Archive for the ‘Quantum Computing’ Category

Improving quantum computing through quest to ‘build a better qubit’ – IU Newsroom

As society becomes increasingly data driven, theres a growing need for computers that can keep pace with the swelling tide of information as well as computers that can explore topics that arent answerable with traditional computers, such as problems that cant be reduced to yes or no.

With their ability to process large amounts of data at rapid speeds, as well as handle greater levels of ambiguity, quantum computers are seen as a solution. But a quantum computer is only as good as its quantum bits or qubits the individual, short-lived particles that store information for processing. A qubit that lasts longer provides greater computational capacity.

Ph.D. student Joseph Soruco examines part of the ultra-high vacuum chamber in the lab of Ruihua Cheng at the School of Science at IUPUI. Photo by Justin Casterline, Indiana University

This quest to build a better qubit is central to the research of Ruihua Cheng, an associate professor in the Department of Physics in the School of Science at IUPUI. Her work is supported by the Center for Quantum Technologies, a National Science Foundation-supported collaboration between IU, Purdue and Notre Dame. As a part of the center, she and her students are working to understand a special type of molecule known as a spin crossover molecule that could hold significant advantages over other candidates currently used as qubits.

Announced in 2021, the Center for Quantum Technologies is supported by the NSFs Industry-University Cooperative Research program, in which public and private organizations cooperate to advance the work of scientists in a wide range of areas. There are over 80 of these programs in the United States, but the Center for Quantum Technologies is the only center specifically focused on quantum science and technology, according to Ricardo Decca, professor and chair of the Department of Physics at the School of Science at IUPUI, who helped lead the centers establishment in Indiana.

Other members of the Center for Quantum Technologies include the Air Force Research Laboratory, Cummins Inc, Eli Lilly and Co., Hewlett Packard, IBM, Intel, Northrup Grumman and Naval Surface Warfare Center-Crane. Non-academic members who sponsor research projects under the program are granted early access to findings applicable to their organizations.

Corporations are interested in quantum computers due to their potential for complex tasks that arent suited to traditional computers, Cheng said, including modeling complex systems such as human cells; powering artificial intelligence; and protecting personal data with cryptographic algorithms.

Ph.D. student Ashley Dale opens the ultra-high vacuum chamber in the lab. Photo by Justin Casterline, Indiana University

For example, she said, a pharmaceutical company might want to rapidly explore the effect of hundreds of thousands of chemical compounds on a molecular pathway related to a specific disease. A quantum computer could not only provide the computational power to quickly simulate the effect of all of these molecules in a cell, but also be better equipped to handle gray areas in the simulation where a programmer cant provide the exact result of every possible chemical interaction.

A quantum computer has the ability to model ambiguity because quantum bits can be understood to exist in multiple states simultaneously. Scientists can exploit this property to represent more than one outcome at the same time, with different probabilities assigned to each state. The result is a computer that can quickly explore a wide range of potential outcomes.

In February, the Center for Quantum Technologies convened its first meeting of all participating partners to review project proposals. Cheng is a part of two of the seven selected first-round projects, with both leveraging her work on spin crossover molecules, supported under several NSF grants.

Spin is one of the properties of an electron that can be controlled or manipulated in different ways for the purposes of quantum computing, she said. Our work focuses on using electric voltage or electric fields to manipulate the spin in these molecules, which is a novel approach that suggests several potential advantages in quantum computing, including low power consumption and long coherence time.

Coherence refers to the amount of time spin crossover molecules are useful as qubits.

The longer the coherence time, the longer you can preserve information for manipulation, Cheng said.

These times are on the scale of microseconds, milliseconds or longer, she added. Thats 100 to 1,000 times longer than some other materials currently used as qubits. The fact that these time differences are significant despite their relatively short length is a testament to these qubits power compared to semiconductor-based qubits, she said.

The ultra-high vacuum chamber is used as part of experiments that use electric voltages or electric fields to manipulate spin-crossover molecules. Photo by Justin Casterline, Indiana University

To run their experiments, Chengs lab uses spin crossover molecules produced at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, which are synthesized in powder form for safe transport. To manipulate and study the spin in the molecules, Chengs students use a variety of highly specialized machines, including equipment at IUPUIs Integrated Nanosystems Development Institute. She also sends students to Berkeley to conduct experiments on site.

Jared Phillips, a Ph.D. student in Chengs lab, has twice traveled to the facility at Berkeley, as well as collected data remotely. Based on the significance of his research, Phillips was honored for the best students research poster at the American Vacuum Society 68th International Symposium in November.

As a part of the Center for Quantum Technologies, Chengs research does not occur in isolation; she is working with other center colleagues to gain a more comprehensive understanding of these molecules. Collaborating researchers include Jing Liu at the School of Science at IUPUI, who will study the optical properties of the molecules behavior, and Babak Anasori at the School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, who provides special 2D materials used as a foundation for the molecules. IU Bloomington, Purdue and Notre Dame researchers are also a part of the projects.

As a collaboration across academia and industry, Decca said the Center for Quantum Technologies is designed to not only facilitate this type of cross-institutional collaboration a strength of academia but also leverage the private sectors focus on rapid innovation. Each month the lead researcher on each project meets with the centers industry partners to incorporate their feedback into the teams work.

Theres also a workforce development aspect to the CQT, Decca said, noting that students who participate in research projects funded through the center graduate with high-tech skills tailored to the interest of the participating partners. Theres high potential for students to jump straight into these industries upon graduation.

In addition to monthly meetings, a full meeting of the centers partners occurs twice a year. The next of these meetings, which are open to the public, will take place on the IUPUI campus in October.

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Improving quantum computing through quest to 'build a better qubit' - IU Newsroom

3 Cheap Quantum Computing Stocks That Smart Investors Will Snap Up Now – InvestorPlace

Quantum computing and generativeAI stockshave investors very interested at the moment due to their innovation and being on the cutting edge of technological capabilities; investors see the massive growth potential with all these reasonably new technology companies. Some of the largest companies have dedicated quantum computing segments to their business, including Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL). This has led to the rise of cheap quantum computing stocks.

Quantum computing helps to develop much more efficient methods of problem-solving than normal computing using quantum mechanics. Below I will discuss three companies that focus heavily on quantum computing that provide upside potential for investors looking for cheap companies to get into before its too late.

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IonQ (NYSE:IONQ), headquartered in College Park, Maryland, is a company that produces quantum computing systems. They are the only company to provide quantum computing technology through the cloud on Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and Microsoft Azure. Their product list includes the IONQ Harmony, created in 2020; IONQ Aria, created in 2022; and IONQ Forte, predicted to be released later this year. They all offer a wide range of quantum computing capabilities through the cloud. All in all, its one of those cheap quantum computing stocks to consider.

IONQ has been one of the most famousquantum computing stockslately. The companys share price is up 474% year-to-date. This is due to a number of factors, one being that they recently signed a contract with the South Korean Ministry of Science to help promote their quantum computing ecosystem.

The company also stated in June that bookings for the year 2023 are projected to double from the year before, within a range of $45-55 million.All eyes will be on their following earnings report, which is expected to be released on August 10.

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Quantum Computing(NASDAQ:QUBT), located in Leesburg, Virginia, is a company that provides quantum computing processing units such as the Entropy Quantum Computer and software called Qatalyst, which is a cloud-based service that helps optimize quantum computing. Their services are used by other quantum computing companies, such as IONQ,Rigetti Computing (NASDAQ:RGTI), and government agencies. This means its one of those cheap quantum computing stocks that you should buy today.

In the last month, the companys share price has increased by 2% year-to-date and is up 20% over the previous month.On July 13, Quantum Computing was given a subcontract through the Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAERI) to help support NASA Ames. This photonic sensor instrument measures atmospheric particles. This is their third NASA subcontract.

Last month the company also launched its new Quantum Photonic Vibrometer, an instrument that helps detect remote vibrations and allows inspecting objects from great distances. The company stated in its most recent earnings release that total revenue nearly quadrupled to $121 thousand, and its net loss expanded to $8.5 million compared to the year before.

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D-Wave Quantum(NYSE:QBTS) is a Canadian-based company that provides quantum computing software and services. They offer multiple different products such as Advantage, which is their flagship quantum computer, Leap, which is a cloud computing software; and Ocean which uses open-source Python tools.

D-Wave released a preliminary report for second-quarter revenue and bookings on July 20. with revenue expected to come in anywhere between $1.65 million to $1.8 million, and total booking for the company rose by over 146% compared to the year before.

Year-to-date, the companys share price has risen by 88%. On July 27, D-Wave Systems announced a collaboration with the Institute of Quantum Computing (IQC) in Waterloo, Ontario, to establish a more robust quantum computing research program.And on August 1, the company announced a time change to its second-quarter earnings report release, which was moved from after market close on August 10 to before market open on August 10.Following this news, its stock price surged by 29% by the end of the day.

On the date of publication, Noah Boltondid not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.comPublishing Guidelines.

Noah has about a year of freelance writing experience. Hes worked with Investopedia dealing with topics such as the stock market and financial news.

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3 Cheap Quantum Computing Stocks That Smart Investors Will Snap Up Now - InvestorPlace

The Dawn of a New Era: A New Type of Quantum Bit Achieved in Semiconductor Nanostructures – SciTechDaily

Scientists have created a quantum superposition state within a semiconductor nanostructure, a significant advancement for quantum computing. By using two carefully calibrated optical laser pulses, they facilitated a unique energy transition, forming a quantum bit within a semiconductor nanostructure. (Artists concept.)

A German-Chinese research team has successfully created a quantum superposition state in a semiconductor nanostructure, marking a significant breakthrough for quantum computing. Achieved through the use of two specifically calibrated short-wavelength optical laser pulses, the team was able to generate a quantum bit, or qubit, in a semiconductor nanostructure.

A German-Chinese research team has successfully created a quantum bit in a semiconductor nanostructure. Using a special energy transition, the researchers created a superposition state in a quantum dot a tiny area of the semiconductor in which an electron hole simultaneously possessed two different energy levels. Such superposition states are fundamental for quantum computing.

Previously, the induction of such a state necessitated a large-scale, free-electron laser capable of emitting light in the terahertz range. Unfortunately, this wavelength was too long to accurately focus the beam on the quantum dot. This team, however, achieved the excitation with two carefully calibrated, short-wavelength optical laser pulses.

The team headed by Feng Liu from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, together with a group led by Dr. Arne Ludwig from Ruhr University Bochum and other researchers from China and the UK, report their findings in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, published online on July 24, 2023.

Researchers have successfully created a quantum superposition state within a semiconductor nanostructure that might serve as a basis for quantum computing. The trick: two optical laser pulses that act as a single terahertz laser pulse. (The Bochum research team: Hans-Georg Babin (left) and Arne Ludwig.) Credit: RUB, Marquard

To achieve this superposition state, the researchers utilized the radiative Auger transition. In this process, an electron recombines with a hole, partially releasing its energy as a photon and partially transferring it to another electron. The same process can be witnessed with electron holes in other words, missing electrons. In 2021, a team of researchers succeeded for the first time in specifically stimulating the radiative Auger transition in a semiconductor.

In the current project, the researchers showed that the radiative Auger process can be coherently driven: they used two different laser beams with intensities in a specific ratio to each other. With the first laser, they excited an electron-hole pair in the quantum dot to create a quasiparticle consisting of two holes and an electron. With a second laser, they triggered the radiative Auger process to elevate one hole to a series of higher energy states.

The researchers used finely tuned laser pulses to create a superposition between the hole ground state and the higher energy state. The hole thus existed in both states simultaneously. Such superpositions are the basis for quantum bits, which, unlike conventional bits, exist not only in the states 0 and 1, but also in superpositions of both.

Hans-Georg Babin produced the high-purity semiconductor samples for the experiment at Ruhr University Bochum under the supervision of Dr. Arne Ludwig at the Chair for Applied Solid State Physics headed by Professor Andreas Wieck. In the process, the researchers increased the ensemble homogeneity of the quantum dots and ensured the high purity of the structures produced. These measures facilitated the performance of the experiments by the Chinese partners working with Jun-Yong Yan and Feng Liu.

Reference: Coherent control of a high-orbital hole in a semiconductor quantum dot by Jun-Yong Yan, Chen Chen, Xiao-Dong Zhang, Yu-Tong Wang, Hans-Georg Babin, Andreas D. Wieck, Arne Ludwig, Yun Meng, Xiaolong Hu, