#Fault-tolerant quantum computing

[jcmarchi]

Testing spooky action at a distance

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/testing-spooky-action-at-a-distance/

Testing spooky action at a distance

Researchers at MIT recently signed a four-year collaboration agreement with the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme (NQCP) at Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen (UCPH), focused on accelerating quantum computing hardware research.

The agreement means that both universities will set up identical quantum laboratories at their respective campuses in Copenhagen and Cambridge, Massachusetts, facilitating seamless cooperation as well as shared knowledge and student exchange.

“To realize the promise of quantum computing, we must learn how to build systems that are robust, reproducible, and extensible. This unique program enables us to innovate faster by exchanging personnel and ideas, running parallel experiments, and comparing results. Even better, we get to continue working with Professor Morten Kjaergaard, a rising star in the field, and his team in Copenhagen,” says William Oliver, the Henry Ellis Warren (1894) Professor within the MIT Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), professor of physics, associate director of the Research Laboratory of Electronics, and the head of the Center for Quantum Engineering at MIT.

Oliver’s team will supervise the funded research, which will focus specifically on the development of fault-tolerant quantum computing hardware and quantum algorithms that solve life-science relevant chemical and biological problems. The agreement provides 18 million Danish kroner (approximately $2.55 million) from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Program to support MIT’s part in the research.

“A forefront objective in quantum computing is the development of state-of-the-art hardware with consistent operation,” says Maria Zuber, MIT’s presidential advisor for science and technology policy, who helped facilitate the relationship between MIT and the Danish university. “The goal of this collaboration is to demonstrate this system behavior, which will be an important step in the path to practical application.”

“Fostering collaborations between MIT and other universities is truly essential as we look to accelerate the pace of discovery and research in fast-growing fields such as quantum computing,” adds Anantha Chandrakasan, chief innovation and strategy officer, dean of engineering, and the Vannevar Bush Professor of EECS. “The support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme will ensure the world’s leading experts can focus on advancing research and developing solutions that have real-world impact.”

“This is an important recognition of our work at UCPH and NQCP. Professor Oliver’s team at MIT is part of the international top echelon of quantum computing research,” says Morten Kjaergaard, associate professor of quantum information physics and research group leader at the Niels Bohr Institute at UCPH. “This project enables Danish research in quantum computing hardware to learn from the best as we collaborate on developing hardware for next-generation fault-tolerant quantum computing. I have previously had the pleasure of working closely with Professor Oliver, and with this ambitious collaboration as part of our the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme, we are able to push our joint research to a new level.”

Peter Krogstrup, CEO of NQCP and professor at Niels Bohr Institute, follows up, “We are excited to work with Will Oliver and his innovative team at MIT. It aligns very well with our strategic focus on identifying a path with potential to enable quantum computing for life sciences. The support aims to strengthen the already strong collaboration between Will and Morten’s team, a collaboration we hope to make an important part of the NQCP pathfinder phase over the coming years.”

[sub-at-omicsteminist]

Dorit Aharonov

Dorit Aharonov is an Israeli computer scientist specialising in quantum computing. She graduated from Weizmann Institute of Science with an MSc in Physics. She received her doctorate for Computer Science in 1999 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and her thesis was entitled Noisy Quantum Computation.  She also did her post-doctorate in the mathematics department of Princeton University and in the computer science department of University of California Berkeley. She was a visiting scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in 1998–99. Aharonov was an invited speaker in International Congress of Mathematicians 2010, Hyderabad on the topic of Mathematical Aspects of Computer Science

Quantum computing

Aharonov's research is mainly about quantum information processes, which includes

quantum algorithms

quantum cryptography and computational complexity

quantum error corrections and fault tolerance

connections between quantum computation and quantum Markov chains and lattices

quantum Hamiltonian complexity and its connections to condensed matter physics

transition from quantum to classical physics

understanding entanglement by studying quantum complexity

[materialsscienceandengineering]

Physics researchers identify new multiple Majorana zero modes in superconducting SnTe

A collaborative research team has identified the world's first multiple Majorana zero modes (MZMs) in a single vortex of the superconducting topological crystalline insulator SnTe and exploited crystal symmetry to control the coupling between the MZMs. This discovery, published in Nature, offers a new pathway to realizing fault-tolerant quantum computers. The team was led by Prof. Junwei Liu, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), and Prof Jinfeng Jia and Prof Yaoyi Li from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). MZM is a zero-energy topologically nontrivial quasiparticle in a superconductor that obeys non-Abelian statistics, allowing for inequivalent braiding sequences, even though the total number of exchanges is the same. This contrasts with ordinary particles, such as electrons or photons, where different braiding always results in the same final state. This unique property protects MZMs from local perturbations, making them an ideal platform for robust fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Read more.

[mitchipedia]

DARPA is launching a program to sift through quantum computing hype

networkworld.com:

“Our opening position is skepticism," stated Dr. Joe Altepeter, the DARPA program manager of the project, in a blog about QBI. “Specifically, skepticism that a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer with a sufficient number of logical qubits can ever be built.”

”We will walk into the room and say, ‘We’re pretty sure whatever you’re doing is not going to work.’ I will bring a small army of scientists and engineers, we will listen to your evidence, and we will double and triple check using our own analysis," Altepeter wrote. “And if we’re convinced the technology you’re developing checks out and you’re onto something big, we’ll tell the rest of government and become a strong advocate for your approach.”

[govindhtech]

Atom Computing is Ushering in a New Era of Quantum Research

Atom Computing

Recently, quantum computers constructed from arrays of ultracold atoms have become a major contender in the race to produce machines powered by qubits that can surpass their classical counterparts in performance. Although the first completely functional quantum processors to be programmed via the cloud have been produced by alternative hardware architectures, further advancements indicate that atom-based platforms may be superior in terms of future scalability.

This scaling benefit results from the atomic qubits being exclusively cooled, trapped, and manipulated via photonic technology. Neutral-atom quantum computers can be primarily constructed using currently available optical components and systems that have already been optimised for accuracy and dependability, eschewing the need for intricate cryogenic systems or chip fabrication processes.

A physicist at Princeton University in the United States named Jeff Thompson and his team have been developing a quantum computer based on arrays of ytterbium atoms. “The traps are optical tweezers, the atoms are controlled with laser beams and the imaging is done with a camera,” Thompson explains. “The engineering that can be done with the optical system is the only thing limiting the scalability of the platform, and a lot of that work has already been done in the industry of optical components and megapixel devices.”

Enormous atomic arrays

Many attractive properties of neutral atoms make them suitable for quantum information encoding. Firstly, they are all the same, meaning that there is no need to tune or calibrate individual qubits because they are all flawless and devoid of any flaws that could be introduced during creation. Important quantum features like superposition and entanglement are preserved over sufficiently long periods to enable computation, and their quantum states and interactions are likewise well understood and characterised.

The pursuit of fault tolerance This important development made atomic qubits a competitive platform for digital quantum computing, spurring research teams and quantum companies to investigate and improve the efficiency of various atomic systems. Although rubidium remains a popular option, ytterbium is seen by certain groups to provide some important advantages for large-scale quantum computing. Thompson argues that because ytterbium has a nuclear spin of one half, the qubit can be encoded entirely in the nuclear spin.”They found that pure nuclear-spin qubits can maintain coherence times of many seconds without special procedures, even though all atom- or ion-based qubits havegood coherence by default.”

Examining rational qubits

In the meanwhile, Lukin’s Harvard group has perhaps made the closest approach to error-corrected quantum computing to yet, collaborating with a number of academic partners and the Boston-based startup QuEra Computing. Utilising so-called logical qubits, which distribute the quantum information among several physical qubits to reduce error effects, is a critical advancement.

One or two logical qubits have been produced in previous demonstrations using different hardware platforms, but Lukin and colleagues demonstrated by the end of 2023 that they could produce 48 logical qubits from 280 atomic qubits. They were able to move and operate each logical block as a single unit by using optical multiplexing to illuminate every rubidium atom inside a logical qubit with identical light beams. This hardware-efficient control technique stops mistakes in the physical qubits from growing into a logical defect since every atom in the logical block is treated separately.

The researchers additionally partitioned their design into three functional zones to enable more scalable processing of these logical qubits. The first is utilised to ensure that these stable quantum states are separated from processing mistakes in other sections of the hardware by manipulating and storing the logical qubits, coupled with a reservoir of physical qubits that may be called upon. Next, logical qubit pairs can be “shuttled” into the second entangling zone, where two-qubit gate operations are driven with fidelity exceeding 99.5% by a single excitation laser. Each gate operation’s result is measured in the final readout zone, which doesn’t interfere with the ongoing processing duties.

Future scalability Another noteworthy development is that QuEra has secured a multimillion-dollar contract at the UK’s National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) to construct a version of this logical processor. By March 2025, the national lab will have seven prototype quantum computers installed, including platforms that take advantage of superconducting qubits and trapped ions, as well as a neutral-atom system based on cesium from Infleqtion (previously ColdQuanta). The QuEra system will be one of these systems.

Replenishing the supply of atoms In order to create a path to larger-scale machines, the Atom Computing team has included additional optical technologies into its revised platform. Bloom states, “They could have just bought some really big lasers if They wanted to go from 100 to 1,000 qubits.” “However, they wanted to get the array on a path where they can keep expanding it to hundreds of thousands or even a million atoms without encountering problems with the laser power.”

Combining the atomic control offered by optical tweezers with the trapping capability of optical lattices which are primarily found in the most accurate atomic clocks in the world has been the solution for Atom Computing. By adding an optical buildup cavity to create constructive interference between multiple reflected laserThese optical lattices can improve their performance by creating a subwavelength grid of potential wells via laser beam interference.”With just a moderate amount of laser power, They can create a huge array of deep traps with these in-vacuum optics,” adds.”They could rise higher, but decided to show an arrangement that traps 1,225 ytterbium.”

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[mysteriousquantumphysics]

Cutting Quantum Circuits into Pieces - why and how?

Even though quantum computing is a promising and huge field, it is still at an early development stage. We know algorithms with clear advantage towards classical algorithms such as Grover's or Shor's - however, we are far away from implementing those algorithms on real devices for e.g. breaking state of the art RSA encriptions.

Today's Possibilities of Quantum Computing

Thus, part of current research is to make use of the kind of quantum computers which are available today: Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. They are far away from ideal quantum computers since they provide only a limited number of qubits, have faulty gate implementations and measurements and the quantum states decohere rather fast [1]. As a result, algorithms which require large depth circuits cannot be realistically implemented nowadays. Instead, it is advisable to find out what can be done with the currently available NISQ devices. Good candidates are variational quantum algorithms (VQA) in which one uses both quantum and classical methods: One constructs a parametrized quantum circuit whose parameters are optimized by a classical optimizer (e.g. COBYLA). To those methods belong for instance the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) which can be used to find the ground state energy of a Hamiltonian (a problem which is in general often tackled without quantum computing, i.e. classical computing with tensor network approaches). Another method is solving QUBO problems with the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA). These are promising ideas, but one should note that it is not sure yet whether we can obtain quantum advantage with them or not [2].

Cutting Quantum Circuits

So far, we have learned that current quantum devices are faulty, hence still far away from fault-tolerant quantum computers. Thus, it is preferable to make quantum circuits of the above mentioned VQAs smaller somehow. Imagine the case in which you want to use the ibm_cairo system with 27 quibts, but the problem you want to solve requires 50 qubits - what can you do? One prominent idea is to cut the circuit of your algorithm into pieces (in this case, bipartitioning it). How can this be done? As you can imagine, such a task requires sophisticated methods to simulate the quantum behaviour of the large circuit even though one has fewer qubits available. Let's briefly look on how this can be done.

Wire Cutting v.s. Gate Cutting

There are different ideas about where to place the cut. In some situations it might be advisable to cut a complicated gate [3, 4]. The more illustrative way is to cut one or more wires of a circuit by implementing a certain decomposition of an identity onto the wire(s) to be cut [5, 6]. In general, such a decomposition looks like

L is the space of linear operators on the d-dimensional complex vector space. How should this be understood? For example in [6] they apply a special case of this identity equation; in a run of the circuit only one of these terms (one channel) is applied at a time. This already indicates that cutting requires running the circuit multiple times in order to simulate the identity. This makes sense intuitively, since making a cut somewhere in a circuit makes it necessary to perform a measurement. As a result, some of the entanglement / quantum properties of the circuit are lost. To compensate this, one has to artifically simulate this quantum behaviour by sampling (running the circuit more often). This so-called sampling overhead can be proven to be

This can be derived with the help of defining an unbiased estimator and applying Hoeffding's inequality. A detailed derivation (which holds for general operators, not only for the identity) can be found in appendix E of [3]. The exact sampling cost depends on the explicit decomposition one wants to apply.

Closing remarks

Up to my knowledge, those circuit cutting schemes only work efficiently for special cases. Often, the cost depends on the size of the cut, i.e. how many wires are cut. Additionally, the original circuit should be able to be partitioned reasonably. In the title picture you can see a mock circuit with five qubits. You can see that on the left side of the cut, there are gates which act on the first three (1,2,3) qubits only, while on the right side they only act on qubits 3,4 and 5. Hence, the cut should be placed on the overlap on both parts, i.e. on the middle qubit (3). The cut size is only one in this case, but in useful applications the cut size might be much larger. Since the cost often depends on the dimension of the cut qubits, the cost increases exponentially in the cut size (since the Hilbert space dimension grows as 2^k for the number of cuts k).

