Adiabatic shortcuts: Short and sweet in the quantum world
(PHYSorg.com Physics)

Completing a task slowly and carefully may provide us with a high-quality product. It can be summed up by the popular adage `easy does it.` But what if a high price has to be paid for slowness? Time is a scarce resource and, what is more, a good result is not guaranteed, since we may be easily disturbed or interrupted by various matters and events if we take too long. So it is clear that we are often interested in doing things well but also quickly. A contradictory adage illustrates this for us once again: `short and sweet.` This everyday notion can also be applied in physics laboratories and especially when handling systems, such as natural or artificial atoms that physicists and engineers use to try and create new quantum technologies designed make calculations that are currently impossible, and achieve secure, spy-proof communications, sensors with unprecedented sensitivities, and ultra-precise measurements of time and other dimensions.