A paper co-authored at the University of Strathclyde has a road map for the future of quantum simulation.
The capacity for calculation and speed of quantum computers is much greater than that of classical computing. It operates through superpositions, which are either zeroes, ones or both at the same time.
The advancement of quantum computing has made it possible for it to have an advantage over classical computers. It could be used in a lot of different areas. Simulation of quantum systems can be used to develop materials for batteries, industrial catalysts and nitrogen fixing.
The paper explores near- and medium-term possibilities for quantum simulation on analog and digital platforms. It was co-written by researchers from the University of Innsbruck, the Institute for Quantum Optics and the Austrian Academy of Sciences.
The lead author of the paper is a professor. One of the most promising fields of quantum information processing is quantum simulation. It is mature in a number of areas, including the availability of advanced quantum simulation experiments.
For more than half a century, classical analog and digital computing co-existed, and we expect the same thing to happen with the emergence of quantum simulation.
Practical quantum advantage is the point at which quantum devices will solve problems of practical interest that are not tractable for traditional supercomputers.
Many of the most promising short-term applications of quantum computers are under the umbrella of quantum simulation.
Digital quantum computers with more flexibility and precision should be able to be used for quantum simulation in the future, but it can already be done for specific models through special-purpose analog quantum simulators. This can be done in a wind tunnel or through simulations on a digital computer. A larger scale model is often used to understand something even smaller.
Quantitative solutions for native problems are being provided byAnalog quantum simulators. The development of a range of quantum simulators hybridizing digital and analog techniques is exciting in the near term. It combines the best advantages of both sides by using native analog operations to produce highly entangled states.
More information: Andrew J. Daley et al, Practical quantum advantage in quantum simulation, Nature (2022). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-04940-6 Journal information: Nature
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