Thus, we see that circuit cutting can be very powerful in special problem instances, in which it can e.g. reduce the required qubits roughly by half - this helps making circuits shallower and smaller. However, there are lots of limitation given by the set of suitable problem instances and the sampling overhead.

--- References

[1] Marvin Bechtold, Johanna Barzen, Frank Leymann, Alexander Mandl, Julian Obst, Felix Truger, Benjamin Weder. Investigating the effect of circuit cutting in QAOA for the MaxCut problem on NISQ devices. 2023. arXiv:2302.01792

[2] M. Cerezo, Andrew Arrasmith, Ryan Babbush, Simon C. Benjamin, Suguru Endo, Keisuke Fujii, Jarrod R. McClean, Kosuke Mitarai, Xiao Yuan, Lukasz Cincio, Patrick J. Coles. Variational Quantum Algorithms. 2021. arXiv:2012.09265

[3] Christian Ufrecht, Maniraman Periyasamy, Sebastian Rietsch, Daniel D. Scherer, Axel Plinge, Christopher Mutschler. Cutting multi-control quantum gates with ZX calculus. 2023. arXiv:2302.00387

[4] Kosuke Mitarai, Keisuke Fujii. Constructing a virtual two-qubit gate by sampling single-qubit operations. 2019. arXiv:1909.07534

[5] Tianyi Peng, Aram Harrow, Maris Ozols, Xiaodi Wu. Simulating Large Quantum Circuits on a Small Quantum Computer. 2019. arXiv:1904.00102

[6] Angus Lowe, Matija Medvidović, Anthony Hayes, Lee J. O'Riordan, Thomas R. Bromley, Juan Miguel Arrazola, Nathan Killoran. Fast quantum circuit cutting with randomized measurements. 2022. arXiv:2207.14734

[story-plaza]

Power of Quantum Computing 02

Utilizing the Potential of Quantum Computing.

A revolutionary technology, quantum computing holds the promise of unmatched computational power. Development of quantum software is in greater demand as the field develops. The link between the complicated underlying hardware and the useful applications of quantum computing is provided by quantum software. The complexities of creating quantum software, its potential uses, and the difficulties developers face will all be covered in this article.

BY KARTAVYA AGARWAL

First, a primer on quantum computing.

Contrary to traditional computing, quantum computing is based on different principles. Working with qubits, which can exist in a superposition of states, is a requirement. These qubits are controlled by quantum gates, including the CNOT gate and the Hadamard gate. For the creation of quantum software, comprehension of these fundamentals is essential. Qubits and quantum gates can be used to create quantum algorithms, which are capable of solving complex problems more quickly than conventional algorithms. Second, there are quantum algorithms. The special characteristics of quantum systems are specifically tapped into by quantum algorithms. For instance, Shor's algorithm solves the factorization issue and might be a threat to traditional cryptography. The search process is accelerated by Grover's algorithm, however. A thorough understanding of these algorithms and how to modify them for various use cases is required of quantum software developers. They investigate and develop new quantum algorithms to address issues in a variety of fields, including optimization, machine learning, and chemistry simulations. Quantum simulation and optimization are the third point. Complex physical systems that are difficult to simulate on traditional computers can be done so using quantum software. Scientists can better comprehend molecular structures, chemical processes, and material properties by simulating quantum systems. Potential solutions for logistics planning, financial portfolio management, and supply chain optimization are provided by quantum optimization algorithms. To accurately model these complex systems, quantum software developers work on developing simulation frameworks and algorithm optimization techniques. The 4th Point is Tools and Languages for Quantum Programming. Programming languages and tools that are specific to quantum software development are required. A comprehensive set of tools and libraries for quantum computing are available through the open-source framework Qiskit, created by IBM. Another well-known framework that simplifies the design and simulation of quantum circuits is Cirq, created by Google. Incorporating quantum computing with traditional languages like C, the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit offers a quantum programming language and simulator. These programming languages and tools are utilized by developers to create quantum hardware, run simulations, and write quantum circuits. The 5th point is quantum error correction. Störungs in the environment and flaws in the hardware can lead to errors in quantum systems. Quantum computations are now more reliable thanks to quantum error correction techniques that reduce these errors. To guard against errors and improve the fault tolerance of quantum algorithms, developers of quantum software employ error correction codes like the stabilizer or surface codes. They must comprehend the fundamentals of error correction and incorporate these methods into their software designs. Quantum cryptography and secure communication are the sixth point. Secure communication and cryptography are impacted by quantum computing. Using the concepts of quantum mechanics, quantum key distribution (QKD) offers secure key exchange and makes any interception detectable. Post-quantum cryptography responds to the danger that quantum computers pose to already-in-use cryptographic algorithms. To create secure communication protocols and investigate quantum-resistant cryptographic schemes, cryptographers and quantum software developers work together. Point 7: Quantum machine learning A new field called "quantum machine learning" combines machine learning with quantum computing. The speedup of tasks like clustering, classification, and regression is being studied by quantum software developers. They investigate how quantum machine learning might be advantageous in fields like drug discovery, financial modeling, and optimization. Point 8: Validation and testing of quantum software. For accurate results and trustworthy computations, one needs trustworthy quantum software. Different testing methodologies are used by quantum software developers to verify the functionality and efficiency of their products. To locate bugs, address them, and improve their algorithms, they carry out extensive testing on simulators and quantum hardware. Quantum software is subjected to stringent testing and validation to guarantee that it produces accurate results on various platforms. Point 9: Quantum computing in the study of materials. By simulating and enhancing material properties, quantum software is crucial to the study of materials. To model chemical processes, examine electronic architectures, and forecast material behavior, researchers use quantum algorithms. Variational quantum eigensolvers are one example of a quantum-inspired algorithm that makes efficient use of the vast parameter space to find new materials with desired properties. To create software tools that improve the processes of materials research and discovery, quantum software developers work with materials scientists. Quantum computing in financial modeling is the tenth point. Quantum software is used by the financial sector for a variety of applications, which helps the industry reap the benefits of quantum computing. For portfolio optimization, risk assessment, option pricing, and market forecasting, quantum algorithms are being investigated. Financial institutions can enhance decision-making processes and acquire a competitive advantage by utilizing the computational power of quantum systems. Building quantum models, backtesting algorithms, and converting existing financial models to quantum frameworks are all tasks carried out by quantum software developers.

FAQs:. What benefits can software development using quantum technology offer? Complex problems can now be solved exponentially more quickly than before thanks to quantum software development. It opens up new opportunities in materials science, machine learning, optimization, and cryptography. Is everyone able to access quantum software development? Despite the fact that creating quantum software necessitates specialized knowledge, there are tools, tutorials, and development frameworks available to support developers as they begin their quantum programming journey. What are the principal difficulties faced in creating quantum software? Algorithm optimization for particular hardware, minimization of quantum errors through error correction methods, and overcoming the dearth of established quantum development tools are among the difficulties. Are there any practical uses for quantum software? Yes, there are many potential uses for quantum software, including drug discovery, financial modeling, traffic optimization, and materials science. What can be done to advance the creation of quantum software? Researchers, programmers, contributors to open-source quantum software projects, and people working with manufacturers of quantum hardware to improve software-hardware interactions are all ways that people can make a difference. Conclusion: The enormous potential of quantum computing is unlocked in large part by the development of quantum software. The potential for solving difficult problems and revolutionizing numerous industries is exciting as this field continues to develop. We can use quantum computing to influence the direction of technology by grasping its fundamentals, creating cutting-edge algorithms, and utilizing potent quantum programming languages and tools. link section for the article on Quantum Software Development: - Qiskit - Website - Qiskit is an open-source quantum computing framework developed by IBM. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools, libraries, and resources for quantum software development. - Cirq - Website - Cirq is a quantum programming framework developed by Google. It offers a platform for creating, editing, and simulating quantum circuits. - Microsoft Quantum Development Kit - Website - The Microsoft Quantum Development Kit is a comprehensive toolkit that enables quantum programming using the Q# language. It includes simulators, libraries, and resources for quantum software development. - Quantum Computing for the Determined - Book - "Quantum Computing for the Determined" by Alistair Riddoch and Aleksander Kubica is a practical guide that introduces the fundamentals of quantum computing and provides hands-on examples for quantum software development. - Quantum Algorithm Zoo - Website - The Quantum Algorithm Zoo is a repository of quantum algorithms categorized by application domains. It provides code examples and explanations of various quantum algorithms for developers to explore. Read the full article

[scienza-magia]

Mining bitcoin con computers quantistici

Satoshi contro la fisica, come i miner quantistici potrebbero rendere obsoleti gli ASIC. Le attrezzature quantistiche potrebbero rappresentare una minaccia maggiore per le blockchain rispetto alla decrittazione quantistica. Con la progressiva crescita del settore dell'informatica quantistica, la competizione per il mining di Bitcoin potrebbe essere sul punto di entrare nell'equivalente dell'era atomica.  Sebbene i computer quantistici di oggi siano in gran parte sperimentali, i recenti progressi nella tecnologia dei chip quantistici e nelle funzioni ibride di intelligenza artificiale hanno fatto avanzare il settore più rapidamente di quanto molti scienziati avessero previsto. Una delle maggiori preoccupazioni del settore è lo sviluppo di soluzioni di crittografia quantum-proof. Il timore che i computer quantistici possano violare la crittografia standard ha portato all'introduzione di nuovi protocolli e standard. Questa, tuttavia, non è l'unica potenziale minaccia di livello catastrofico che i computer quantistici rappresentano per il settore della blockchain. Mining di Bitcoin Sebbene il mondo sia ancora lontano decenni dall'avere un computer quantistico universale in grado di surclassare i supercomputer nella maggior parte dei compiti, esistono già macchine in grado di raggiungere la supremazia quantistica nell'esecuzione di algoritmi specifici per risolvere compiti dedicati. Uno degli algoritmi in cui i sistemi quantistici sono in grado di eccellere si chiama “algoritmo di Grover” e, in teoria, potrebbe essere applicato direttamente al mining di blockchain. Il mining di Bitcoin, ad esempio, si basa su un concetto di proof-of-work che prevede la risoluzione di puzzle crittografici. Man mano che i computer e gli algoritmi di mining diventano più efficienti nel risolvere questi puzzle, la loro difficoltà aumenta. Ciò aiuta a mantenere la blockchain e funziona come un metodo di decentralizzazione de facto. Se qualcuno riuscisse a realizzare un computer abbastanza efficiente da risolvere facilmente i problemi, allora tutti i compiti diventerebbero più difficili. Teoricamente, il limite massimo di questa difficoltà crittografica - chiamato “target” nel gergo del mining - sarebbe da qualche parte nell'area di 2 elevato alla potenza di 256. Le leggi della fisica, così come le intendono gli scienziati, impedirebbero anche ad un computer quantistico universale con capacità di fault-tolerant di eseguire i calcoli necessari per risolvere questo problema di crittografia di quattuorvigintilioni (un numero di 78 cifre). Satoshi e la scienza Satoshi Nakamoto e altri, a cui si deve lo sviluppo di Bitcoin, prevedevano un futuro in cui i computer sarebbero diventati sempre più potenti. Hanno compreso che ciò minacciava la natura decentralizzata di Bitcoin e hanno implementato alcune protezioni. Il “genesis block” Bitcoin è stato estratto utilizzando una tipica CPU dell'era 2008, probabilmente equivalente ad un Pentium 4. Il blocco successivo, il 'blocco 1', fu stato estratto sei giorni dopo.  Da quel momento in poi, tuttavia, il tempo previsto per ogni blocco successivo è stato di 10 minuti. I miner sono passati dalle CPU alle GPU, con una breve incursione negli FPGA, prima di stabilizzarsi sullo status quo a partire dal terzo trimestre del 2024, i miner a circuito integrato specifico per le applicazioni (ASIC). Mentre le CPU svolgevano una sorta di lavoro universale di calcolo e le GPU eccellevano nel calcolo specifico necessario per risolvere i puzzle crittografici associati al mining di Bitcoin, gli impianti ASIC sono stati appositamente sviluppati per risolvere la crittografia SHA-256. Tuttavia, nonostante i progressi hardware, la rete tenta ancora di garantire che ogni blocco richieda 10 minuti per essere estratto. Mining quantistico La prossima frontiera dell'industria del mining potrebbe essere rappresentata dagli impianti ibridi quantistici/classici. Sfruttando il già citato algoritmo di Grover, i miner che utilizzano un computer quantistico sufficientemente tollerante ai guasti potrebbero teoricamente aumentare quadraticamente l'efficienza di estrazione rispetto alle tecniche attuali. Ciò non varierebbe il tempo necessario per estrarre un blocco. Tuttavia, potrebbe aumentare la difficoltà oltre le capacità dell'hardware non quantistico. Così come nel 2024 non sarebbe possibile (o redditizio) minare Bitcoin utilizzando un PC, i miner quantistici potrebbero rendere obsoleti gli ASIC. Tuttavia, vi sono una miriade di sfide che dovrebbero essere risolte prima che ciò accada. La principale è che i computer quantistici non sono ancora abbastanza maturi. Ma, come detto, i miner non avrebbero bisogno di un computer quantistico universale. Un impianto di mining realizzato con apparecchiature classiche potrebbe interfacciarsi con un chip quantistico dedicato per eseguire funzioni algoritmiche di alto livello, sfruttando così i vantaggi della meccanica quantistica e la fattibilità dei computer binari. Esistono anche numerose soluzioni di calcolo quantistico basate su cloud che potrebbero scaricare le spese di sviluppo di un computer quantistico grazie a soluzioni quantum-as-a-service personalizzate per l'esecuzione dell'algoritmo di Grover. Read the full article

[sunaleisocial]

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/jeong-min-park-earns-2024-schmidt-science-fellowship/

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

Physics graduate student Jeong Min (Jane) Park is among the 32 exceptional early-career scientists worldwide chosen to receive the prestigious 2024 Schmidt Science Fellows award.  

