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A photonic quantum computer calculates the energy levels of hydrogen

Jan 10, 2010

Benjamin Lanyon and colleagues use a photonic quantum computer to calculate the energy spectrum of a simplified hydrogen molecule. The small demonstration tests a route toward quantum calculations of molecular properties.

Why it matters

Chemistry becomes an experimental target for quantum computing, although this tiny molecule remains easy to calculate on conventional computers.

Benjamin Lanyon · Alán Aspuru-Guzik · Queensland · Harvard

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Related

• Feynman proposes computers that run on quantum physics (May 1981)
• Researchers run a hybrid quantum-classical algorithm for chemistry on a photonic chip (Apr 10, 2013)