Insider Brief

Researchers from Responsible Technology Institute (RTI) at the University of Oxford, in collaboration with Ernst & Young (EY), report that quantum technology researchers and entrepreneurs are facing a high-wire act balancingthe ethical dimensions of quantum computing.

The team released a white paper Towards Responsible Quantum Computing that they hope provides a roadmap for ensuring the responsible development of quantum technologies.

The white paper emphasizes the need for a balanced approach to quantum computing, focusing on both its potential benefits and associated risks. The researchers found that a central need is to communicate about the capabilities and timelines of quantum technologies realistically and urge stakeholders to avoid the hype that often surrounds emerging technologies.

This measured approach can help set appropriate expectations for both the public and policymakers.

The report highlights several critical areas:

Responsible Communication: As mentioned, theres a pressing need for clear and accurate communication regarding the potential and limitations of quantum computing. Overhyping can lead to unrealistic expectations, while underplaying its risks can result in insufficient preparation for future challenges.

The team writes: Although largely (22 of 38, 57.9%) agreeing or strongly agreeing that it may be useful to generate some excitement in society and communities about novel technologies, most respondents (84%) believed that claims made around such technologies were very often overblown or exaggerated in popular discourse. This suggests that counteracting hype around such promises and engaging in responsible science communication may be a key element to consider amongst the expert community, with right-sizing expectations being more critical than generating enthusiasm.

Collaborative Innovation: The paper stresses the importance of collaboration across different industries, sectors and disciplines. No single entity, whether public or private, can drive quantum innovation alone. Such collaboration is seen as essential for building trust and ensuring balanced development.

Broader Risk Landscape: While much attention has been given to the cryptographic risks posed by quantum computing, the paper points out that this focus can overshadow other significant risks. One such risk is the potential for quantum technologies to exacerbate digital divides between nations, potentially leading to greater inequality.

Transformative Potential: Quantum computing has the power to dramatically alter various aspects of business and society. However, the exact nature of these changes depends on the steps taken today by those within the quantum ecosystem.

The white paper offers several recommendations aimed at fostering a responsible quantum future:

Manage Expectations: Its crucial to manage expectations regarding the timelines for achieving scalable quantum computing. This includes recognizing the ongoing engineering challenges and the uncertainty surrounding potential applications and their ethical implications.

Equitable Access: There should be a focus on ensuring equitable access to quantum computing resources, infrastructure and talent. This is seen as vital for fostering global collaboration and innovation.

The team writes: As a global society, the world faces many collective grand challenges on climate change, dwindling resources, and the need for new materials, amongst others. As such, it may be in the best interests of humanity and the environment to enable more equity of access to quantum talent and technology, given that quantum technologies stand to be a substantial differentiator in tackling some of these challenges.

Competitive Nature: In an issue ultimately related to access, the team writes that competitive dynamics of the quantum field need to be addressed to prevent capacity issues and digital divides both within and between nations. A more nuanced approach to competition can help mitigate these risks.

Government Role: Governments have a key role in absorbing risk, building markets, shaping governance, and leveling the playing field. Their involvement is crucial for the responsible development of quantum technologies.

The researchers list a number of governmental roles for the development of quantum computing, among other emerging technologies. These roles include providing governance frameworks, offering both direct and indirect funding, and creating commercial opportunities. Additionally, governments can shape the political ecosystem, act as early customers, and prioritize national or regional initiatives. They can also set up tax incentives, create infrastructural support, and support long-term risks. Furthermore, governments influence educational programs and build cross-departmental understandings to foster technological advances.

Long-term Perspective: Developing quantum technology should be viewed as a long-term endeavor, akin to a marathon rather than a sprint. Treating it as a race could hinder overall progress and lead to suboptimal outcomes.

But Act Now: The paper advocates for collective action by stakeholders from different sectors and disciplines. This collaboration is necessary to lay the groundwork for a responsible quantum future grounded in human-centered values. According to Mira Pijselman, Digital Ethics Lead at EY, and colleagues, the time to act is now.

The insights in the white paper are drawn from an expert survey conducted in 2023, the team reports. This survey included input from technologists, researchers, and policymakers from both academia and industry. The survey employed a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative and qualitative questions to leverage participants expert knowledge. A Likert scale gauged responses to statements such as The government should be involved in funding the development of new technologies, with participants also invited to provide additional comments.