As a 2024 Schmidt Science Fellow, Park’s postdoctoral work will seek to directly detect phases that could host new particles by employing an instrument that can visualize subatomic-scale phenomena.  

With her advisor, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, Park’s research at MIT focuses on discovering novel quantum phases of matter.

“When there are many electrons in a material, their interactions can lead to collective behaviors that are not expected from individual particles, known as emergent phenomena,” explains Park. “One example is superconductivity, where interacting electrons combine together as a pair at low temperatures to conduct electricity without energy loss.”

During her PhD studies, she has investigated novel types of superconductivity by designing new materials with targeted interactions and topology. In particular, she used graphene, atomically thin two-dimensional layers of graphite, the same material as pencil lead, and turned it into a “magic” material. This so-called magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene provided an extraordinarily strong form of superconductivity that is robust under high magnetic fields. Later, she found a whole “magic family” of these materials, elucidating the key mechanisms behind superconductivity and interaction-driven phenomena. These results have provided a new platform to study emergent phenomena in two dimensions, which can lead to innovations in electronics and quantum technology.

Park says she is looking forward to her postdoctoral studies with Princeton University physics professor Ali Yazdani’s lab.

“I’m excited about the idea of discovering and studying new quantum phenomena that could further the understanding of fundamental physics,” says Park. “Having explored interaction-driven phenomena through the design of new materials, I’m now aiming to broaden my perspective and expertise to address a different kind of question, by combining my background in material design with the sophisticated local-scale measurements that I will adopt during my postdoc.”

She explains that elementary particles are classified as either bosons or fermions, with contrasting behaviors upon interchanging two identical particles, referred to as exchange statistics; bosons remain unchanged, while fermions acquire a minus sign in their quantum wavefunction.

Theories predict the existence of fundamentally different particles known as non-abelian anyons, whose wavefunctions braid upon particle exchange. Such a braiding process can be used to encode and store information, potentially opening the door to fault-tolerant quantum computing in the future.

Since 2018, this prestigious postdoctoral program has sought to break down silos among scientific fields to solve the world’s biggest challenges and support future leaders in STEM.

Schmidt Science Fellows, an initiative of Schmidt Sciences, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust, identifies, develops, and amplifies the next generation of science leaders, by building a community of scientists and supporters of interdisciplinary science and leveraging this network to drive sector-wide change. The 2024 fellows consist of 17 nationalities across North America, Europe, and Asia.   

Nominated candidates undergo a rigorous selection process that includes a paper-based academic review with panels of experts in their home disciplines and final interviews with panels, including senior representatives from across many scientific disciplines and different business sectors.  

[petnews2day]

Alice & Bob's First Cat Qubit Quantum Chip Available on Google Cloud Marketplace

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/GUFEg

Alice & Bob's First Cat Qubit Quantum Chip Available on Google Cloud Marketplace

Insider Brief Alice & Bob announced the immediate availability on Google Cloud Marketplace of a new single cat-qubit chip in the ”Boson” series. The cat qubit is regarded as a promising platforms for the realization of fault-tolerant quantum computers. The chip extends the bit-flip time to well over seven minutes – a four orders of […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/GUFEg #CatsNews #AliceAndBob, #Boson, #CatQubit

[jcmarchi]

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/jeong-min-park-earns-2024-schmidt-science-fellowship/

Jeong Min Park earns 2024 Schmidt Science Fellowship

Physics graduate student Jeong Min (Jane) Park is among the 32 exceptional early-career scientists worldwide chosen to receive the prestigious 2024 Schmidt Science Fellows award.  

As a 2024 Schmidt Science Fellow, Park’s postdoctoral work will seek to directly detect phases that could host new particles by employing an instrument that can visualize subatomic-scale phenomena.  

With her advisor, Pablo Jarillo-Herrero, the Cecil and Ida Green Professor of Physics, Park’s research at MIT focuses on discovering novel quantum phases of matter.

