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A new algorithm that fast forwards simulations could bring greater use ability to current and near-term quantum computers, opening the way for applications to run past strict time limits that hamper many quantum calculations by Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Photo: CC0 Public Domain
"Quantum computers have a limited time to perform calculations before their useful quantum nature, which we call coherence, breaks down," said Andrew Sornborger of the Computer, Computational, and Statistical Sciences division at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and senior author on a paper announcing the research. "With a new algorithm we have developed and tested, we will be able to fast forward quantum simulations to solve problems that were previously out of reach."
Computers built of quantum components, known as qubits, can potentially solve extremely difficult problems that exceed the capabilities of even the most powerful modern supercomputers. Applications include faster analysis of large data sets, drug development, and unraveling the mysteries of superconductivity, to name a few of the possibilities that could lead to major technological and scientific breakthroughs in the near future...
In future work, the Los Alamos researchers plan to explore the limits of the VFF algorithm by increasing the number of qubits they fast forward, and checking the extent to which they can fast forward systems. The research was published September 18, 2020 in the journal npj Quantum Information.
Additional resources
Cristina Cîrstoiu et al, Variational fast forwarding for quantum simulation beyond the coherence time, npj Quantum Information (2020).
DOI: 10.1038/s41534-020-00302-0
Source: Phys.org
