AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Phys.org, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

---

Researchers at Tsinghua University and the Hefei National Laboratory recently introduced a new strategy to link smaller groups of microwave photons into larger entangled states. This work, published in *Nature Physics*, aims to create adjustable graph states, which are mathematical networks describing connections between qubits used in quantum computing. The team utilized superconducting circuits, materials that allow electrical current to flow with zero resistance at specific low temperatures, to generate these photon groups.

The researchers developed a deterministic fusion operation using a quantum non-demolition measurement. Unlike conventional methods that rely on optical components like mirrors and often require repeated attempts, this approach connects smaller entangled states without destroying them. Hongyi Zhang, a co-senior author, explained that their method allows frequency tuning to select specific photons for fusion, creating a programmable process essential for scaling up quantum resources.

Using this technique, the team successfully demonstrated genuine multipartite entanglement across 13 photonic qubits. This means the entire group remained connected rather than forming smaller, separate clusters. Zhang noted that while their main contribution is a deterministic and nondestructive fusion operation, future work will focus on improving device fidelity, photon-generation efficiency, and detector performance to generate even larger graph states for quantum networks and error-correction schemes.