Chinese Scientists Make Breakthrough in Quantum Computing

[JSCh]

Scientists develop world leading quantum computing simulation
By Zhang Hui Source:Global Times Published: 2019/11/5 22:33:40

A visitor watches a screen introducing quantum computation at a conference in Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang Province in October 2015. Photo: VCG

When Google's scientists claimed that they had built world's first quantum computer with its calculation ability beyond today's most powerful supercomputers, a group of Chinese scientists developed a method in simulating quantum computing, and its test performance has reached world's leading levels.

The achievement was published on Monday on the international physics journal Physical Review Letters, entitled "General-Purpose Quantum Circuit Simulator with Projected Entangled-Pair States and the Quantum Supremacy Frontier," Wu Junjie, a leading expert QUANTA team from the National University of Defense Technology, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The team proposed a method to realize an efficient simulator of quantum algorithms, and they applied the method to study random quantum circuits, which can quantify precisely the memory usage and the time requirements of random quantum circuits. The results can work as a theoretical benchmarking baseline for achieve quantum supremacy.

Wu said quantum computers' calculation ability has outperformed all supercomputers, and achieving quantum supremacy is a milestone in quantum computing development.

Assessing this supremacy needs an efficient quantum computing simulator, which will also serve as a significant tool to accelerate scientific research on quantum computing, Liu Yong, a member of the QUANTA team, said.

The method was demonstrated on China's Tianhe-2 supercomputer, Wu said.

Google last week claimed that it had achieved a "quantum supremacy" milestone, which means that its computer performed a designated mathematical calculation in 200 seconds that a conventional computer would need 10,000 years to complete.

Google's research on quantum supremacy also quoted Chinese achievement, Wu said.

China is also developing its own quantum computers. Scientists from Hefei-based University of Science and Technology of China have independently developed the country's first control system for future quantum computers in 2018.

The country is also investing in a national laboratory for quantum information science in Hefei, East China's Anhui Province, due to open next year, which "costs $10 billion," according to media reports.

The US has long dominated the field with support from tech giants like Google. But China "has closed the technological gap" with the US in quantum information science, according to a commission affiliated to the US Congress.

 

[JSCh]

Quantum Computer Made from Photons Achieves a New Record
The limited system made a notable advancement on the road to beating classical machines

By Daniel Garisto on November 6, 2019

In the race to create a quantum computer that can outperform a classical one, a method using particles of light (photons) has taken a promising step forward. Jian-Wei Pan and Chao-Yang Lu, both at the University of Science and Technology of China, and their colleagues improved a quantum computing technique called boson sampling to achieve a record 14 detected photons in its final results. Previous experiments were capped at only five detected photons. The increase in the number of the particles is small, but it amounts to a 6.5-billion-fold gain in “state space,” or the number of ways in which a computer system can be configured. The larger the state space, the less likely a classical computer can perform the same calculation.



...

Quantum Computer Made from Photons Achieves a New Record - Scientific American

 

[JSCh]

↑↑↑
Synopsis: Quantum Computers Approach Milestone for Boson Sampling
December 18, 2019

Experiments show that when enough photons travel through a complex optical network, only a quantum computer can efficiently sample the range of possible outcomes.

C.-Y. Lu/University of Science and Technology of China

A team of researchers has sent 20 indistinguishable photons through an interferometer and measured how 14 of them emerged from the other side. The feat may seem unimportant, but it signifies a milestone in the field of quantum computation: approaching the point where a classical system cannot feasibly mimic a quantum system.

Solving the boson sampling problem means predicting the distribution of a set of input bosons—normally photons—after they have undergone some transformation procedure with multiple possible outcomes, or “modes.” The most efficient way to sample the range of possible distributions is to embody the calculation physically by experiment. In that case, the photons’ quantum behavior is included intrinsically as they negotiate the setup. Until recently, boson sampling experiments involved a handful of photons and fewer than 16 possible modes, offering at most a few tens of thousands of possible output configurations. Calculating the full range of outcomes in such a scenario is trivial even for simple classical computers, making it a poor test of the power of quantum-computational approaches.