The researchers enriched the quantitative data with deeper insights. The survey received 38 expert responses, with 14 from industry, 19 from academia, and 5 from other sectors, and over 84% of respondents answered every question.

This is a summary of the key points according to the author but the white paper adds considerable depth to this important conversation. Please see the paper here for a deeper dive.

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Balanced Communication, Better Collaborations Needed to Ethically Navigate Quantum's Transformative Potential - The Quantum Insider

May 31 2024Reviewed by Lexie Corner

Recent findings from IBM and Cleveland Clinic researchersmay pave the way for applying quantum computing techniques to protein structure prediction. These findings are publishedin the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation.This publication represents the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator collaboration's first peer-reviewed paper on quantum computing.

For many years, researchers have used computational methods to predict protein structures. A protein folds into a structure that controls its molecular interactions and mode of action. These structures determine numerous facets of human health and illness.

Researchers can create more effective treatments by better understanding how diseases spread through precise protein structure predictions. Bryan Raubenolt, Ph.D., a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Cleveland Clinic, and Hakan Doga, Ph.D., a researcher at IBM, led a team to discover how quantum computing can enhance existing techniques.

Machine learning techniques have significantly advanced the prediction of protein structure in recent years. To make predictions, these techniques rely on training data, a database of protein structuresdetermined through experimentation. This indicates that the number of proteins they have been trained to identify is a limitation. When programs or algorithms come across a protein that is mutated or significantly different from the ones they were trained on, as is frequently the case with genetic disorders, this can result in decreased accuracy levels.

A different approach is to model the physics involved in protein folding. Through simulations, scientists can examine multiple protein configurations and determine the most stable form, whichis essential for drug design.

The challenge is that these simulations are nearly impossible on a classical computer beyond a certain protein size. In a way, increasing the size of the target protein is comparable to increasing the dimensions of a Rubik's cube. For a small protein with 100 amino acids, a classical computer would need the time equal to the age of the universe to exhaustively search all the possible outcomes.

Dr. Bryan Raubenolt, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cleveland Clinic

The research team combined quantum and classical computing techniques to get around these restrictions. Within this framework, quantum algorithms can tackle problems that current state-of-the-art classical computing finds difficult, such as the physics of protein folding, intrinsic disorder, mutations, and protein size.

The accuracy with which the framework predicted, on a quantum computer, the folding of a small fragment of the Zika virus protein, compared to the most advanced classical methods, served as validation.

The initial results of the quantum-classical hybrid framework outperformed both AlphaFold2 and a method based on classical physics. The latter shows that this framework can produce accurate models without directly relying on large amounts of training data, even though it is optimized for larger proteins.

The most computationally intensive part of the calculation usually involves modeling the lowest energy conformation for the fragment's backbone, which the researchers accomplish using a quantum algorithm. After that, classical methods were employed to translate the quantum computer's output, rebuild the protein along with its sidechains, and refine the structure one last time using force fields from classical molecular mechanics.

The project illustrates how problems can be broken down into smaller components for better accuracy. Some components can be addressed by quantum computing techniques, while classical computing methods can handle others.

Working across disciplines was crucial to creating this framework.

One of the most unique things about this project is the number of disciplines involved. Our teams expertise ranges from computational biology and chemistry, structural biology, software, and automation engineering to experimental atomic and nuclear physics, mathematics, and, of course,quantum computing and algorithm design. It took the knowledge from each of these areas to create a computational framework that can mimic one of the most important processes for human life.

Dr. Bryan Raubenolt, Postdoctoral Fellow, Cleveland Clinic

The teams combination of classical and quantum computing methods is essential for advancing our understanding of protein structures and how they impact our ability to treat and prevent disease. The team plans to continue developing and optimizing quantum algorithms that can predict the structure of larger and more sophisticated proteins.

This work is an important step forward in exploring where quantum computing capabilities could show strengths in protein structure prediction. Our goal is to design quantum algorithms that can find how to predict protein structures as realistically as possible.

Dr. Hakan Doga, Researcher, IBM

Doga, H., et al. (2024) A Perspective on Protein Structure Prediction Using Quantum Computers. Chemical Theory and Computation. doi.org/10.1021/acs.jctc.4c00067

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Unveiling Protein Structures with Quantum Computing - AZoQuantum

As AI grabs headlines, another transformative technologyquantum computingis making a significant impression behind the scenes. Heather Higgins of IBM Quantum underlined the huge potential in a recent interview: McKinsey actually in a recent report put out that there are use cases that will create value capture for industry up to $2 trillion by 2030.

So, what are these valuable use cases? Higgins outlined three main categories enterprises should watch:

We talk about advanced mathematics and working with complex business structures, she began. A second category would be working with search and optimization. And the third category would be simulating nature.

Within those buckets, quantum computing can tackle challenges like AI model training, supply chain optimization, and material design.

You can think in biotech protein folding, said Higgins, giving one example of simulating natural processes.

But adopting quantum requires careful strategy.

Higgins advised: We start with the broad area. We whittle that down to about twelve problem types that were focused on today and we start to look at what those time scales are so that they can make purposeful investment decisions.

The key, she explained, is understanding the incremental or disruptive impact sought, and an organizations risk appetite.

Its not bad to be starting on incremental instead of disruptive, she noted, as quantum requires rethinking how computations are approached.

With heavyweights like IBM leading the charge, quantum computings time is coming for enterprises aiming to gain an innovative edge.

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IBM's Heather Higgins on Quantum Computing Rising to Tackle Enterprise Challenges - The Quantum Insider

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Researchers from Lancaster University and Radboud University Nijmegen have managed to generate propagating spin waves at the nanoscale and discovered a novel pathway to modulate and amplify them.

Their discovery, published in Nature, could pave the way for the development of dissipation free quantum information technologies. As the spin waves do not involve electric currents, these chips will be free from associated losses of energy.

The rapidly growing popularity of artificial intelligence comes with an increasing desire for fast and energy efficient computing devices and calls for novel ways to store and process information. The electric currents in conventional devices suffer from losses of energy and subsequent heating of the environment.

One alternative for the "lossy" electric currents is to store and process information in waves, using the spins of the electrons instead of their charges. These spins can be seen as the elementary units of magnets.

Lead author Dr. Rostislav Mikhaylovskiy from Lancaster University said, "Our discovery will be essential for future spin-wave based computing. Spin waves are an appealing information carrier as they don't involve electric currents and therefore do not suffer from resistive losses."

It has already been known for many years that spins can be kicked out of their equilibrium orientation. After this perturbation, the spins start to precess (i.e. rotate) around their equilibrium position. In magnets, neighboring spins are extremely strongly coupled, forming a net magnetization. Due to this coupling, the spin precession can propagate in the magnetic material, giving rise to a spin wave.

"Observing nonlinear conversion of coherent propagating magnons at nanoscale, which is a prerequisite for any practical magnon-based data processing, has been sought for by many groups worldwide for more than a decade. Therefore, our experiment is a landmark for spin wave studies, which holds the potential to open an entire new research direction on ultrafast coherent magnonics with an eye on the development of dissipation free quantum information technologies."

The researchers have used the fact that the highest possible frequencies of the spin rotations can be found in materials, in which adjacent spins are canted with respect to each other.

To excite such fast spin dynamics, they used a very short pulse of light, the duration of which is shorter than the period of the spin wave, i.e. less than a trillionth of a second. The trick for generating the ultrafast spin wave at the nanoscale is in the photon energy of the light pulse.

The material of study exhibits extremely strong absorption at ultraviolet (UV) photon energies, which localizes the excitation in a very thin region of only a few tens of nanometers from the interface, which allows spin waves with terahertz (a trillion of Hertz) frequencies and sub-micrometer wavelengths to emerge.

The dynamics of such spin waves is intrinsically nonlinear, meaning that the waves with different frequencies and wavelengths can be converted into each other.

The researchers have now for the first time realized this possibility in practice. They achieved this by exciting the system not with only one, but with two intense laser pulses, separated by a short time delay.

First author Ruben Leenders, former Ph.D. student at Lancaster University, said, "In a typical single pulse excitation experiment, we would simply expect the two spin waves to interfere with each other as any waves do. However, by varying the time delay between the two pulses, we found that this superposition of the two waves does not hold."

The team explained the observations by considering the coupling of the already excited spin wave with the second light pulse. The result of this coupling is that when the spins are already rotating, the second light pulse gives an additional kick to the spins.

The strength and the direction of this kick depends on the state of the deflection of the spins at the time that this second light pulse arrives. This mechanism allows for control over the properties of the spin waves such as their amplitude and phase, simply by choosing the appropriate time delay between the excitations.

