock eliminates navigation drift noise with its precise timing.

Theory of Operation: Quantum optical atomic clocks measure time using optical frequencies. These frequencies are hundreds of thousands of times higher than microwave frequencies used by caesium or rubidium clocks.

Unmatched Precision: High frequency improves accuracy. Only 100 times as accurate as a quantum optical clock are today's GPS clocks. Its stability matches a national laboratory time reference.

The Tiqker optical clock may drift by only 1 ns over the same period, a thousand times better than the standard naval-grade caesium clock, which may drift by 1 μs daily.

The clock reduces motion and noise by using lasers to catch and chill a cloud of neutral atoms to practically absolute zero. Quantum clocks produce a consistent “time heartbeat” to reduce navigation drift noise due to their accuracy. Read also Quantum Startup EuQlid Gets $3M For 3D Imaging Tech.

Strategic Implications

With the Tiqker clock, the Royal Navy can perform more:

Extended Covert Operations: The quantum clock lowers navigation drift, reducing the need for submerged surface corrections. This allows autonomous submarines to stay underwater, precise, and undiscovered longer, improving stealth.

The experiment was called “a first critical step towards understanding how quantum clocks can be deployed on underwater platforms” to enable precise PNT for lengthy operations, especially without GPS.

Mission Effectiveness: Tiqker's exact “time heartbeat” provides an internal reference for sonar, fire control, secure communications, and inertial navigation, improving mission performance. Testing will provide the Royal Navy a “quantum operational advantage” in its upcoming undersea operations.

The Royal Navy has demonstrated its ability to quickly design and integrate payloads into uncrewed host platforms. Anticipating and responding to opponent capabilities requires this expertise. Quantum-based navigation system experiments are expected on XV Excalibur.