Now, Jian-Wei Pan and Chao-Yang Lu, from the University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, and their collaborators have created an optical system that processes up to 20 photons. The photons are directed simultaneously through a 60-mode interferometer composed of hundreds of beam splitters and are measured using 60 photon-counting detectors. After unavoidable losses in the system, the researchers found that they could routinely detect up to 14 photons per run, yielding an output with 3.7x10^14 degrees of freedom. This enormous possibility space—ten orders of magnitude greater than that achieved previously—is sampled and validated by the team’s inherently quantum-computational setup in a matter of minutes; a classical supercomputer would take hours to verify the results.

This research is published in Physical Review Letters.


–Marric Stephens
Marric Stephens is a freelance science writer based in Bristol, UK.

Correction (18 December 2019): The teaser of the article incorrectly stated that 20 photons are required to demonstrate a quantum advantage for the boson sampling problem using the method described in the story. It is not yet known whether the same advantage could be achieved with a smaller number of input photons.

Boson Sampling with 20 Input Photons and a 60-Mode Interferometer in a 1014-Dimensional Hilbert Space
Hui Wang, Jian Qin, Xing Ding, Ming-Cheng Chen, Si Chen, Xiang You, Yu-Ming He, Xiao Jiang, L. You, Z. Wang, C. Schneider, Jelmer J. Renema, Sven Höfling, Chao-Yang Lu, and Jian-Wei Pan

Phys. Rev. Lett. 123, 250503 (2019)

Published December 18, 2019​

Physics - Synopsis: Quantum Computers Approach Milestone for Boson Sampling

 

[JSCh]

USTC Experimentally Verifies the Relation between Robustness of Entanglement and Topological phases
[2020-01-15]

Academician Guo Guangcan’s group has made a new advance in the research of quantum walks: Li Chuanfeng, Han Yongjian, Xu Xiaoye and their colleagues firstly proposed and experimentally demonstrated that the robustness of entanglement in quantum walks is dramatically different for the distinct topological phases, and can then be used to reveal the topological phases and their transitions. The research results were published on January 14th in Optica, a flagship journal of the Optical Society of America.

Quantum entanglement has been shown to play a key role in quantum information processing such as quantum metrology, quantum key distribution, and quantum computing. While establishing the relation between the topological properties of systems and the robustness of entanglement is a critical problem in quantum information, addressing it requires not only quantifying the entanglement existed in the systems, but also the complete classification of the topological phases. Quantum walks provide a powerful platform to explore this relation.

After the first direct measurement of bulk topological invariants [Phys. Rev. Lett. 120, 260501 (2018)] and the observation of the entanglement dynamics between the spin and the spatial degrees of freedom in quantum walks [Optica 5, 1136-1140 (2018)], Li Chuanfeng’s team directly verified the relation between the topology and the robustness of entanglement. First, research group theoretically predicted that the entanglement is invariant under the perturbations of a control parameter in the non-trivial topological phases while it is extremely sensitive in the trivial topological phases. Then by varying the control parameters of the system, they experimentally observed the distinct robustness of entanglement in the quantum walks with different topological phases, which can be used to detect the phase transition points. The experimental results take a step forward in establishing the universal relation between the many-body topological systems and the robustness of entanglement, which will certainly deepen our understanding of the many-body topological systems and further promote the development of quantum coding and quantum error correction.

Reviewers highly evaluated this work: In my view, this work is novel with high impact for both theoretical aspects and future development of quantum information processing.

The first author of the article is Wang Qinqin, a doctoral student of CAS key lab of quantum information. The work was funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Anhui Province and the National Postdoctoral Program for Innovative Talents.

Experimental results for revealing the topological phases and their transitions. Image by Li Chuanfeng’s team.


http://en.ustc.edu.cn/2020/0115/c5365a412499/page.htm

 

[JSCh]

Introducing Paddle Quantum: How Baidu’s Deep Learning Platform PaddlePaddle Empowers Quantum Computing

BY SYNCED
2020-05-27

The idea of synergizing quantum mechanics with computation theory – two of the most fundamental scientific breakthroughs throughout human history that barely intersect at any point of their long history – has eventually led to the birth of quantum computing. Thanks to the applications of striking quantum-mechanical features such as superposition, entanglement and interferences in information processing tasks, quantum computing promises great potential for supercharging artificial intelligence (AI) applications compared to binary-based classical computers. Meanwhile, advanced technologies such as deep learning algorithms are playing an increasingly critical role in the development of quantum research.

