Quantum simulates properties of the first-ever half-Möbius molecule, designed by IBM and researchers
IBM Research • • science
Key Points:
- Researchers have created the first molecule exhibiting a half-Möbius electronic topology, a novel quantum matter class, by assembling it atom by atom and analyzing it with quantum-centric supercomputing.
- The molecule’s electron cloud completes a full twist after four loops, and its topology can be reversibly switched between right-handed, left-handed half-Möbius, and topologically trivial states, demonstrating controlled manipulation of molecular topology.
- The molecule (C₁₃Cl₂) was constructed using advanced scanning probe microscopy techniques at IBM Research Europe – Zurich, building on decades of IBM innovations such as the scanning tunneling microscope (STM), atom manipulation, and atomic force microscope (AFM).
- To understand the molecule’s complex
