#Less Quantum

[govindhtech]

Jones Polynomial: Quantum Hardware Performance Evaluation

A Tangled Benchmark: Jones Polynomial Quantum Hardware Scale Testing.

Quantum field theory and Jones polynomial

Quantinuum researchers devised an end-to-end quantum algorithm to estimate the Jones polynomial on the H2-2 quantum computer using hardware-aware optimisations and error-mitigation approaches.

The technique's Fibonacci braid representation and concentration on a DQC1-complete knot theory issue may provide it a quantum edge over more generic BQP formulations.

The researchers generated topologically identical braids with known polynomial values to provide a verifiable baseline for error analysis across noise models and circuit sizes.

Their findings suggest that quantum techniques may outperform classical methods for cases with over 2,800 braid crossings and gate fidelities above 99.99%.

Find a quantum edge where? Despite technology's constant change, engineers return to some issues. Instead of trying to fit the answer into a quantum machine, we may save time and effort by seeking for issues naturally connected to quantum physics and finding areas where quantum is more likely to be discovered.

A good example is topology. Quantinuum's worldview emphasises creating quantum research in physics-native, demonstrable topics. As opted to display progress step-by-step and not signal an untestable future.

We have lead the field in gate fidelities (across all zones), logical qubits, the first topological qubit, modelling the Icing model, validated RCS, and the first quantum processor beyond classical simulation during the last year. New Jones polynomials work contrasts theoretical complexity with hardware readiness, maintaining this trend.

In a new arXiv paper, Quantinuum researchers offer an end-to-end quantum method for calculating the Jones polynomial of knots, a knot theory root issue and putative quantum advantage discovery site. Real-world implementation of a quantum-native issue on Quantinuum's H2-2 quantum computer shows hardware-specific optimisations and algorithmic advances. The authors say this is more than a benchmark since it provides a framework for carefully finding and assessing near-term quantum advantage.

Knot Invariants to Quantum Circuits

Jones polynomials are topological invariants that assign polynomials to knots or links without deformation. Traditional approaches are computationally expensive, especially for knots with hundreds or thousands of crossings.

It has deep theoretical roots. Over twenty years ago, approximating the Jones polynomial at specified roots of unity was shown to be complete for complexity classes like BQP (bounded-error quantum polynomial time) and DQC1 (deterministic quantum computing with one clean qubit). In other words, quantum circuits are suited for this task. The study team says that the DQC1 version, based on Markov-closed braids, is advantageous since it requires “less quantum” resources but is harder for classical algorithms.

The Quantinuum technique implements both DQC1- and BQP-complete versions utilising the Fibonacci representation of braiding, a model that is roughly universal for quantum computing, using the fifth root of unity as the evaluation point.

Fully Compiled, Hardware-Optimized Pipeline

Using hardware-aware methods, the authors avoid generic circuit templates. A control-free, echo-verified Hadamard test is employed in their implementation. This optimised version reduces shot noise and two-qubit gates, the major source of error on most systems. The quantum circuit simulates a braid of three-qubit gates working on Fibonacci strings, selecting base states.

The team uses pairs of topologically connected circuits to avoid systematic phase shifts to solve coherence and phase defects with the "conjugate trick." They also use Fibonacci subspace structure to discover errors that delete samples that differ from predicted measurement symmetries.

Together, these optimisations allow researchers to scale up problem instances on NISQ devices beyond what was previously thought possible. With 4,000 shots per circuit and demonstrable error mitigation improvements, they analysed a 16-qubit, 340 two-qubit gate circuit representing a knot with 104 crossings in one demonstration.

Built-In Verification Benchmarking

An easily verifiable benchmark was a highlight of the endeavour. Since the Jones polynomial is link invariant, any two topologically similar braids must provide the same result. The researchers produced topologically identical braids with varied depths and diameters and compared the quantum and classical output to a specified value. This lets you study error scaling in connection to noise model, gate depth, and circuit size.

Less Quantum, More Benefit

The paper's fascinating title, “Less Quantum, More Advantage,” suggests a shift. Instead than chasing quantum advantage in the most powerful or generic forms, the team tackles a theoretically meaningful and classically tough problem that can be addressed with moderate quantum resources. They believe that the DQC1 version of the Jones polynomial yields better results than BQP while being less expressive.

A new Nature article on the study's “mind-blowing” knot theory-quantum physics relationship supports this perspective. Konstantinos Meichanetzidis of Quantinuum, who worked on this new study, highlighted how knot invariants may be employed as computational objectives and intrinsic accuracy checks in quantum hardware. Two circuits with the same knot representations indicate the algorithm is working.

As quantum computing moves beyond toy problems and hand-picked examples, verified and classically demanding benchmarks are needed. The paper asserts that the Jones polynomial is unique in its theoretical complexity, real-world application, and quantum architectural compatibility.

Instead of claiming supremacy today, the authors present a scholarly and transparent evaluation of when, how, and under what conditions a quantum algorithm may surpass traditional techniques. This is a substantial contribution that increases our knowledge of practical quantum advantage.

[feralkwe]

idk how else to explain it to people but it should be pretty fucking obvious why it is absolutely ludicrous to allow the united states fucking government to set the criteria as to who is and is not recognized as native/indigenous/ndn when they spent literal centuries trying to undermine and erase the fact that we exist at all.

it's no coincidence that some of the criteria involved in becoming federally recognized as a tribe requires documentation that the government actively worked to suppress. that they require the tracing of continuous existence back to colonial contact should tell you why it's a bullshit metric. that the fact that you have to have heaps of money to get federal recognition is something that you should take a long, hard look at before calling members of over 400 non-recognized tribes 'pretendians'.

the use of blood quantum as a measurement alone makes their authority null and void.

indigeneity is not about blood quantum or government permission. it is about family, culture, and community. i for one would appreciate it if non-natives fucked all the way off on this topic, and if fellow ndns would stop the infighting over it long enough to realize that all we're doing is perpetuating colonizer violence and genocide by allowing non-natives to set the definition of who we are and what we get to call ourselves.

fuck you. stop doing the colonizer's job for them.

[bucephaly]

Hi! quick question: if i have confirmed Cherokee ancestry (which I'm working on currently and likely do) even if it's a small amount, is it okay/not appropriation to identify as "two-spirit" (though i don't think that's super accurate in terms of Cherokee-specific traditions, but i think i have heard that cherokee gender roles tended to be more flexible- correct me if i'm wrong.) I'm definitely white + don't know much about Cherokee culture/what is acceptable in terms of being a part of the community.

Ok a big disclaimer that I'm also white and disconnected and this is a very complex topic. But I have looked into this some so I'll try to share what I've learned and ofc check the replies for if anyone has chimed in with corrections or added anything etc

'Two spirit' is a pan-native term used as an umbrella for the many distinct cultural 3rd [or 4th 5th +] genders that many native cultures have or had. I think the consensus I've seen is that it's distinct from just being native and LGBT. And you Have to be native to be 2spirit, there have definitely been nonnative appropriating it

I would say to be 2 spirit you would have to be involved enough in your culture and community to take on community roles according to the cultural 3rd etc gender. Like.. I'm trans and gay, but I'm culturally disconnected. I dont consider myself two spirit, because I'm not in those community roles because I'm disconnected. 2spirit means something specific and it means more than just being trans and native.

As for what the actual cherokee systems were, I'm not sure if I should share what little I know about that on a tumblr post, but I'll say not much of anything has survived to the present. And be careful if you do research it, as an author claiming falsely to be cherokee has written about cherokee 2spirit stuff before but they're a weirdo pretendian. So don't trust anything from a Qwo-li Driscoll.

But yea basically 2spirit isn't just 'LGBT native' and ive seen lots of reconnecting people go 'oh I'm native? I can use this cool native-only term now!' As if it's just a fun thing for natives only just to look cooler or smth, it has more meaning than that and most of it is specific to the culture.

As always, native folks feel free to chime in in the comments

[inbabylontheywept]

Kevin vs. Intro to Quantum

Our first suspicion of Kevin was that he had, somehow, cheated his way up to this course. He just seemed perpetually confused, and strangely antagonistic of the professor. The weirdest example of this was when he asked what an ion was (in a third year class?), and was informed that it referred to any positively or negatively charged particle. It would have been strange enough to ask that in a senior level electrical engineering course, but his reply of "Either? That doesn't sound right" sealed him in as a well known character in the class of 19 people.

The real tipping point in our perception of him was during a lecture where the professor mentioned practical uses for a neutron beam, and Kevin asked if a beam could be made out of some other neutral material. When asked "Like what?", he replied "An atom with all of its electrons removed." When we pointed out that the protons would make that abomination extremely positively charged, he just replied with "So what if we removed those too?" and then was baffled when we informed him that would just be neutrons.

That's high school level chemistry. Not knowing it was so incredibly strange that I felt like something was off, so I waited until after class and asked him if he'd like to grab lunch. He accepted, we chatted, and I finally began to get a sense of his origin story.

See, Kevin wasn't a junior/senior year electrical engineer like the rest of us. Kevin was, in fact, three notable things: A business major, a sophomore, and a hardcore Catholic. All three of those are essential to understanding his scenario.

What had begun all of this was actually a conflict with Kevin and his roommate. Kevin frequently had his fundamental belief in Absolute Good, Absolute Bad, and Absolute Anything pushed back on by his roommate, who was in STEM. Said roommate kept invoking quantum mechanics as his proof against Absolute Knowledge. Kevin had gotten tired of having something that he didn't understand thrown at his beliefs, so he decided to take a quantum course to settle things once and for all.

Despite not having any of the pre-reqs.

He'd actually tried to take quantum for physicists first, but the school's physics department wouldn't let him. It's actually pretty strictly regulated, because it is a mandatory class for physics majors, so they limit who enters in order to make sure all the future physicists can grab a seat. However, because the engineering department's introductory quantum course is not mandatory, there aren't really any built in requirements for the class. It's just assumed that nobody would actually try to take it until their at least third year because doing so would the be the mental equivalent to slamming your nuts in the door. Just, pure suffering for no good reason.

Apparently, the counselors had tried to talk him out of it, but if Kevin was one thing, it was stubborn. He'd actually had to sign some papers basically saying "I was warned that this is incredibly stupid, but I refused to listen" in order to take the class.

He was actually pretty nice, if currently unaware of how bad he'd just fucked up. I paid for the lunch, wished him the best in the class, and reported back to the discord me and about eight other people in the class had been using. We'd all been curious about this guy's story, but now that I had the truth, I could share it with the world.

Feelings were mixed. Some people thought he was going to drop out any minute now. Others thought that he wouldn't, be also that convincing him to drop now, while he still could, was the only ethical thing. Others figured that a policy of non-interference was best. The counselors couldn't dissuade him, and if we tried to do the same, he'd probably just think it was STEM elitism trying to guard its little clubhouse. He'd figure out how hard things were, or he'd fail. Either way, it would help him learn more about the world.

We wound up taking the approach of non-interference. If nothing else, understanding his origins gave us more patience when he asked bizarre questions. He wasn't trying to waste our time, he was just trying to cram three years of pre-reqs into a one semester course. He did get a little bit combative sometimes, and we could tell that he was really wracking his brain to try and find some sort of contradiction or error that he could use to bring the whole thing down, but he never could. He just didn't understand it well enough to have a chance at poking holes in it.

First test came by, and he bombed it. Completely unprepared. He'd taken Calculus I, but he didn't know how to do integrals yet. Worse, he was far past the drop date. I imagine most people in his shoes would've stopped struggling. They'd realize they were fucked and just let themselves fail, at least salvaging their other classes grades in the process. Why waste resources on an unwinnable battle?

Kevin didn't ask questions like that. If he was stupid enough to try it, he was gonna be stupid enough to finish it. God bless him.

He invited me to lunch after the test and said that the class was more fascinating than he'd ever imagined, but he didn't know if he'd be able to pass it. He asked if I could help, and I said "Maybe." I brought the request to the discord, and from the eight people I got three volunteers who admired this dork's tenacity. He was in over his head, miles over his head, but we admired his fighting spirit and were willing to bust our asses to see if we could get this guy to pass the class.

Some of the stuff was just extra homework we gave to the guy. We told him he needed to learn integrals, stat. We sent him some copies of basic software that can be used to teach the basics of linear circuit equations, and he practiced that game like it was HALO. Just, hours sunk into it.

We were very impressed.

He was still scrabbling for air at just the surface level of the class, but he'd gone from abysmal failure to lingering on the boundary between life and death. Other people in the class started to learn about Kevin's origin story, and our little circle of four volunteer tutors grew to six. Every day, he had someone trying to help him either catch up in some way, or finish that week's homework. He'd gone from being seen as a nuisance that wasted class time to the underdog mascot.

He was getting twelve hours of personal tutoring a week, on top of three hours of classes, on top of six hours of office hours, on top of the coursework. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this kid was doing 40 hours a week just trying to pass this one single class.

Second test comes around and he gets a 60. He's ecstatic. We're ecstatic. Kid's too young to take out drinking so we just order a pizza and cheer like he just won gold at the Olympics.

After that second test, things hit another tipping point. With so much catch-up under his belt, he was able to focus a lot more on the actual material for the class. A borderline cinematic moment happened when I was trying to get ahead on the homework so that I could put more hours in on my senior project. Nobody else had finished it yet because it wasn't due for another week, nobody else knew how to do it, and when I went to the professor's office hours, Kevin was there. The professor was trying to help me, but I was still struggling. After leaving the office, I got a text from Kevin asking me to hop onto zoom.

