Quantum superiority

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With quantum superiority (engl. Quantum Supremacy ), the superiority of quantum computers over conventional supercomputers referred to solve a complex problem. What is meant is the point in time at which a quantum computer can solve a task in an acceptable time for which a computer whose technology is based on conventional digital technology would require unrealizable computing time (regardless of the usefulness of the problem). Since quantum computer technology is being intensively researched and new types of quantum computers can potentially solve certain tasks more quickly, it was a question of time when quantum superiority would occur.

Name and functionality

The term gained fame through the theoretical physicist John Preskill (2012), but it goes back to the mathematician Yuri Manin (1980) and the physicist Richard Feynman (1981).

“The quantum computer can solve certain, particularly difficult and complex tasks in an acceptable time, for which a classic computer takes an impractically long time. He can find solutions that were previously inaccessible despite supercomputers. "

- Christian J. Meier : A short history of the quantum computer: How bizarre quantum physics creates a new technology , Verlag Heinz Heise, Hannover 2015, ISBN 978-3-944099-06-4 , p. 11

With certain arithmetic tasks, the need for arithmetic increases exponentially with classical computers with an increasing number of possibilities, with quantum computers, however, more linearly. Quantum computers, for example, are superior to conventional computers with the Shor algorithm ( prime factorization ) and Grover algorithm (search in huge unsorted amounts of data). The high computing power is made possible on the one hand by the superposition of qubits, i.e. the superposition of states of particles, and on the other hand by quantum entanglement .

history

On October 23, 2019, Google researchers proclaimed in an article published in the journal Nature that they had achieved quantum superiority. The quantum processor Sycamore developed by Google , which contains 53 functioning qubits , solved a problem in 200 seconds that would have taken the most advanced supercomputer summit from IBM about 10,000 years.

The competitor IBM doubts that. Google's calculation contains an error. According to IBM, classic systems could solve this problem in about 2.5 days.

literature

  • Breakthrough in quantum computers. (Title topic) In: Technology Review (German edition), No. 12/2019, pp. 44–53; with several articles on the topic

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ John Preskill: Quantum computing and the entanglement frontier . In: arXiv: 1203.5813 [cond-mat, physics: quant-ph] . November 10, 2012, arxiv : 1203.5813 .
  2. ^ John Preskill: Quantum Computing in the NISQ era and beyond . In: Quantum . tape 2 , August 6, 2018, ISSN  2521-327X , p. 79 , doi : 10.22331 / q-2018-08-06-79 , arxiv : 1801.00862 .
  3. ^ John Preskill: Quantum computing and the entanglement frontier . 2012, arxiv : 1203.5813 .
  4. ↑ a b Edwin Pednault, John Gunnels, Dmitri Maslov, Jay Gambetta: On “Quantum Supremacy”. In: IBM Research> IBM Research Blog> Topics> Quantum Computing. ibm.com, October 22, 2019, accessed October 27, 2019 (American English).
  5. ^ Richard P. Feynman: Simulating physics with computers . In: International Journal of Theoretical Physics . tape 21 , no. 6-7 . Plenum Publishing Corporation, June 1982, ISSN  0020-7748 , p. 467–488 , doi : 10.1007 / BF02650179 ( online on the Wuhan University website [PDF]).
  6. ↑ Johanna Michaels: FAZ.net: What does the superiority of Google's quantum computer mean , accessed on November 4, 2019
  7. ↑ a b c Frank Arute, Kunal Arya, Ryan Babbush, Dave Bacon, Joseph C. Bardin, John M. Martinis et al . Quantum supremacy using a programmable superconducting processor . In: Nature . tape 574 , no. 7779 , October 2019, ISSN  0028-0836 , p. 505-510 , doi : 10.1038 / s41586-019-1666-5 ( nature.com ).
  8. ↑ Arne Grävemeyer: Now officially: Google's quantum computer proves "Quantum Supremacy". In: heise online> News 10/2019. Heise Medien, October 23, 2019, accessed on October 27, 2019 .
  9. ↑ Kai Schmerer: IBM vs. Google: Dispute over "quantum supremacy". In: ZDNet> Innovation. NetMediaEurope Germany, October 23, 2019, accessed on October 27, 2019 (German).