Quantum computing’s reproducibility crisis: Majorana fermions.
’ … I think that researchers are cherry-picking — focusing on data that agree with the Majorana theory and sidelining those that don’t.’ Frolov 2021
“Scientists should disclose all data in a repository and comply with sharing standards, such as FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability). Some curation is unavoidable. The volume of data collected in a modern physics laboratory is high: computer scripts control the equipment, which might run 24 hours a day. A remedy is to clearly explain the protocol that is used to perform any data selection — so others might reuse or scrutinize it. Remember, data selection is a form of data processing.” Frolov 2021
TU Delft
The investigation by experts concluded:
Authors selected data that supported the phenomenon they were looking for
Authors omitted data that could have raised questions about the conclusions
“It is a good thing that independent experts have looked at this as part of the integrity investigation,” says Tim van der Hagen, Rector Magnificus of TU Delft. “Science always involves looking critically at results, questioning and challenging them.” (source).
More information
Authors retract Nature Majorana paper, apologize for “insufficient scientific rigour”
Microsoft-Led Team Retracts Disputed Quantum-Computing Paper
Negligence in Nature article on Quantized Majorana conductance (see also TU Delft Delta)
Majorana Fireside Chats: Vincent Mourik and Sergey Frolov (see also episode 2)