Kevin had finished it earlier, because Kevin starts all of his homework the moment its assigned in order to make sure that he can get it done. He'd finished it the day before, and was able to walk me through it.

From student, to teacher. I'm not exaggerating when I say that he probably saved me eight hours on that assignment. I could've kissed him.

Final comes around. As soon as we're done, we six ask Kevin how he did. He's nervous, there's so much new material for him in this class that his retention hasn't been great. Us six are also a little stressed: We're going to pass the class, but the final was hard.

We wait.

We wait.

We wait.

Table with final scores, and overall scores is posted, curve included. From our class of 19 people, 4 withdrew within the deadline, 4 failed, 1 got a C, 8 got B's, and 2 got A's. We can see that the curve for a C is set at 59.2% overall.

We call Kevin. He's crying. End score, 59.2%. Teacher curved the C just to him.

It's a week into winter break so we can't gather the forces around for a party like last time, but we're all losing our shit. Kevin's losing his shit. He can't believe how stupid he was to try this course, he can't believe that six people busted their ass just to make sure he didn't die, and he can't believe that the professor basically just passed him out of effort alone.

He says it's the stupidest thing he's ever done, and while I doubt that, it was outrageously stupid. And yet, I've never been so invested in a fellow student before. I'm prouder of Kevin's C than I am of my own B. I walked on sunshine for weeks after getting the news. I still think about him sometimes. It's been two years, and I still google him, just to see that he's doing well. And he is. Man's a machine. I like to think of how many people this little pinball has bounced off in his life, how many impressions he's made.

I can't be the only person cheering for him. There must be an army of us, proudly watching babybird fly.

[the-ghost-rat]

I love how ppl are upset the third g3 mh movie wasnt greenlit meanwhile im here just -

“Clap if you care…moving on.”

[vaguely-concerned]

hawke and varric best friends feelings have returned to eat my brain. my one (1) fear for veilguard currently is varric not mentioning hawke much at all or there being the implication they've drifted apart. I literally need one line of varric going 'hawke is keeping the home fires burning (and sending me so many dumb showerthought letters along the way <3)' in so many words and then it's going to be okay for me. it's alright if varric dies over the course of the story (for the drama you understand) but if he and hawke are not best friends anymore I will die

[skyriderwednesday]

(wip) Alas, Rusty doll is giving me grief (I've tried to do his arms like three times and I've hated literally every attempt), so Pearl will have to wait a bit longer for her boyfriend. I gave him hair though.

[lostinthewoodsomewhere]

Taking a break from doodling Jesse by ...uhhhhh... doodling Beth Wilder...

(and a nick, cause I love these two!)

[cannibal-nightmares]

run out of drawing ideas? draw sam beckett as literally any of your blorbos. anything's canon.

[bowlingrally]

do you think florys spent the hours he lived after kian's death trying to prove reality wrong. do you think he ran around that forest for an hour trying to find scraps of leopard print fabric or chunks of golden hair. do you think he eventually stopped running and he tried to reason with himself that he was starting to accept the truth but he was actually just tired & scared he wouldn't be able to hear kian's voice if he wasn't actively listening. do you think he ever stopped deluding himself. do you think he died thinking that kian was going to be okay. do you think th

[slumbering-shadows]

Naturally flavored with other natural flavors

[taraxippos]

The thing about 'alien invasion because the home planet is doomed' media is I always just feel like a civilization who has attained interstellar travel and associated technologies would probably have more pragmatic options than an invasion of the nearest inhabited planet. Like it just feels unlikely that the Earth is the only reasonable option worth all the additional effort of a hostile takeover at that point. And that's just based within the presumption that spacefaring civilizations would be colonialists who think nothing of genocide, which really isn't a given.

[hballegro]

if i were a stronger man id make a quantum leap video essay

[sidewalk-scrawls]

I fucking love the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics because it suggests that whenever a quantum event with multiple possible outcomes occurs, the universe splits into different branches, each representing one of those outcomes. If you follow this theory to its logical extreme, this means that, across an infinite number of parallel realities, there's a reality where every single thing that can happen has happened.

In other words, according to the many-worlds theory, there is a universe where everything is exactly the same, except a walrus knocked on your door this morning.

[antiparticular]

I think im a fucking james bond guy now. what the fuck. just watched skyfall and I'm enraptured. I'm such a sucker for unapologetic ridiculous over the top action scenes.

[problemcore]

JADE ??????????????