Since Baidu announced the establishment of Institute for Quantum Computing in March 2018, one of our primary goals is to build bridges between quantum computing and AI. We are proud to announce Paddle Quantum, a quantum machine learning development toolkit that can help scientists and developers quickly build and train quantum neural network models and provide advanced quantum computing applications.

“From now on, researchers in the quantum field can use the Paddle Quantum to develop quantum artificial intelligence, and our deep learning enthusiasts have a shortcut to learning quantum computing,” said Runyao Duan, Director of Baidu Quantum Computing Institute, at the Baidu Deep Learning Developer Conference Wave Summit 2020.

In addition to the release of Paddle Quantum, we have also announced seven new tools along with 27 improved features for the upgrade of PaddlePaddle, which is seeing strong adoption with over 1.9 million developers. As of May 2020, over 84,000 enterprises have used PaddlePaddle to create more than 230,000 models.

“Now is an unprecedented opportunity for the development of PaddlePaddle given the rise of industrial intelligence and the acceleration of AI-powered infrastructure. We will continue to embrace the open-source spirit, drive technological innovation, and partner with developers to advance deep learning and AI technologies and speed up the process of industrial intelligence,” said Baidu CTO Haifeng Wang.

Haifeng Wang​

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Introducing Paddle Quantum: How Baidu’s Deep Learning Platform PaddlePaddle Empowers Quantum Computing - Synced

 

[JSCh]

 

[JSCh]

Chinese researchers expect quantum leap in computing, challenging Google's supremacy
Source: Global Times Published: 2020/8/26 14:58:42

Pan Jianwei Photo: Xinhua

Chinese quantum computing researchers recently disclosed that a 60-qubit superconductivity quantum computing system with 99.5 percent fidelity could be achieved this year, and in 10 years, the system could evolve into a million-qubit level with a 99.8 percent fidelity, equivalent to, if not better than, its Google counterpart.

Zhu Xiaobo, a professor with the Shanghai-based Institute of Advanced Studies affiliated with University of Science and Technology of China, made the remarks on Tuesday, Shanghai news website Thepaper.cn reported.

The challenges of quantum computing development do not lie in the number of qubit, but it is the operation and control of each qubit that determines how advanced the system is, said Zhu, who is also in charge of the quantum computing work with the research team led by Chinese leading quantum physicist Pan Jianwei,.

US tech giant Google announced a breakthrough in October 2019 - using the company's state-of-the-art quantum computer, called Sycamore, Google has claimed "quantum supremacy" over the most powerful supercomputers in the world by solving problems considered virtually impossible for normal machines.

The Google quantum computer completed the complex computation in 200 seconds. That same calculation would take even the most powerful supercomputers approximately 10,000 years to finish, the team of researchers, led by John Martinis, an experimental physicist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, wrote in their study published in Nature magazine on October 23.

Zhu considered this breakthrough by Google a "really substantial one" in recent years, which is enabled by a 53-qubit superconductivity system with a 99.4 percent fidelity.

In quantum mechanics, notably in quantum information theory, fidelity is a measure of the "closeness" of two quantum states. It expresses the probability that one state will pass a test to identify as the other.

Zhu revealed that his team is close to achieving a 60-qubit quantum computer, seeking to catch up with and even surpass Google.

Zhu hopes that in 10 to 15 years, quantum computers can be used to solve real problems in the field of cryptology, rather than being used only to demonstrate their computing capabilities, which is the case for current models.

When the number of qubit reaches 100, and the computing system's fidelity reaches 99 percent, it can dwarf classical computers, he noted.

When a quantum computer is put into practical use, it will mainly play the role of a server. Users can upload their problems to the cloud and let the server work on them, Zhu said.

Pan's team declined to give further details of their studies when reached by the Global Times on Wednesday.

 

[Figaro]

Chinese quantum computing researchers recently disclosed that a 60-qubit superconductivity quantum computing system with 99.5 percent fidelity could be achieved this year, and in 10 years, the system could evolve into a million-qubit level with a 99.8 percent fidelity, equivalent to, if not better than, its Google counterpart.

