Qubits, or quantum bits, are the fundamental units of quantum information. Unlike classical bits, which can be either 0 or 1, qubits can exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously. This property, along with quantum entanglement (where qubits become interconnected and the state of one instantly affects the state of another, regardless of distance). The principles of quantum mechanics govern the behavior of qubits, and harnessing their unique properties gives quantum computers their potential power.

The Riverlane team has developed a method to address the data decoding issue in quantum computers, which could potentially halt their progress. The method involves parallelising the decoders for quantum error correction, allowing for efficient universal quantum computers. Quantum error correction is a set of techniques used to protect the information stored in qubits from errors and noise. Riverlane recently released the world's most powerful decoder. The team's work provides a solution to the backlog problem, which slows down quantum computation if quantum error correction data isn't processed quickly enough. The method works across all qubit types.

Insider Brief

• BlueQubit Inc announced its project was selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under the Imagining Practical Applications for a Quantum Tomorrow (IMPAQT) program.
• BlueQubit’s objective of addressing challenges faced by classical computers.
• The company is collaborating with QuEra.

PRESS RELEASE — BlueQubit Inc., a technology company building quantum software and infra, is proud to announce its selection for the prestigious Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project under the Imagining Practical Applications for a Quantum Tomorrow (IMPAQT) program. This recognition emphasizes the company’s unwavering commitment to revolutionizing the quantum computing landscape, with a focus on development of quantum AI/ML algorithms for Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices.

DARPA has identified BlueQubit’s objective of addressing challenges faced by classical computers.

“As technology continues to progress, we’ve identified areas where classical methods fall short, particularly in Gibbs sampling, that are pivotal in numerous scientific, commercial, and defense applications.” – Hrant Gharibyan, CEO at BlueQubit Inc.

A notable challenge has been in areas like cybersecurity in defense and training of large AI models. With the advent of quantum hardware boasting more than 100 qubits and 10,000 two-qubit gates, new horizons of solutions are emerging.

“We’re venturing into uncharted territories, focusing on hybrid computing environments. Quantum/classical hybrid algorithms, like QAOA, are the game-changers we’re betting on.” – Hayk Tepanyan, CTO at BlueQubit Inc. These algorithms are designed to maximize the potential of full NISQ devices and find solutions without necessitating fault-tolerant quantum computers.

Particularly noteworthy is BlueQubit’s collaboration with the renowned quantum hardware company, QuEra. Their shared expertise on neutral-atom quantum computers – known for their scalability and improved gate fidelity – is central to the project.

 “We’re on the cusp of a quantum leap in computing, and the DARPA IMPAQT award is a testament to the potential our team brings,” – Hrant Gharibyan.

BlueQubit, with its collaborative network of esteemed researchers from leading US institutions and tech maestros in high-performance computing, is poised to overcome classical limitations and march toward quantum advantage with innovation in hybrid quantum/classical computing approach.

BlueQubit Inc. extends its gratitude to DARPA for this opportunity and remains steadfast in its mission: pushing the boundaries of quantum computing and setting new industry standards.

Atom Computing, a company based in Boulder, CO, has announced the creation of a 1,225-site atomic array, populated with 1,180 qubits, in its next-generation quantum computing platform. This is the first time a company has crossed the 1,000-qubit threshold for a universal gate-based system, marking a significant industry milestone towards fault-tolerant quantum computers capable of solving large-scale problems. The company's unique atomic array technology allows for rapid scaling, a critical factor for fault-tolerant quantum computing. Atom Computing is working with partners to explore applications that can benefit from these larger scale systems. The company's next-generation system is set to be available in 2024.

So, you want to start developing quantum programs and begin your journey into quantum programming to develop programs for quantum computers? Heart about this cool quantum computing technology and don't know where to begin? Here, we outline some of the best ways to start in the field of quantum computing practically, and what better way than by developing your quantum circuits that run on either actual quantum computing hardware or can be simulated by one of the many quantum frameworks? Let's begin!

You may have wondered where the term Qubit comes from. Or maybe not. But its origins are pretty logical. We walk through the history of the development of Qubits. Quite literally a work in progress as scientists from around the globe develop Quantum Computers, and there is no single technology as yet. The principles and the origin of the Qubit are exciting and not always covered in reading material, but here we'll start with the basics.

China's Jiuzhang 3 quantum computer, developed by Pan Jianwei's team at the University of Science and Technology of China, has reportedly solved a complex mathematical problem in a millionth of a second. This task would take the world's fastest supercomputer over 20 billion years. The machine uses photons to carry qubits, the basic unit of quantum information and has increased the number of photons used from 76 to 255. Despite this, quantum computers are not yet ready to replace conventional computers due to their need for a protected environment and high error rate.

