MilestoneQuantum advantageDisputed
IBM reports useful results from a noisy 127-qubit chip before error correction
Jun 14, 2023
IBM and UC Berkeley researchers report in Nature that a noisy 127-qubit Eagle processor, helped by error-mitigation techniques, gave accurate results for a physics simulation at a scale beyond brute-force classical computation. IBM calls this evidence of quantum "utility".
Why it matters
It moved advantage claims from artificial benchmarks toward physics simulations, and the quick classical replies showed how hard such claims are to settle.
Within two weeks, independent groups simulated the same experiment on ordinary computers, one more accurately than the quantum chip and another on a single laptop core (Tindall et al.; Begušić and Chan).
Related
- IBM unveils Eagle, a 127-qubit quantum processor (Nov 16, 2021)
Sources (5)
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Nature
Evidence for the utility of quantum computing before fault tolerance
“Here we report experiments on a noisy 127-qubit processor and demonstrate the measurement of accurate expectation values for circuit volumes at a scale beyond brute-force classical computation. We argue that this represents evidence for the utility of quantum computing in a pre-fault-tolerant era.”
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IBM Newsroom
IBM Quantum Computer Demonstrates Next Step Towards Moving Beyond Classical Supercomputing
“IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new breakthrough, published on the cover of the scientific journal Nature, demonstrating for the first time that quantum computers can produce accurate results at a scale of 100+ qubits reaching beyond leading classical approaches.”
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The Quantum Insider
IBM Says Experiment Shows Hardware Improvements, Error Mitigation Innovation Offer Path Toward Quantum Utility
“In a study published in Nature, IBM Quantum and UC Berkeley published findings that suggest that noisy quantum computers can outperform supercomputers at certain tasks.”
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arXiv (Tindall, Fishman, Stoudenmire and Sels)
Efficient tensor network simulation of IBM's Eagle kicked Ising experiment
“Here we show that, by adopting a tensor network approach that reflects the geometry of the lattice and is approximately contracted using belief propagation, we can perform a classical simulation that is significantly more accurate and precise than the results obtained from the quantum processor and many other classical methods.”
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arXiv (Begušić and Chan)
Fast classical simulation of evidence for the utility of quantum computing before fault tolerance
“Our classical simulations on a single core of a laptop are orders of magnitude faster than the reported walltime of the quantum simulations, as well as faster than the estimated quantum hardware runtime without classical processing, and are in good agreement with the zero-noise extrapolated experimental results.”
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