Research team develops formula to perform quantum computing using conventional systems | Technologies

A 100% functional quantum computer is not yet available, although it is getting closer. However, the potential for computation based on this physics to unravel microbial dark matter (the genetic material of microorganisms that has yet to be uncovered), discover new drug molecules, identify every building block of a genome, or optimize a complex financial or manufacturing process, urgently needs shortcuts. Invest…

A 100% functional quantum computer is not yet available, although it is getting closer. However, the potential for computation based on this physics to unravel microbial dark matter (the genetic material of microorganisms that has yet to be uncovered), discover new drug molecules, identify every building block of a genome, or optimize a complex financial or manufacturing process, urgently needs shortcuts. BBVA researchers, which include a team specialized in this discipline with public and private sector participation, have achieved distributed quantum simulation using classical servers and open source programming that can be replicated by any institution without the need for a supercomputer or thin computer-based on exotic characteristics. from the subatomic world. That is, a way to perform quantum computing using modern technologies, accessible and accessible to everyone.

The physical world we perceive is a illusion, the shadows of Plato’s cave taken to the extreme. If we could jibarize ourselves to subatomic size, we would experience a dimension where we can be in two states at the same time (superposition), there is teleportation, energy is transferred without loss (superconductivity), there are flows without friction (superfluidity) and strange choreography marks the interaction particles (topological order).

Unraveling this entire universe would allow us to answer fundamental questions such as who we are and where we come from, as well as exploit its characteristics for practical applications such as quantum computing, with capabilities that cannot be achieved with classical computing. A computer capable of error-free execution of quantum algorithms is still a decade away, according to the most optimistic forecasts. Its main problems are noise (a simple change in microwaves or temperature can ruin the process) and coherence time, the microseconds during which a superposition of states is maintained, exponentially increasing processing power.

However, there is a shortcut, and this is the discovery of BBVA researchers. “We were able to simulate the execution of quantum algorithms using classical machines, scaling them up to a total computing power of 38 qubits (quantum bits) and with the expected result in the form of an ideal quantum computer,” summarizes Javier Recuenco, Head of BBVA CIB Innovation in Technical Architecture .

“By performing simulations using classical computers, we avoided the problems of coherence time and noise. Now I can run simulations for hours,” he explains, adding another fundamental element: “The algorithm grows as the number of qubits increases, and I need more power. All of this needs to be distributed in memory, and for this to work, we need a lot of it. The use of a distributed quantum simulator becomes necessary.”

The new system does not seek to surpass the capabilities of a fully fault-tolerant quantum computer, if that is a reality, but rather to take advantage of the benefits of quantum computing using the tools currently available, despite the limitations. “It has a very high cost,” admits Rekuenko, referring to the resources used to proof-of-concept and demonstrate the proposed method in the cloud, which in this case were provided by Amazon Web Service. They stayed at 38 qubits, but think it’s scalable.

A classical computer with 38 bits could only represent so many different states. However, the same number of qubits can simultaneously represent and manipulate 2³⁸ thanks to the property of superposition, which allows a qubit to be in state 0, state 1, or any combination of the two at the same time. Therefore, a 38-qubit quantum computation can represent approximately 274 billion different states simultaneously.

Distributed quantum simulation is being used for the first time in portfolio optimization, risk calculation, and shortest path finding in graphs—the classic problem of finding the optimal path between vertices or nodes. “But it can be applied in any field. Universities should be very interested, as well as the chemical or pharmaceutical industries. Or find new battery components,” explains the researcher.

One of its big advantages is that it does not require a supercomputer or a network of quantum devices. According to Diego Garcia Vaquero, director of architecture and co-investigator of the system, they started with devices with just eight gigabytes of RAM and reached a maximum of one terabit. A regular network that already exists in the cloud is sufficient. “And open source,” he clarifies. This premise is fundamental to facilitate the use of the developed simulation, which will be published in a detailed technical document so that it can be reproduced, the researchers said.

Another advantage of the simulation achieved is that, since it does not depend on unstable systems, it can be done in stages and set what Rekuenko calls “flags or intermediate checkpoints” in the process to see how the algorithm is progressing, as well as interweaving qubits . without the topological restrictions inherent in real quantum computers.

200 times faster

This line of quantum simulation research is being developed by companies such as Fujitsu, which is complementing these developments with the world’s largest supercomputers and quantum computers. Last February, the company announced the development of a new simulation technique, also distribution-based, that accelerates hybrid (quantum-classical) algorithms and achieves computational speeds 200 times faster than previous models.

In the case of quantum circuit computing using hybrid algorithms, larger problems require many qubits and days of processing. Simulations in materials and drug discovery can even take several hundred days.

Fujitsu technology allows simultaneous processing of a large number of repeatedly executed quantum circuit calculations, distributed over several groups. Fujitsu has also developed a way to simplify large-scale problems with less loss of precision using one of its quantum simulators. In one day, calculations are performed that would take more than six months using traditional methods.

Fujitsu believes that these models accelerate research into the practical applications of quantum computers in various fields and are applicable to real quantum computers.

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