“When there are many electrons in a material, their interactions can lead to collective behaviors that are not expected from individual particles, known as emergent phenomena,” explains Park. “One example is superconductivity, where interacting electrons combine together as a pair at low temperatures to conduct electricity without energy loss.”

During her PhD studies, she has investigated novel types of superconductivity by designing new materials with targeted interactions and topology. In particular, she used graphene, atomically thin two-dimensional layers of graphite, the same material as pencil lead, and turned it into a “magic” material. This so-called magic-angle twisted trilayer graphene provided an extraordinarily strong form of superconductivity that is robust under high magnetic fields. Later, she found a whole “magic family” of these materials, elucidating the key mechanisms behind superconductivity and interaction-driven phenomena. These results have provided a new platform to study emergent phenomena in two dimensions, which can lead to innovations in electronics and quantum technology.

Park says she is looking forward to her postdoctoral studies with Princeton University physics professor Ali Yazdani’s lab.

“I’m excited about the idea of discovering and studying new quantum phenomena that could further the understanding of fundamental physics,” says Park. “Having explored interaction-driven phenomena through the design of new materials, I’m now aiming to broaden my perspective and expertise to address a different kind of question, by combining my background in material design with the sophisticated local-scale measurements that I will adopt during my postdoc.”

She explains that elementary particles are classified as either bosons or fermions, with contrasting behaviors upon interchanging two identical particles, referred to as exchange statistics; bosons remain unchanged, while fermions acquire a minus sign in their quantum wavefunction.

Theories predict the existence of fundamentally different particles known as non-abelian anyons, whose wavefunctions braid upon particle exchange. Such a braiding process can be used to encode and store information, potentially opening the door to fault-tolerant quantum computing in the future.

Since 2018, this prestigious postdoctoral program has sought to break down silos among scientific fields to solve the world’s biggest challenges and support future leaders in STEM.

Schmidt Science Fellows, an initiative of Schmidt Sciences, delivered in partnership with the Rhodes Trust, identifies, develops, and amplifies the next generation of science leaders, by building a community of scientists and supporters of interdisciplinary science and leveraging this network to drive sector-wide change. The 2024 fellows consist of 17 nationalities across North America, Europe, and Asia.   

Nominated candidates undergo a rigorous selection process that includes a paper-based academic review with panels of experts in their home disciplines and final interviews with panels, including senior representatives from across many scientific disciplines and different business sectors.  

[y2fear]

Microsoft's Leap Towards Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing with Azure Quantum

[materialsscienceandengineering]

The electron is the basic unit of electricity, as it carries a single negative charge. This is what we're taught in high school physics, and it is overwhelmingly the case in most materials in nature. But in very special states of matter, electrons can splinter into fractions of their whole. This phenomenon, known as "fractional charge," is exceedingly rare, and if it can be corralled and controlled, the exotic electronic state could help to build resilient, fault-tolerant quantum computers. To date, this effect, known to physicists as the "fractional quantum Hall effect," has been observed a handful of times, and mostly under very high, carefully maintained magnetic fields. Only recently have scientists seen the effect in a material that did not require such powerful magnetic manipulation.

Read more.

[ramtracking]

Probing single electrons across 300-mm spin qubit wafers [ Qubit ]

Probing single electrons across 300-mm spin qubit wafers [News Summary] Building a fault-tolerant quantum computer will require vast numbers of physical qubits. For qubit technologies based on solid-state… While Moore’s Law has been a shockingly apt description of the processor development landscape for some time now—processing power doubles… SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 01, 2024–Nature has…

[sisiad]

Constant-overhead fault-tolerant quantum computation with reconfigurable atom arrays

http://dlvr.it/T6CBC5

[featurenews]

Australia news live: BHP offers $40bn Brazil dam settlement; $1bn public investment in Brisbane quantum computer

Mining company hopes to agree huge payout over Samarco disaster. Follow the day’s news live * Get our morning and afternoon news emails, free app or daily news podcast Police in Western Australia are investigating after a woman was found dead in her home south of Perth. At about 7:15am on Monday, police responded to a call at an address in Yangebup, a suburb about 25km south of central Perth, where they “located the woman deceased”. We founded this company on our shared conviction that quantum computing is the most profoundly world-changing technology that humans have discovered, and that to deliver on the promise of quantum computing you need a utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer. I’ve held this belief since I was a professor at The University of Queensland over 20 years ago, and our team at PsiQuantum has been working towards this goal for nearly a decade. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2024/apr/30/australia-news-live-domestic-violence-bhp-brazil-dam-brisbane-quantum-computer-labor-albanese-liberal-vic-nsw-qld-sydney-melbourne-brisbane?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr