Combining classical and quantum computing opens door to new discoveries


Date:
June 15, 2021
Source:
University of Waterloo
Summary:
Researchers have discovered a new and more efficient computing
method for pairing the reliability of a classical computer with
the strength of a quantum system.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Researchers have discovered a new and more efficient computing method
for pairing the reliability of a classical computer with the strength
of a quantum system.


==========================================================================
This new computing method opens the door to different algorithms
and experiments that bring quantum researchers closer to near-term
applications and discoveries of the technology.

"In the future, quantum computers could be used in a wide variety
of applications including helping to remove carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere, developing artificial limbs and designing more efficient pharmaceuticals," said Christine Muschik, a principal investigator at
the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and a faculty member in physics
and astronomy at the University of Waterloo.

The research team from IQC in partnership with the University of Innsbruck
is the first to propose the measurement-based approach in a feedback loop
with a regular computer, inventing a new way to tackle hard computing
problems. Their method is resource-efficient and therefore can use
small quantum states because they are custom-tailored to specific types
of problems.

Hybrid computing, where a regular computer's processor and a quantum
co- processor are paired into a feedback loop, gives researchers a more
robust and flexible approach than trying to use a quantum computer alone.

While researchers are currently building hybrid, computers based on
quantum gates, Muschik's research team was interested in the quantum computations that could be done without gates. They designed an algorithm
in which a hybrid quantum-classical computation is carried out by
performing a sequence of measurements on an entangled quantum state.

The team's theoretical research is good news for quantum software
developers and experimentalists because it provides a new way of thinking
about optimization algorithms. The algorithm offers high error tolerance,
often an issue in quantum systems, and works for a wide range of quantum systems, including photonic quantum co-processors.

Hybrid computing is a novel frontier in near-term quantum applications. By removing the reliance on quantum gates, Muschik and her team have
removed the struggle with finicky and delicate resources and instead,
by using entangled quantum states, they believe they will be able to
design feedback loops that can be tailored to the datasets that the
computers are researching in a more efficient manner.

"Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that
supercomputers can't, but they are still experimental and fragile,"
said Muschik.

This project is funded by CIFAR.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Waterloo. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. R. R. Ferguson, L. Dellantonio, A. Al Balushi, K. Jansen,
W. Du"r,
C. A. Muschik. Measurement-Based Variational Quantum
Eigensolver.

Physical Review Letters, 2021; 126 (22) DOI: 10.1103/
PhysRevLett.126.220501 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210615132210.htm

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