The Week in Quantum Computing - July 24th
Issue #145
The Week in Quantum Computing. Brought to you by Sergio Gago (@piratecto).
Quick Recap
The Quantum Spain project has successfully delivered the first 5-qubit quantum chip in Spain. Quobly raised €19 million in seed funding to develop quantum processors based on silicon spin qubits and SQA a series A for a secure “quantum blockchain” development. EeroQ finally breaks its silence and unveils their chip architecture. While Russia has presented their first 16-qubit QPU.
Quantum computing's potential impact on energy-saving technologies is also making headlines. Quantum computers could lead to advancements in electric vehicle batteries, optimized logistics routing, and more efficient solar cells, further enhancing energy efficiency. On the market front, the global quantum computing market is projected to surpass USD 6,528.8 million by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 32.1%. The growing quantum effort worldwide, with investments exceeding $36 billion, indicates the increasing global interest in quantum science and technology.
Q-CTRL partnered with Oxford Quantum Circuits to improve algorithmic performance on quantum hardware, while SoftBank unveiled a research initiative with Keio University to explore quantum computing's potential in mobile technologies and IoT.
Also a great week on the research front. from advances in QAOAs and VQEs (and where they can be useful), as well as how to solve independent set problems with neutral atoms. Read on!
The Week in Quantum Computing
The good, the bad, and the maybe’s of quantum finance
Recent advancements in quantum computation have attracted attention from across the spectrum of the corporate world, especially top financial conglomerates. With the likes of JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs investing heavily into quantum computation, we explore the potential of this new technology in finance, investigating how it can revolutionalise industries such as algorithmic trading and risk management.
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July 16, 2023 at 10:30AM
Successful first delivery for the Quantum Spain project to build the first Spanish quantum computer – Qilimanjaro
The Qilimanjaro-GMV joint venture has completed the first milestone in the construction of the quantum computer at BSC, which consists of remote access to a 5-qubit quantum chip.
This chip is operational at Qilimanjaro’s Quantum Computing Technology laboratory at the Institut de Fisica d’Altes Energies (IFAE) in Barcelona and is, in fact, the first quantum computer located in Spanish territory.
This quantum computer has been fully built and launched by the joint venture of Spanish companies Qilimanjaro and GMV, using European technology in all its components.
Access to this chip will allow the Spanish “Quantum Spain” community, coordinated by BSC, to carry out the first executions of quantum circuits under complete Spanish control.
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July 16, 2023 at 02:30PM
Paper: Can Variational Quantum Algorithms Demonstrate Quantum Advantages? Time Really Matters
Applying low-depth quantum neural networks (QNNs), variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) are both promising and challenging in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era: Despite its remarkable progress, criticisms on the efficiency and feasibility issues never stopped. However, whether VQAs can demonstrate quantum advantages is still undetermined till now, which will be investigated in this paper. First, we will prove that there exists a dependency between the parameter number and the gradient-evaluation cost when training QNNs. Noticing there is no such direct dependency when training classical neural networks with the backpropagation algorithm, we argue that such a dependency limits the scalability of VQAs. Second, we estimate the time for running VQAs in ideal cases, i.e., without considering realistic limitations like noise and reachability. We will show that the ideal time cost easily reaches the order of a 1-year wall time. Third, by comparing with the time cost using classical simulation of quantum circuits, we will show that VQAs can only outperform the classical simulation case when the time cost reaches the scaling of 100-102 years. Finally, based on the above results, we argue that it would be difficult for VQAs to outperform classical cases in view of time scaling, and therefore, demonstrate quantum advantages, with the current workflow. Since VQAs as well as quantum computing are developing rapidly, this work does not aim to deny the potential of VQAs. The analysis in this paper provides directions for optimizing VQAs, and in the long run, seeking more natural hybrid quantum-classical algorithms would be meaningful
Full-text links: Download:
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July 16, 2023 at 02:30PM
The dual-pronged energy-saving potential of quantum computers
Quantum computers, with their superior computational capabilities, can expedite the discovery and development of new energy-saving technologies. For instance, they could lead to the creation of more efficient electric vehicle batteries, a better understanding of the Haber Bosch process for ammonia production, energy savings through optimized routing in logistics, and the development of more efficient solar cells.
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July 17, 2023 at 01:30PM
Quobly Raises €19m for Silicon Quantum Processor Development in a massive seed round.
Quobly, previously Siquance, has raised €19m in a seed funding round to develop quantum processors based on silicon spin qubits.
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July 17, 2023 at 01:30PM
How to introduce quantum computers without slowing economic growth
The race is on to develop commercial quantum computers. The breakthroughs they promise — new ways of simulating materials, optimizing processes and improving machine learning — could transform society, just as today’s digital computers have done. But the route to delivering economic benefits is uncertain. The digital revolution took decades and required businesses to replace expensive equipment and completely rethink how they operate. The quantum computing revolution could be much more painful1.
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July 17, 2023 at 05:30PM
Quantum Computing Market Size to Surpass USD 6,528.8 Million by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 32.1%
Pune, India, July 17, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Fortune Business Insights, global quantum computing market size was valued at USD 717.3 Million in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 928.8 Million in 2023 to USD 6,528.8 Million by 2030, exhibiting a CAGR of 32.
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July 17, 2023 at 05:30PM
Preparing for a quantum leap: Researchers chart future for use of quantum computing in particle physics
Last week, researchers published an important white paper identifying activities in particle physics where burgeoning quantum-computing technologies could be applied. The paper, authored by experts from CERN, DESY, IBM Quantum and over 30 other organizations, is now available as a preprint on arXiv.
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July 18, 2023 at 10:30AM
Q-CTRL and Oxford Quantum Circuits Partner to Improve Algorithmic Performance on Quantum Hardware
TOKYO, JAPAN, July 18, 2023/EINPresswire.com/ -- Q-CTRL, a global leader in developing useful quantum technologies through quantum control infrastructure software, today announced a partnership with Oxford Quantum Circuits (OQC), a quantum hardware manufacturer.
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July 18, 2023 at 02:30PM
Truist to Bring Quantum Computing to Consumer Banking
Scott Case, chief information officer at Truist, emphasized the bank’s commitment to investing in new technologies that can transform banking and solve complex problems. He cited IBM’s leadership in quantum computing, and said the collaboration would be instrumental in maximizing the use of these technologies.
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July 18, 2023 at 08:30PM
SQE, Quantum-Secure Blockchain Platform, Announces Launch and Series A Funding Round
SQE founders announced that the company has started its Series A funding round for its quantum-secure blockchain business.
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July 19, 2023 at 09:30AM
Paper: Hardness of the Maximum Independent Set Problem on Unit-Disk Graphs and Prospects for Quantum Speedups
Rydberg atom arrays are among the leading contenders for the demonstration of quantum speedups. Motivated by recent experiments with up to 289 qubits [Ebadi et al., Science 376, 1209 (2022)] we study the maximum independent set problem on unit-disk graphs with a broader range of classical solvers beyond the scope of the original paper. We carry out extensive numerical studies and assess problem hardness, using both exact and heuristic algorithms. We find that quasi-planar instances with Union-Jack-like connectivity can be solved to optimality for up to thousands of nodes within minutes, with both custom and generic commercial solvers on commodity hardware, without any instance-specific fine-tuning. We also perform a scaling analysis, showing that by relaxing the constraints on the classical simulated annealing algorithms considered in Ebadi et al., our implementation is competitive with the quantum algorithms. Conversely, instances with larger connectivity or less structure are shown to display a time-to-solution potentially orders of magnitudes larger. Based on these results we propose protocols to systematically tune problem hardness, motivating experiments with Rydberg atom arrays on instances orders of magnitude harder (for established classical solvers) than previously studied.
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July 20, 2023 at 12:30AM
A Brief Look at Qubit Growth and the Rise of Quantum Computing
Much of the excitement in quantum computing comes from the “qubit count”, the number of qubits a device has. Instead, a traditional microprocessor’s number of transistors (whether a 6502* or the latest Intel Pentium) is often considered a proxy for power. We outline the growth in the number of qubits showing the rising number of qubits with time across the range of qubit technologies. Naturally, the trend is towards increasing qubit count, but we plot the different technologies against each other to highlight the current and past developments.
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July 20, 2023 at 12:30AM
A quantum cybersecurity agenda for Europe
Cybersecurity plays an important role in Europe’s economic security. However, advances in quantum computing create a new set of challenges that compromise the level of security of everything happening online.
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July 20, 2023 at 12:30AM
A quantum radar that outperforms classical radar by 20%
A research team at Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, CNRS recently developed a quantum radar that could significantly outperform all existing radars based on classical approaches. This new radar, introduced in a paper published in Nature Physics, concurrently measures an entangled probe and the idler microwave photon states occurring once this probe reflects from target objects, merging with thermal noise.
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July 20, 2023 at 06:30PM
Building a quantum computer in reverse – EeroQ
Scaling has long been recognized as a major hurdle for quantum processors, along with a need for advances in quantum error correction and the control of quantum gates.
However, while rapid progress has been made in the latter two, far less progress has been made in the development of a CMOS-based scalable system, where the devices and qubits are sufficiently identical that the number of external control signals increases slowly with the number of qubits.
Therefore the development, and taping-out, of a CMOS-based scaling architecture has taken on new significance, as scaling has become the most critical remaining task for building a commercially viable quantum computer.
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July 21, 2023 at 01:30AM
Russian Company Presents 16-qubit Quantum Computing QPU to Vladimir Putin
Today at the Forum for Future Technologies in Russia, President Vladimir Putin was shown through the country's current state in quantum computing — and it might be more developed than many would initially believe.
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July 21, 2023 at 07:30AM
SoftBank eyes quantum computing potential
SoftBank Corp unveiled a research initiative with Japanese institution Keio University to explore business uses for quantum computing, with the company eyeing research into how mobile technologies and IoT can contribute in this emerging area.
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July 21, 2023 at 09:30AM
Overview of Quantum Initiatives Worldwide 2023
The global quantum effort leading to research and innovation in quantum science and technology is continually rising with current worldwide investments exceeding $36 billion. Overall, the global quantum technology market is projected to reach $106 billion by 2040 [1].
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July 21, 2023 at 12:30PM
Deep learning of quantum entanglement from incomplete measurements
The quantification of the entanglement present in a physical system is of paramount importance for fundamental research and many cutting-edge applications. Now, achieving this goal requires either a priori knowledge on the system or very demanding experimental procedures such as full state tomography or collective measurements. Here, we demonstrate that, by using neural networks, we can quantify the degree of entanglement without the need to know the full description of the quantum state. Our method allows for direct quantification of the quantum correlations using an incomplete set of local measurements. Despite using undersampled measurements, we achieve a quantification error of up to an order of magnitude lower than the state-of-the-art quantum tomography. Furthermore, we achieve this result using networks trained using exclusively simulated data. Last, we derive a method based on a convolutional network input that can accept data from various measurement scenarios and perform, to some extent, independently of the measurement device.
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July 21, 2023 at 07:30PM
Hybrid approach for solving real-world bin packing problem instances using quantum annealers
Efficient packing of items into bins is a common daily task. Known as Bin Packing Problem, it has been intensively studied in the field of artificial intelligence, thanks to the wide interest from industry and logistics.
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July 21, 2023 at 08:30PM
Quantum.Tech Europe - Benchmarking Report
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July 21, 2023 at 09:30PM
Paper: Exponential Qubit Reduction in Optimization for Financial Transaction Settlement
We extend the qubit-efficient encoding presented in [Tan et al., Quantum 5, 454 (2021)] and apply it to instances of the financial transaction settlement problem constructed from data provided by a regulated financial exchange. Our methods are directly applicable to any QUBO problem with linear inequality constraints. Our extension of previously proposed methods consists of a simplification in varying the number of qubits used to encode correlations as well as a new class of variational circuits which incorporate symmetries, thereby reducing sampling overhead, improving numerical stability and recovering the expression of the cost objective as a Hermitian observable. We also propose optimality-preserving methods to reduce variance in real-world data and substitute continuous slack variables. We benchmark our methods against standard QAOA for problems consisting of 16 transactions and obtain competitive results. Our newly proposed variational ansatz performs best overall. We demonstrate tackling problems with 128 transactions on real quantum hardware, exceeding previous results bounded by NISQ hardware by almost two orders of magnitude.
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July 22, 2023 at 04:30PM