Chinese scientists achieve quantum computational advantage

[Beidou2020]

Chinese scientists achieve quantum computational advantage
Source: Xinhua| 2020-12-04 04:25:23|Editor: huaxia

HEFEI, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- A research team including renowned Chinese quantum physicist Pan Jianwei announced Friday a significant computing breakthrough, achieving quantum computational advantage.

The team established a quantum computer prototype, named "Jiuzhang," via which up to 76 photons were detected. The study was published in Science magazine online.

This achievement marks that China has reached the first milestone on the path to full-scale quantum computing -- a quantum computational advantage, also known as "quantum supremacy," which indicates an overwhelming quantum computational speedup.

No traditional computer can perform the same task in a reasonable amount of time, and the speedup is unlikely to be overturned by classical algorithmic or hardware improvements, according to the team.

In the study, Gaussian boson sampling (GBS), a classical simulation algorithm, was used to provide a highly efficient way of demonstrating quantum computational speedup in solving some well-defined tasks.

The average detected photon number by the prototype is 43, while up to 76 output photon-clicks were observed.

Jiuzhang's quantum computing system can implement large-scale GBS 100 trillion times faster than the world's fastest existing supercomputer.

The team also said the new prototype processes 10 billion times faster than the 53-qubit quantum computer developed by Google.

"Quantum computational advantage is like a threshold," said Lu Chaoyang, professor of the University of Science and Technology of China. "It means that, when a new quantum computer prototype's capacity surpasses that of the strongest traditional computer in handling a particular task, it proves that it will possibly make breakthroughs in multiple other areas."

The breakthrough is the result of 20 years of effort by Pan's team, which conquered several major technological stumbling blocks, including a high-quality photon source.

"For example, it is easy for us to have one sip of water each time, but it is difficult to drink just a water molecule each time," Pan said. "A high-quality photon source needs to 'release' just one photon each time, and each photon needs to be exactly the same, which is quite a challenge."

Compared with conventional computers, Jiuzhang is currently just a "champion in one single area," but its super-computing capacity has application potential in areas such as graph theory, machine learning and quantum chemistry, according to the team.

China Focus: Chinese scientists achieve quantum computational advantage - Xinhua | English.news.cn

www.xinhuanet.com

 

[scope]

Protect our scientists and researchers at all times. There's no doubt that the envious and hateful Caucasian psychopaths (five creepy eyes and their imperial goons) who are currently trying to kill China will try to kidnap, torture, or outright assassinate these great minds.

 

[DoTell]

Watch out, sanctions by dick countries are coming LOL

 

[TaiShang]

Watch out, sanctions by dick countries are coming LOL

Hopefully, more. This will speed up brain regain. The US and some anti-China countries were already losing their appeal due to their worsening economic and security environment. Nobody feels safe in a country where looting and armed violence by regular people and the police becomes a norm.

 

[Beidou2020]

Hopefully, more. This will speed up brain regain. The US and some anti-China countries were already losing their appeal due to their worsening economic and security environment. Nobody feels safe in a country where looting and armed violence by regular people and the police becomes a norm.

Without the Asian brains, these white countries are finished. Whites are not interested in science and engineering like in the past decades. Now the whites concentrate more on preserving their white supremacy rather than STEM education.

You see the white CEO, but all the science and engineering work is done by the Asian. Whites pretend they did the hard work and claim credit.

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1334600342999339010

 

[Han Patriot]

Physicists in China challenge Google’s ‘quantum advantage’

Photon-based quantum computer does a calculation that ordinary computers might never be able to do.

www.nature.com

Physicists in China challenge Google’s ‘quantum advantage’
Photon-based quantum computer does a calculation that ordinary computers might never be able to do.

 

[Rafeh]

This is indeed a major breakthrough. Gaussian boson sampling devices (a special case of general boson sampling model) were proposed a while back to solve those problems that belong to a class of problems known as sharp P (i.e. sharp P-hard).

The sharp P-hard problems are even harder than (or at least as hard) general NP-hard problems. Possibility of solving one of them in few minutes makes you wonder what else could be possible.

A problem of much lower complexity mainly finding the densest sub-graph in a relatively large graph was solved using the same Gaussian boson sampling two years ago but that was considered NP-hard and therefore far easier than this.

Boson sampling or more general approaches based on quantum computing and when appropriately combined with classical computing might help in the future in solving distributed dynamics and control problems that are based on some underlying graph like topology with having applications in both civilian areas as well as high tech future warfare (e.g. distributed sudden coordinated large scale attack on one or multiple sites involving massive number of autonomous warfare assets such as UCAVs, ground vehicles etc.).

There are other endless possibilities and application areas.

While lot of work is required towards that end, none the less this particular piece of work was very impressive.

 

[kankan326]

If I were American I would not like China either.

 

[TaiShang]

 

[Place Of Space]

What is this?

 

[TaiShang]

What is this?

The prototype?

微博

随时随地发现新鲜事！微博带你欣赏世界上每一个精彩瞬间，了解每一个幕后故事。分享你想表达的，让全世界都能听到你的心声！

m.weibo.cn

 

[bshifter]

If I were American I would not like China either.

good thing some of us aren't, this is a battle for quantum supremacy and we are the front runner

 

[shi12jun]

Quantum computers are technologies that change the game. Leading experts in these fields, the Chinese government will definitely protect

 

[F-22Raptor]

good thing some of us aren't, this is a battle for quantum supremacy and we are the front runner

This is simply not true. What China achieved here was a one off experiment. The photonic circuit is not programmable and can’t be used to solve real world problems.

Googles Sycamore quantum computer has already achieved quantum advantage and is programmable:


Now, however, Google’s quantum computer has achieved something that could have real-world applications: successfully simulating a simple chemical reaction. The feat points the way toward quantum chemistry, which could expand scientists’ understanding of molecular reactions and lead to useful discoveries, such as better batteries, new ways to make fertilizer and improved methods of removing carbon dioxide from the air.

Last year’s quantum superiority experiment was run on a chip dubbed Sycamore, which contained 53 superconducting quantum bits, or qubits. Chilled to near absolute zero, the qubits take on quantum-mechanical properties, allowing scientists to manipulate them in more complicated and useful ways than the simple “on/off” flows of current that make up the bits of classical computers. The hope is that one day, quantum computers will become powerful enough to quickly perform calculations that would take the lifetime of the universe for a classical computer to complete.

This quantum-chemistry experiment, which was described in the August 28 issue of the journal Science, relied on the same basic Sycamore design, though it only used 12 qubits. But it demonstrates the system’s versatility, says Ryan Babbush, the researcher in charge of developing algorithms for the Google project. “It shows that, in fact, this device is a completely programmable digital quantum computer that can be used for really any task you might attempt,” he says.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/googles-quantum-computer-achieves-chemistry-milestone/

You use computers to solve real world problems, not to run a race.