On the potential of microtubules for scalable quantum computation
Name
13360_2025_Article_7022.pdf
Size
1.74 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
0c672d1c34241de4a6b13fc3ef5c0fa2
Author(s)
Mavromatos, Nick E.
Mershin, Andreas
Nanopoulos, Dimitri V.
Date Issued
November 19, 2025
Journal
The European Physical Journal Plus
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Citation
Mavromatos, N.E., Mershin, A. & Nanopoulos, D.V. On the potential of microtubules for scalable quantum computation. Eur. Phys. J. Plus 140, 1116 (2025).
Version
Final published version
Abstract
We examine the quantum coherence properties of tubulin heterodimers arranged into the protofilaments of cytoskeletal microtubules. In the physical model proposed by the authors, the microtubule interiors are treated as high-Q quantum electrodynamics (QED) cavities that can support decoherence-resistant entangled states under physiological conditions, with decoherence times of the order of O ( 10 - 6 ) s. We identify strong electric dipole interactions between tubulin dimers and ordered water dipole quanta within the microtuble interior as the mechanism responsible for the extended coherence times. Classical nonlinear (pseudospin) σ -models describing solitonic excitations are reinterpreted as emergent quantum-coherent—or possibly pointer—states, arising from incomplete collapse of dipole-aligned quantum states. These solitons mediate dissipation-free energy transfer along microtubule filaments. We discuss logic-gate-like behaviour facilitated by microtubule-associated proteins, and outline how such structures may enable scalable, ambient-temperature quantum computation, with the fundamental unit of information storage realized as a quDit encoded in the tubulin dipole state. We further describe a process akin to “decision-making” that emerges following an external stimulus, whereby optimal, energy-loss-free signal and information transport pathways are selected across the microtubular network. Finally, we propose experimental approaches—including Rabi-splitting spectroscopy and entangled surface plasmon probes—to validate the use of biomatter as a substrate for scalable quantum computation.
MIT Department
Sloan School of Management
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-025-07022-4