60 -> 1 million

 

[JSCh]

60 -> 1 million

I guess the Chinese researcher has to make that claim since Google(currently has 53 qubits) has made the 1 million qubits in 10 years claim.

 

[samsara]

I guess the Chinese researcher has to make that claim since Google(currently has 53 qubits) has made the 1 million qubits in 10 years claim.

Hey nobody will bar you from claiming for something to happen the next 10 years or so!!

So, why not just follow suit? It should not be a monopoly by the Alphabet

Time to act not so modest in the today's world... act bravely wherever relevant

just play the game using their tricks!!

 

[sinait]

Hey nobody will bar you from claiming for something to happen the next 10 years or so!!

So, why not just follow suit? It should not be a monopoly by the Alphabet

Time to act not so modest in the today's world... act bravely wherever relevant

just play the game using their tricks!!

Unfortunately have to agree with you.
Seeing how a LYING TRUMP can become the President and many people are easily swayed by American LIES and Misinformation.
Democracy is good in theory, but as we have witnessed how democracy being practiced in the US, it became a competition of who can TWIST FACTS and BETTER at LYING.
.

 

[JSCh]

中科大上海研究院墨子沙龙 ​

9月8日 11:14 来自 iPhone客户端 已编辑​

看到各家媒体报道中“已实现100万倍谷歌优越性”的说法，我们既感动，又怀有深重的担忧。感动是，和墨子沙龙一样，做科学科普、关注前沿技术动态的媒体越来越多；忧虑的是，部分报道有失准确。

据我们了解，潘建伟院士在西湖大学公开课演讲上的表述为：

“近期已经完成50个光子的高斯玻色采样，按照现在的初步估计和数据分析，应该能够比Google的量子优越性大概快100万倍。当然，这需要进一步分析，现在不能百分之百保证。”

“在超导量子计算方面，目前正在开展60个超导比特的量子相干控制，如果做成，在性能方面大概可以比Google快3个数量级左右。”

“这些是目前正在开展的一些工作。”

科学研究是一件富有前瞻、充满激情的事情，同时更需要严谨扎实的论证、厚积薄发的沉淀。努力所至，梦想方会来临！

@中科院之声 @知识分子 @中国科学技术大学
O全球标杆！潘建伟院士宣布已实现100万倍谷歌...​

Translation:

Mozi Salon of Shanghai Research Institute of University of Science and Technology of China
At 11:14 on September 8

Seeing the statement in various media reports that "one million times the better than Google has been achieved", we are both moved and deeply worried. What is touching is that, like the Mozi Salon, more and more media are doing scientific popularization and paying attention to cutting-edge technology trends; what is worrying is that some reports are not accurate.

As far as we know, the statement made by Academician Pan Jianwei in the open lecture of West Lake University is:

"The Boson sampling of 50 photons has been completed recently. According to current preliminary estimates and data analysis, it should be about 1 million times faster than Google's quantum superiority. Of course, this requires further analysis and cannot be guaranteed at this time."

"In terms of superconducting quantum computing, the quantum coherent control of 60 superconducting bits is currently on-going. If it is successfully made, it will probably be about 3 orders of magnitude faster than Google in terms of performance."

"These are some of the work currently being carried out."

Scientific research is a forward-looking and passionate thing. At the same time, it requires rigorous and solid argumentation and accumulated accumulation. If you work hard, your dream will come!

@中科院之声 @ Intellectuals @University of Science and Technology of China
O global benchmark! Academician Pan Jianwei announced that it has achieved 1 million times Google...

 

[JSCh]

Smooth photonic waveguides keep propagation losses low – Physics World

Researchers used a new photolithography-assisted technique to make optical true delay lines with ultralow propagation losses

physicsworld.com

 

[JSCh]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1318926013317799939

 

[JSCh]

Observation of gauge invariance in a 71-site Bose–Hubbard quantum simulator

Quantum simulation in a 71-site optical lattice certifies gauge invariance, showing how this essential property of lattice gauge theories can be maintained across a quantum phase transition.

www.nature.com