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Feb. 16, 2021 Researchers have found a way to use light and a single electron to communicate with a cloud of quantum bits and sense their behaviour, making it possible to detect a single quantum bit in a dense cloud.

The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, were able to inject a needle of highly fragile quantum information in a haystack of 100,000 nuclei. Using lasers to control an electron, the researchers could then use that electron to control the behaviour of the haystack, making it easier to find the needle. They were able to detect the needle with a precision of 1.9 parts per million: high enough to detect a single quantum bit in this large ensemble.

The technique makes it possible to send highly fragile quantum information optically to a nuclear system for storage, and to verify its imprint with minimal disturbance, an important step in the development of a quantum internet based on quantum light sources. Theresultsare reported in the journalNature Physics.

The first quantum computers which will harness the strange behaviour of subatomic particles to far outperform even the most powerful supercomputers are on the horizon. However, leveraging their full potential will require a way to network them: a quantum internet. Channels of light that transmit quantum information are promising candidates for a quantum internet, and currently there is no better quantum light source than the semiconductor quantum dot: tiny crystals that are essentially artificial atoms.

However, one thing stands in the way of quantum dots and a quantum internet: the ability to store quantum information temporarily at staging posts along the network.

The solution to this problem is to store the fragile quantum information by hiding it in the cloud of 100,000 atomic nuclei that each quantum dot contains, like a needle in a haystack, said Professor Mete Atatre from Cambridges Cavendish Laboratory, who led the research. But if we try to communicate with these nuclei like we communicate with bits, they tend to flip randomly, creating a noisy system.

The cloud of quantum bits contained in a quantum dot dont normally act in a collective state, making it a challenge to get information in or out of them. However, Atatre and his colleagues showed in2019that when cooled to ultra-low temperatures also using light, these nuclei can be made to do quantum dances in unison, significantly reducing the amount of noise in the system.

Now, they have shown another fundamental step towards storing and retrieving quantum information in the nuclei. By controlling the collective state of the 100,000 nuclei, they were able to detect the existence of the quantum information as a flipped quantum bit at an ultra-high precision of 1.9 parts per million: enough to see a single bit flip in the cloud of nuclei.

Technically this is extremely demanding, said Atatre, who is also a Fellow of St Johns College. We dont have a way of talking to the cloud and the cloud doesnt have a way of talking to us. But what we can talk to is an electron: we can communicate with it sort of like a dog that herds sheep.

Using the light from a laser, the researchers are able to communicate with an electron, which then communicates with the spins, or inherent angular momentum, of the nuclei.

By talking to the electron, the chaotic ensemble of spins starts to cool down and rally around the shepherding electron; out of this more ordered state, the electron can create spin waves in the nuclei.

If we imagine our cloud of spins as a herd of 100,000 sheep moving randomly, one sheep suddenly changing direction is hard to see, said Atatre. But if the entire herd is moving as a well-defined wave, then a single sheep changing direction becomes highly noticeable.

In other words, injecting a spin wave made of a single nuclear spin flip into the ensemble makes it easier to detect a single nuclear spin flip among 100,000 nuclear spins.

Using this technique, the researchers are able to send information to the quantum bit and listen in on what the spins are saying with minimal disturbance, down to the fundamental limit set by quantum mechanics.

Having harnessed this control and sensing capability over this large ensemble of nuclei, our next step will be to demonstrate the storage and retrieval of an arbitrary quantum bit from the nuclear spin register, said co-first author Daniel Jackson, a PhD student at the Cavendish Laboratory.

This step will complete a quantum memory connected to light a major building block on the road to realising the quantum internet, said co-first author Dorian Gangloff, a Research Fellow at St Johns College.

Besides its potential usage for a future quantum internet, the technique could also be useful in the development of solid-state quantum computing.

The research was supported in part by the European Research Council (ERC), the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Royal Society.

Source: University of Cambridge

Read more:
Light Used to Detect Quantum Info Stored in 100,000 Nuclear Quantum Bits - HPCwire

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Crunch numbers fast and at scale has been at the centre of computing technology. In the past few decades, a new type of computing has garnered significant interest. Quantum computers have been in development since the 1980s. They use properties of quantum physics to solve complex problems that cant be solved by classical computers.

Companies like IBM and Google have been continuously building and refining their quantum hardware. Simultaneously, several researchers have also been exploring new areas where quantum computers can deliver exponential change.

In the context of advances in quantum technologies, The Hindu caught with IBM Researchs Director Gargi Dasgupta.

Dasgupta noted that quantum computers complement traditional computing machines, and said the notion that quantum computers will take over classical computers is not true.

Quantum computers are not supreme against classical computers because of a laboratory experiment designed to essentially [and almost certainly exclusively] implement one very specific quantum sampling procedure with no practical applications, Dasgupta said.

Also Read: Keeping secrets in a quantum world and going beyond

For quantum computers to be widely used, and more importantly, have a positive impact, it is imperative to build programmable quantum computing systems that can implement a wide range of algorithms and programmes.

Having practical applications will alone help researchers use both quantum and classical systems in concert for discovery in science and to create commercial value in business.

To maximise the potential of quantum computers, the industry must solve challenges from the cryogenics, production and effects materials at very low temperatures. This is one of the reasons why IBM built its super-fridge to house Condor, Dasgupta explained.

Quantum processors require special conditions to operate, and they must be kept at near-absolute zero, like IBMs quantum chips are kept at 15mK. The deep complexity and the need for specialised cryogenics is why at least IBMs quantum computers are accessible via the cloud, and will be for the foreseeable future, Dasgupta, who is also IBMs CTO for South Asia region, noted.

Quantum computing in India

Dasgupta said that interest in quantum computing has spiked in India as IBM saw an many exceptional participants from the country at its global and virtual events. The list included academicians and professors, who all displayed great interest in quantum computing.

In a blog published last year, IBM researchers noted that India gave quantum technology 80 billion rupees as part of its National Mission on Quantum technologies and Applications. They believe its a great time to be doing quantum physics since the government and people are serious as well as excited about it.

Also Read: IBM plans to build a 1121 qubit system. What does this technology mean?

Quantum computing is expanding to multiple industries such as banking, capital markets, insurance, automotive, aerospace, and energy.

In years to come, the breadth and depth of the industries leveraging quantum will continue to grow, Dasgupta noted.

Industries that depend on advances in materials science will start to investigate quantum computing. For instance, Mitsubishi and ExxonMobil are using quantum technology to develop more accurate chemistry simulation techniques in energy technologies.

Additionally, Dasgupta said carmaker Daimler is working with IBM scientists to explore how quantum computing can be used to advance the next generation of EV batteries.

Exponential problems, like those found in molecular simulation in chemistry, and optimisation in finance, as well as machine learning continue to remain intractable for classical computers.

Quantum-safe cryptography

As researchers make advancement into quantum computers, some cryptocurrency enthusiasts fear that quantum computers can break security encryption. To mitigate risks associated with cryptography services, Quantum-safe cryptography was introduced.

For instance, IBM offers Quantum Risk Assessment, which it claims as the worlds first quantum computing safe enterprise class tape. It also uses Lattice-based cryptography to hide data inside complex algebraic structures called lattices. Difficult math problems are useful for cryptographers as they can use the intractability to protect information, surpassing quantum computers cracking techniques.

According to Dasgupta, even the National Institute of Standards and Technologys (NIST) latest list for quantum-safe cryptography standards include several candidates based on lattice cryptography.

Also Read: Google to use quantum computing to develop new medicines

Besides, Lattice-based cryptography is the core for another encryption technology called Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE). This could make it possible to perform calculations on data without ever seeing sensitive data or exposing it to hackers.

Enterprises from banks to insurers can safely outsource the task of running predictions to an untrusted environment without the risk of leaking sensitive data, Dasgupta said.

Last year, IBM said it will unveil 1121-qubit quantum computer by 2023. Qubit is the basic unit of a quantum computer. Prior to the launch, IBM will release the 433-qubit Osprey processor. It will also debut 121-qubit Eagle chip to reduce qubits errors and scale the number of qubits needed to reach Quantum Advantage.

The 1,121-qubit Condor chip, is the inflection point for lower-noise qubits. By 2023, its physically smaller qubits, with on-chip isolators and signal amplifiers and multiple nodes, will have scaled to deliver the capability of Quantum Advantage, Dasgupta said.

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IBMs top executive says, quantum computers will never reign supreme over classical ones - The Hindu

If you think the 21st century has brought enough opportunities to women in technology, it is still an uncertain thought that needs verification. The modern era of technology has changed the world upside down. The emerging trends are slowly placing women equally to men at all positions in the tech radar. But what feels off is where women stand in therevolution of quantum computers.

Computers have evolved on a large scale in recent decades. Initially, computers filled a whole building and costed a fortune. But today, they are minimized to a small size and featured with advanced technologies where people carry them every day. Thequantum growthhas given birth to ideas like quantum computer and quantum internet. Unlike many disruptive technologies, quantum computing is something that can change the base of our computing system. Even though a fully established quantum computer is still under process, the industry is remarkably being male dominant at some stance. While countries run the race to reach the quantum success, they often leave women behind. And the worst case is that most of us dont notice the discrimination quantum computing is bringing into the tech sector. In order to know better about quantum computing and womens position in technology, let us go through the history and some of the important global quantum initiatives.

Quantum computeris a device that employs properties described by quantum mechanics to enhance computations. Quantum computers are anticipated to spur the development of breakthrough in science, medications to save lives, machine learning methods to diagnose illnesses sooner, materials to make more efficient devices and structures, financial strategies to live well in retirement, and algorithms to quickly direct resources such as ambulances. In a nutshell, quantum computing could ease critical jobs for good. While classical computers are based on bits, quantum computers are based on quantum bits, called qubits. Qubits are physically derived from small quantum objects such as electron or photon, where a pure quantum mechanical state such as spin indicates the ones and zeros.

Thespark of quantum computingwas struck by Nobel Laureate Richard Feynman in 1959. He noted that as electronic components begin to reach microscopic scales, effects predicted by quantum mechanics might be exploited in the design of more powerful computers. The simple speculation turned out to be a theory during the 1980s and 90s and advanced beyond Feynmams words. In 1985, David Deutsch of the University of Oxford described the construction of quantum logic gates for a universal quantum computer. Peter Shor of AT&T devised an algorithm to factor numbers with quantum computers that would require fewer qubits. Later in 1998, Isaac Chuang of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Neil Gershenfeld of the Massachusetts Insititute of Technology (MIT) and Mark Kubinec of the University of California at Berkeley created the first quantum computer that could be loaded with data and output a solution. Almost twenty years later, IBM presented the first commercially usable quantum computer in 2017.

Quantum technologieshave been getting exponential investments in the last few years. The global efforts to boost the quantum mechanism have emerged as a main area of funding. By 2025, the global quantum market is expected to reach US$948.82 million. Quantum computing will give a substantial military and economic advantage to whichever countries come out on top in this global competition.

In 2018, under former President Donald J. Trumps administration, a bipartisan law called National Quantum Initiative Act was passed. According to the law, US$1.2 billion will be spent on the development of quantum information processing over the course of a decade. European countries are also taking steps to stabilize their quantum future. In 2016, 3,400 significant people form science, research and corporate world signed the Quantum Manifesto to call upon the European Commission and the Member States to formulate a joint strategy designed to ensure that the continent remains at the forefront of the second quantum revolution. Two years past the initiative, European Commission launched a Quantum Technologies Flagship program to support hundreds of quantum science researchers.

China is being ambitious in becoming a frontrunner in the quantum revolution. Under Chinese President Xi Jinpings rule, the countrys scientists and engineers are enjoying access to nearly unlimited resources in their development of quantum science and technology. In 2016, China has launched the worlds first quantum satellite as a test platform for quantum communications links between space and earth.

Physics, computer science and engineering are thebasement of quantum computing. The problem starts from the very baseline because only 20% of degree recipients are identified as women for the last decade. Even women who survive the lone time at universities face an existential crisis on daily life as a person involved in quantum initiatives. They are often dismissed and walked over by their male peers. A research conducted by a group of five female scientists has concluded thatwomen who receive an A gradein a physics course have the same self-efficacy about their own performance as men who earn a C grade. The research further unravels thatwomen have a lower sense of belongingand they feel less recognized by their physics instructors as people who can excel in physics.

However, the world can still build an inclusive future for women by taking certain initiatives. Primarily, women need to be recognized in the science and engineering disciplines. Insufficient encouragement in the education level is a threat to women willingness. Instructors and research advisors should cheer female students to perform better and give them more opportunities. Organizations should also develop a culture that treats women and their ideas equally to their male counterparts.

Continued here:
Establishing a Women Inclusive Future in Quantum Computing - Analytics Insight

Over the next few years the tech industry has a roadmap to overcome the challenges facing quantum computing. This will pave the way to growth in mainstream quantum computing to solve hard problems.

There are numerous opportunities, from finding a cure for cancer to the development of new, more sustainable materials and tackling climate change. But a recent short film on quantum ethics has highlighted the risks, which may be as profound as the Manhattan Project that led to two atomic bombs being dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

One interviewee featured in the film, Ilana Wisby, CEO, Oxford Quantum Circuits said: We wont fully understand the impact of what we have until we have got the systems, but it will be revolutionising and will be lucrative for some.

The experts discussed the need for a debate across society to assess and appreciate the risk quantum computing will pose. Ilyas Khan, CEO Cambridge Quantum Computing said: We may be able to shift the boundaries of what can and cannot be done with machines.

Faye Wattleton, co-found EeroQ Quantum urged the innovators and policy makers to take a step back to consider the implications and its impact on humanity. If we can do in a few minutes what it would take 10,000 years to do with current technology then that requires careful consideration. From a societal perspective, what does this kind of power mean?

Just because a quantum computer makes it possible to solve an insoluble problem, does not mean it should be solved.

In the past, there was oversight and governance of technological breakthroughs like the printing press, which paved the way to mass media and the railways, which led to mass transit. But IT has become arrogant. Its proponents say that it moves far too quickly to be restrained by a regulatory framework. As an expert at a recent House of Lords Select Committee meeting warned, policy-makers are not very good at looking ahead at the long term impact of a new technological development. In the 1990s, who would have considered that the growth of the internet, social media and mobile phones would be a stimulant for fake news and a catalyst for rogue states to influence elections in other countries.

Khan describes the lack of controls on the internet like being asleep at the wheel. What are the implications of a quantum computing society? Perhaps, as Khan, says, society need to anticipate these issues, instead of being asleep at the wheel again.

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The risk of giving in to quantum progress - ComputerWeekly.com

CONNIE ZHOU

It's fitting that one of the coolest quantum computing projects going has an equally cool name.Goldeneyeis IBM's internal codename for the world's largest dilution refrigerator, which will house a future 1,000,000 qubit quantum processor.

In September 2020, IBM debuted a detailed roadmap about how it will scale its quantum technology in the next three years to reach the true quantum industry inflection point of Quantum Advantage -- the point at which quantum systems will be more powerful than today's conventional computing.

But there's a catch: You can't do anything in quantum without incredibly low temperatures.

To reach this 'moon landing' moment, the IBM team developed the largest dilution refrigerator, which will house a future 1,000,000 qubit system. Work is underway to reach the goal of quantum computer capable of surpassing conventional machines by 2023, and this 10-foot-tall and 6-foot-wide "super-fridge" is a key ingredient, capable of reaching temperatures of 15 millikelvin, which is colder than outer space. The fridge gets so cold it takes between 5 and 14 days to cool down.

I caught up withJerry Chow, Director of Quantum Hardware System Development for IBM, to learn about the Herculean project and to find out what's next for IBM's quantum computing ambitions.

Let's start with the basics: Why is a super-fridge necessary for useful quantum computing and what advances in the last decade or so have aided that effort?

Superconducting qubits need to be cooled down to between 10-15 millikelvin for their quantum behavior to emerge. They need to be kept that cold to ensure that their performance is high. Dilution refrigeration technology, which has been around for a really long time, is an enabling technology specifically for superconducting qubits for quantum computing. Whereas a different type of qubit might require its own unique set of hardware and infrastructure.

Around 2010, cryogen-free dilution refrigerators became en vogue. These didn't require transferring and refilling liquid cryogenic helium every other day to keep these refrigerators cold. In fact, my PhD at Yale was completed entirely at the time when we were still experimenting on what we call "wet" dilution refrigerators. However, around 2010, the whole world started switching over to these reliable cryogen-free "dry" dilution refrigerators which suddenly allowed for experiments with superconducting qubits to be done for a lot longer periods of time with no interruption.

How did the Goldeneye project first took shape? And what were the biggest perceived technical challenges early on?

The very first thought of building something at that scale came from my colleaguePat Gumannwhile brainstorming long-term, 'crazy' ideas in my office in November of 2018. At that time, our team was tasked with deploying our first 53-qubit quantum computer in the IBM Quantum Computation Center in Poughkeepsie, NY, a challenge which pushed a few limits in what we could place into a single cryogenic refrigerator at the time. While working on it, it also really made us start thinking beyond, and almost instantly that we will need much larger cryogenic support system to ever cool down between 1,000 to 1 million qubits. This was simply due to the sheer volume required to host, not only all the qubits, but also all of the auxiliary, cryogenic, microwave electronics cables, filters, attenuators, isolators, amplifiers, etc.

It became very apparent that a new way of thinking in terms of the design would be needed and we started coming up with different form factors for how to effectively construct and cool down a behemoth such as the super-fridge. Some of the challenges we had were purely infrastructural such as how were we going to find a space in the building big enough to start this project and where would we find the capabilities to work with really large pieces of metal.

And as the rubber started to meet the road what have turned out to be the biggest hurdles to creating a useful quantum computer, and what does that say about the trajectory of the technology?

Some of the most challenging hurdles to overcome includes improving the quality of the underlying qubits, which includes improving the underlying coherence times (the amount of time that qubits stay in a superposition state), the achievable two-qubit gate fidelities, and reducing crosstalk between qubits as we scale up.

For that matter, most of these improvements feed into an overall quality measure for the performance of a quantum computer which we have defined called the Quantum Volume. Having a measure such as Quantum Volume allows us to really show progression along a roadmap of improvements, and we have been demonstrating this scaling of Quantum Volume year over year as we make new systems better and better.

The higher the Quantum Volume, the more real-world, complex problems quantum computers can potentially solve. A variety of factors determine Quantum Volume, including the number of qubits, connectivity, and coherence time, plus accounting for gate and measurement errors, device cross talk, and circuit software compiler efficiency.

Where is IBM right now with regards to Goldeneye? What can we expect in the near future?

Our "Goldeneye" super-fridge is very much an ongoing project, which is on target for completion in 2023. It is just one critical part of our long-term roadmap for scaling quantum technology. As we continue to execute on the roadmap we announced in September, we're pleased to share that we achieved aQuantum Volume of 128in November and we're working towards improving the quality of our underlying systems in order to debut our127-qubit IBM Quantum Eagle processorlater this year.

In the near future, we're poised to make exciting developments with our entire technology stack, including software and control systems. At IBM, we're working toward a complete set of broad innovations and breakthroughs.

What will quantum computing mean for the world in the long run? How will be a game changer?

Quantum computing will vastly broaden the types of problems we will address, and the technology offers a new form of computation that we expect to work in a frictionless fashion with today's classical computers. From the chemistry of new materials, and the optimization of everything from vehicle routing to financial portfolios, to improving machine learning, quantum will be an integral part of the future of computing and we're proud to be laying the foundation for a future of discovery.

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IBM's Goldeneye: Behind the scenes at the world's largest dilution refrigerator - ZDNet