Context: 

Researchers at Microsoft announced that they had figured out a way to create a strange kind of particle called Majorana zero modes, that could potentially revolutionise quantum computing. 

About Majorana Zero Mode:

• Majorana zero mode is a unique particle or bound state that belongs to the class of Majorana fermions. 
• It was first proposed by the Italian physicist Ettore Majorana in 1937. 
• Distinct characteristics: Majorana zero modes are bound states of particles that are their own antiparticles (counterpart particle with opposite quantum properties such as charge). 
• This distinguishes Majorana zero modes from other particles in the quantum realm.

Application of Majorana Zero Mode:

• Enhanced Stability:
  • It provides increased stability for qubits, the fundamental units of information in quantum computing.
  • Qubits: Just like bits (1 and 0) are the basic units by which computers process information, ‘qubits’ or ‘quantum bits’ are the units of process by quantum computers. 
    • A quantum computer stores information in the form of quantum bits (qubits) that can take on various combinations of zero and one.
  • Even if one entity within the bound state is disturbed, the overall qubit remains protected and retains encoded information.
• Topological Quantum Computing:
  • Majorana zero modes enable topological quantum computing, utilizing non-Abelian statistics.
  • Non-Abelian statistics introduce an additional degree of freedom, allowing for different outcomes based on the order of computational steps.
  •  It provides enhanced stability for qubits in quantum computing. 

News Source: The Hindu