Fujitsu and RIKEN have developed a 64-qubit superconducting quantum computer, marking a significant step towards hybrid quantum computing. The new computer will be used to accelerate research and development in quantum chemistry calculations and quantum financial algorithms. The technology was developed at the RIKEN RQC-Fujitsu Collaboration Center and builds on Japan's first superconducting quantum computer, revealed in March 2023. The partners also launched a platform for hybrid quantum computing, combining the new quantum computer with a 40 qubit quantum computer simulator. This will aid in comparing calculation results and accelerating research in error mitigation algorithms in quantum applications.

Insider Brief

• Researchers created a novel electron-spin qubit platform, assembled atom-by-atom on a surface.
• The team successfully demonstrated the ability to control multiple qubits simultaneously, which could enable single-, two-, and three-qubit gates.
• The paper was published in the journal Science.

PRESS RELEASE — Researchers at the IBS Center for Quantum Nanoscience (QNS) at Ewha Womans University have accomplished a groundbreaking step forward in quantum information science. In partnership with teams from Japan, Spain, and the US, they created a novel electron-spin qubit platform, assembled atom-by-atom on a surface. The paper on the advance was published in the journal Science.

Unlike previous atomic quantum devices on surfaces where only a single qubit could be controlled, the researchers at QNS successfully demonstrated the ability to control multiple qubits simultaneously, enabling the application of single-, two-, and three-qubit gates.

Qubits, the fundamental units of quantum information, are key to quantum applications such as quantum computing, sensing, and communication. Soo-hyon Phark, one of the QNS principal investigators, highlights the significance of this project.

“To date, scientists have only been able to create and control a single qubit on a surface, making this a major step forward towards multi-qubit systems,” he stated.

Led by Yujeong Bae, Phark and director Heinrich Andreas, QNS developed this novel platform, which consists of individual magnetic atoms placed on a pristine surface of a thin insulator. These atoms can be precisely positioned using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) and manipulated with the assistance of electron spin resonance (ESR-STM). This atomic-scale control has allowed researchers to manipulate quantum states coherently. They also established the possibility of controlling remote qubits, opening the path to scaling up to tens or hundreds of qubits in a defect-free environment.

Bae pointed out, “It is truly amazing that we can now control the quantum states of multiple individual atoms on surfaces at the same time”. The atomic-scale precision of this platform allows for the remote manipulation of the atoms to perform qubit operations individually, without moving the tip of the STM.

This research marks a significant departure from other qubit platforms, such as photonic devices, ion and atom traps, and superconducting devices. One of the unique benefits of this surface-based electron-spin approach is the myriad of available spin species and the vast variety of two-dimensional geometries that can be precisely assembled.

Looking forward, the researchers anticipate quantum sensing, computation, and simulation protocols using these precisely assembled atomic architectures. Altogether, the work by the QNS researchers is expected to usher in a new era of atomic-scale control in quantum information science, cementing Korea’s position as a global leader in the field.

Insider Brief

• D-Wave researchers announced progress in its development of high coherence qubits.
• The team reported its fluxonium qubits have demonstrated quantum properties that are comparable to the best seen to date in scientific literature.
• These findings suggest the fluxonium qubits may be a viable candidate for D-Wave’s gate model quantum computer.

PRESS RELEASE — D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and services and the world’s first commercial supplier of quantum computers, announced notable progress in its development of high coherence qubits, with results expected to have a significant impact on its future quantum technologies. D-Wave has designed, manufactured, and operated fluxonium qubits that have demonstrated quantum properties that are comparable to the best seen to date in scientific literature.

The fluxonium qubit, pioneered by Michel Devoret and his colleagues at Yale University in 2009, has recently become an attractive candidate for use in next-generation gate model quantum computing architectures. Given the growing industry interest and D-Wave’s expertise in building flux-like qubit quantum technologies, the company explored the use of fluxonium in its own technology development efforts. D-Wave has manufactured and tested fluxonium qubits in a 2-dimensional circuit geometry. The measured coherence properties, with relaxation times in excess of 100 microseconds, are comparable to the current state-of-the-art for such qubits. In addition, the measured effective temperature of its fluxonium, 18 millikelvin, is among the best that has been reported in the scientific literature to date for superconducting qubits.

“These results show that fluxonium is a viable candidate qubit for D-Wave’s gate model quantum computing architectures. Moreover, in doing this work we have learned that fluxonium can address some of the known shortcomings of competing superconducting gate model qubits,” said Mark Johnson, SVP of quantum technologies and systems products at D-Wave. “We believe this will have a significant impact on D-Wave’s hardware development and reinforces our technical leadership by demonstrating that we can design, manufacture, and operate high-coherence fluxonium qubits that are comparable to the best in the world.”