More information: Ruben Leenders et al, Canted spin order as a platform for ultrafast conversion of magnons, Nature (2024). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07448-3. http://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07448-3

Journal information: Nature

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New study is step towards energy-efficient quantum computing in magnets - Phys.org

A breakthrough cooling technology could help invigorate quantum computing and slash costly preparation time in key scientific experiments by weeks.

Scientists often need to generate temperatures close to absolute zero for quantum computing and astronomy, among other uses. Known as the "Big Chill," such temperatures keep the most sensitive electrical instruments free from interference such as temperature changes. However, the refrigerators used to achieve these temperatures are extremely costly and inefficient.

However, scientists with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) a U.S. government agency have built a new prototype refrigerator that they claim can achieve the Big Chill much more quickly and efficiently.

The researchers published the details of their new machine April 23 in the journal Nature Communications. They claimed using it could save 27 million watts of power per year and reduce global energy consumption by $30 million.

Conventional household fridges work through a process of evaporation and condensation, per Live Science. A refrigerant liquid is pushed through a special low-pressure pipe called an "evaporator coil."

As it evaporates, it absorbs heat to cool the inside of the fridge and then passes through a compressor that turns it back into a liquid, raising its temperature as it is radiated through the back of the fridge.

Related: 'World's purest silicon' could lead to 1st million-qubit quantum computing chips

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To achieve required temperatures, scientists have used pulse tube refrigerators (PTRs) for more than 40 years. PTRs use helium gas in a similar process but with far better absorption of heat and no moving parts.

While effective, it consumes huge amounts of energy, is expensive to run, and takes a long time. However, the NIST researchers also discovered that PTRs are needlessly inefficient and can be greatly improved to reduce cooling times and lower overall cost.

In the study, the scientists said PTRs "suffer from major inefficiencies" such as being optimized "for performance only at their base temperature" usually near 4 Kelvin. It means that while cooling down, PTRs run at greatly inefficient levels, they added.

The team found that by adjusting the design of the PTR between the compressor and the refrigerator, helium was used more efficiently. While cooling down, some of it is normally pushed into a relief valve rather than being pushed around the circuit as intended.

Their proposed redesign includes a valve that contracts as the temperature drops to prevent any helium from being wasted in this way. As a result, the NIST teams modified PTR achieved the Big Chill 1.7 to 3.5 times faster, the scientists said in their paper.

In smaller experiments for prototyping quantum circuits where cooldown times are presently comparable to characterization times, dynamic acoustic optimization can substantially increase measurement throughput, the researchers wrote.

The researchers said in their study that the new method could shave at least a week off experiments at the Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events (CUORE) a facility in Italy thats used to look for rare events such as a currently theoretical form of radioactive decay. As little background noise as possible must be achieved to obtain accurate results from these facilities.

Quantum computers need a similar level of isolation. They use quantum bits, or qubits. Conventional computers store information in bits and encode data with a value of either 1 or 0 and perform calculations in sequence, but qubits occupy a superposition of 1 and 0, thanks to the laws of quantum mechanics, and can be used to process calculations in parallel. Qubits, however, are incredibly sensitive and need to be separated from as much background noise as possible including the tiny fluctuations of thermal energy.

The researchers said that even more efficient cooling methods could theoretically be achieved in the near future, which could lead to faster innovation in quantum computing space.

The team also said their their technology could alternatively be used to achieve extremely cold temperatures in the same time but at a much lower cost, which could benefit the cryogenics industry, cutting costs for non-time-intensive experiments and industrial applications. The scientists are currently working with an industrial partner to release their improved PTR commercially.

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Reaching absolute zero for quantum computing now much quicker thanks to breakthrough refrigerator design - Livescience.com

By Ken Briodagh

Senior Technology Editor

Embedded Computing Design

May 30, 2024

News

According to a recent release, NXP Semiconductors has partnered with eleQtron and ParityQC, with theQSea consortiumof theDLR Quantum Computing Initiative (DLR QCI), to create what is reportedly the first full-stack, ion-trap based quantum computer demonstrator made entirely in Germany. The new quantum computer demonstrator is in Hamburg.

Hamburg is one of our most important R&D locations. We are proud that, together with DLR and our partners eleQtron and ParityQC, we are able to present the first ion-trap based quantum computer demonstrator developed entirely in Germany, said Lars Reger, CTO at NXP Semiconductors. We are convinced that industry and research communities in Hamburg and throughout Germany will benefit from this project. It will help to build up and expand important expertise in quantum computing, to use it for the economic benefit of us all, and also to further strengthen our digital sovereignty in Germany and the EU.

The goal of this demonstrator is to enable early access to quantum computing resources and help companies and research teams leverage it for applications like climate modeling, global logistics and materials sciences, the companies said.

DLR QCI says it aims to build necessary skills by creating a quantum computing ecosystem in which economy, industry and science cooperate closely to fully leverage the potential of this technology. Quantum computers are expected to tackle complex problems across industries, and will likely dramatically change the cybersecurity landscape.

NXP, eleQtron and ParityQC have used their expertise to build this ion-trap based quantum computer demonstrator by combining eleQtrons MAGIC hardware, ParityQC architecture, and NXP chip design and technology. To speed innovation and iteration, they have also developed a digital twin, which reportedly will be used to help this QSea I demonstrator to evolve to a quantum computer with a modular architecture, scalable design, and error correction capabilities. That evolution will be the goal of the ongoing work with the project.

The demonstrator is set up at the DLR QCI Innovation Center in Hamburg and will be made available to industry partners and DLR research teams, the release said. The three partners and the DLR QCI say they aim to foster and strengthen the development of an advanced quantum computing ecosystem in Germany.

To achieve a leading international position in quantum computing, we need a strong quantum computing ecosystem. Only together will research, industry and start-ups overcome the major technological challenges and successfully bring quantum computers into application. The QSea I demonstrator is an important step for the DLR Quantum Computing Initiative and for Hamburg. It enables partners from industry and research to run quantum algorithms on real ion trap qubits in a real production environment for the first time. This hands-on experience will enable them to leverage the advantages of quantum computers and become part of a strong and sovereign quantum computing ecosystem in Germany and Europe, said Dr.-Ing. Robert Axmann, Head of DLR Quantum Computing Initiative (DLR QCI).

Ken Briodagh is a writer and editor with two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers, he would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars. In previous lives, hes been a short order cook, telemarketer, medical supply technician, mover of the bodies at a funeral home, pirate, poet, partial alliterist, parent, partner and pretender to various thrones. Most of his exploits are either exaggerated or blatantly false.

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NXP, eleQtron and ParityQC Reveal Quantum Computing Demonstrator - Embedded Computing Design

CLEVELAND The Cleveland Clinic and IBM have published findings focused on using quantum computing to better understand how diseases spread and thus how to develop effective therapies.

Specifically, this work was published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation. It sought to learn how quantum computing could be used to predict protein structures, according to a Cleveland Clinic release.

For decades, researchers have leveraged computational approaches to predict protein structures, the release reads. A protein folds itself into a structure that determines how it functions and binds to other molecules in the body. These structures determine many aspects of human health and disease.

This work came from the Cleveland Clinic-IBM Discovery Accelerator partnership, their first peer-reviewed paper on quantum computing. It was a team led by Cleveland Clinic postdoctoral fellow Dr. Bryan Raubenolt and IBM researcher Dr. Hakan Doga.

One of the most unique things about this project is the number of disciplines involved, Raubenolt said in the release. Our teams expertise ranges from computational biology and chemistry, structural biology, software and automation engineering, to experimental atomic and nuclear physics, mathematics, and of course quantum computing and algorithm design. It took the knowledge from each of these areas to create a computational framework that can mimic one of the most important processes for human life.

The release notes that machine learning has resulted in major strides when it comes to predicting protein structures, explaining that the way this works comes down to the training data.

The limitation with this is that the models only know what theyre taught, leading to lower levels of accuracy when the programs/algorithms encounter a protein that is mutated or very different from those on which they were trained, which is common with genetic disorders.

An alternative option is to rely on simulations to emulate the physics of protein folding. Using these simulations, the goal is to find the most stable shape, which the release describes as crucial for designing drugs.

Once you reach a certain size of protein, this becomes quite difficult on a standard computer, however. Raubenolt explained in the release that even a small protein with just 100 amino acids would take a classical computer the time equal to the age of the universe to exhaustively search all the possible outcomes

Thats why the researchers utilized both quantum and classic computing methods in their work. The release states that this hybrid approach outperformed previous methods and resulted in increased accuracy.

According to the release, the researchers will continue working on and improving these algorithms.

This work is an important step forward in exploring where quantum computing capabilities could show strengths in protein structure prediction, Doga said in the release. Our goal is to design quantum algorithms that can find how to predict protein structures as realistically as possible.

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A combination of tech and medicine - Spectrum News 1

Sanskriti Deva, an Indian-American quantum engineer and passionate STEM educator, has an extraordinary story to share. Having taught over 10,000 people about the fascinating realm of quantum computingfrom elementary schoolers to industry professionalsher journey has yielded profound lessons that transcend scientific boundaries.

For Deva, who at 17 became one of the youngest elected officials and got to bring a lot of youth engagement to the United Nations as a member of Gen Z, the path to quantum enlightenment began with an unlikely source of inspirationsuperhero movies.

Im a really big comic fan and I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I kept hearing that word [quantum] over and over again I became more interested in what it meant, she explained during a recent TEDx talk at North Carolina State University.

However, Devas initial self-doubt nearly prevented her from embarking on this quantum adventure.

Honestly, if you had asked me like five years ago if I would be on stage talking about quantum computers, I would have said no, thats impossible. Im not smart enough, she admitted. It was her students who helped her overcome this mindset, leading to her first powerful realization: You dont have to be an innate genius or super talented at something to pursue something that youre passionate about.

Devas second lesson came from witnessing her students shared struggles and triumphs.

I learned this when I started teaching quantum computing for the first timeit was honestly the first time I had interacted with other people that were interested in the same subject I was, she said. There are people out there who like the same thing you do, regardless of how niche it is, and there are people out there that are also facing the same issues that you are as well.

But it was her youngest pupils who imparted perhaps the most profound wisdom.

They raised their hand and they said, I want to be a quantum computing princess ballerina dancer boxer president, or they said something like, Why not? I thought this would be cool, Deva recounted. From their unencumbered perspectives, she realized: You dont have to just choose one thing. You can be a multitude of things.

Reflecting on this revelation, Deva expressed that she believes our quality of life improves when we, like quantum particles that exist in dual states, embrace our multitude of identities and our multifaceted nature.

She passionately urged her audience: I encourage you to become an engineer and an artist, a scientist and a storyteller, a princess and a president.

Sanskriti Devas extraordinary journey from aspiring quantum student to esteemed educator has yielded profound insights into the boundless potential of curiosity, community, and self-acceptance. Her inspirational call to embrace the superposition of our multidimensional identities resonates far beyond the realm of quantum physics, reminding us all to fearlessly explore the infinite possibilities that lie within.

Featured image: Credit: TEDx

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What Teaching Thousands in Quantum Taught One Rising STEM Leader - The Quantum Insider

At an intriguing session at the Qatar Economic Forum 2024, Michael Biercuk and Rajeeb Hazra discussed the mystery surrounding quantum computing and its colossal transformative potential across global industries. The world is on the brink of a quantum revolution. The insights that he brings to bear on the future of this enabling technology invoke suspense.

In his comments on the highly debated topic of quantum supremacy, Biercuk noted current tangible steps taken in this direction.

Were legitimately talking about comparing todays quantum computers to the worlds biggest supercomputers, said Biercuk. Thats the kind of comparison we make. This statement stresses the remarkable things achieved in harnessing the counterintuitive principles of quantum mechanics for computational prowess.

However, Biercuk cautioned against the allure of fantasies surrounding quantum computing, saying: Quantum computing is not magic pudding. It doesnt solve everything. It doesnt fix everything. It doesnt replace all computers. His pragmatic stance highlights the need for a grounded understanding of quantum computings capabilities and limitations.

Hazra, the CEO of Quantinuum, echoed this sentiment: Quantum gives us the ability to look at physical interactions in a way, and then from that create new physical things that you couldnt have done before. He pinpointed areas where the greatest change lies in quantum computing: for example, personalized medicine, sustainable energy and materials science through models of chemical interactions which could lead to breakthrough innovations.

One of the pressing concerns surrounding quantum computing is the potential for exacerbating societal inequalities due to its anticipated high cost and complexity. Addressing this, Hazra expressed optimism.

The advent of quantum computing in an era where cloud is pervasive is a very good way to democratize access, said Hazra. His vision aligns with the ethos of open science and collaboration, which has been a driving force behind quantum computings progress.

Biercuk echoed this sentiment, pointing out the importance of international cooperation: The thing that will hurt us the most, that will lead to the greatest inequality in a really negative sense is techno nationalism. His words serve as a rallying cry against isolationist tendencies that could impede the equitable distribution of quantum computings benefits.

Amidst the quantum computing race, there are insights that come from Biercuk and Hazra which provide a reasoned perspective. Building a case for caution in terms that may fly in the face of the revolutionary promise that quantum computation often evokes, theirs is a disruptive potential combined with respect for where that potential actually lies. It will ensure international collaboration in pursuit of an in-depth understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the technology, and in the process of harnessing the quantum revolution, we shall make a better future for all.

Featured image: Credit: Qatar Economic Forum 2024

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Quantum Computing's Transformative Potential Highlighted at Qatar Economic Forum 2024 - The Quantum Insider

May 31, 2024 The research group led by Prof. Luming Duan at Tsinghua University has recently achieved a significant breakthrough in the field of quantum simulation. For the first time, researchers realized the stable trapping and cooling of a two-dimensional crystal of up to 512 ions and performed a quantum simulation with 300 ion qubits.

This work marks the worlds largest-scale multi-ion quantum simulation with single-qubit resolution, significantly advancing the previous world record of 61 ion qubits. The research findings, detailed in the paper A site-resolved two-dimensional quantum simulator with hundreds of trapped ions, were recently published in Nature. One reviewer of Nature evaluated this accomplishment as a dramatic advance over 1D geometries where the largest ion number was 61. Another reviewer praised the research as the largest quantum simulation or computation performed to date in a trapped ion system; a milestone to be recognized.

Trapped ions are considered one of the most promising physical platforms for achieving large-scale quantum simulation and quantum computation. Numerous experiments have demonstrated high-precision coherent quantum control of ion qubits, while scalability still remains a primary challenge for this system.

Previously, researchers achieved quantum simulations with up to 61 ions in a one-dimensional crystal using a Paul trap. While a Penning trap allows for quantum simulations with around 200 ions, the lack of single-qubit resolution capability in qubit state detection makes it difficult to extract crucial information such as spatial correlations of the qubits, rendering it unsuitable for quantum computation or complicated quantum simulation tasks.

In the paper, Prof. Luming Duans team employed cryogenic monolithic ion trap technology and a two-dimensional ion crystal scheme to significantly expand the number of ion qubits and to enhance the stability of the ion crystal. They successfully achieved the stable trapping and sideband cooling of 512 ions and performed quantum state measurements with single-qubit resolution for 300 ions for the first time.

Researchers further utilized 300 ion qubits to realize the quantum simulation of a long-range transverse-field Ising model with tunable coupling. On the one hand, they prepared the ground state of the frustrated Ising model through quasi-adiabatic evolution and measured the spatial correlations of the qubits. They extracted information about the collective vibrational modes of the ions and compared them with theoretical results for validation. On the other hand, the researchers performed quantum simulation on the dynamics of the model and conducted quantum sampling from the final states.

Through coarse-grained analysis, they verified the non-trivial probability distributions of the obtained samples, which were challenging to directly sample using classical computers. This experimental system provides a powerful tool for further research into the important challenge of understanding many-body non-equilibrium quantum dynamics.

The corresponding author of the paper is IIIS Professor Luming Duan, and the first author is IIIS PhD student Shian Guo. Other co-authors include IIIS Assistant Professor Yukai Wu, IIIS PhD students Jing Ye, Lin Zhang, Ye Wang, Ruoyu Yan, Yujin Yi, Yulin Xu, Yunhan Hou, IIIS postdoc Yuzi Xu, Chi Zhang, IIIS Assistant Researcher Binxiang Qi and Associate Researcher Zichao Zhou, Li He, and HYQ Co. members Wenqian Lian, Rui Yao, Bowen Li, and Weixuan Guo.

This work was supported by the Innovation Program for Quantum Science and Technology (2021ZD0301601, 2021ZD0301605), Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program, the Ministry of Education of China, the New Cornerstone Investigator Program, Tsinghua University Dushi program, and the start-up fund.

Source: Li Han, Tsinghua University

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Researchers at Tsinghua University Achieve Largest-Scale Ion Trap Quantum Simulation - HPCwire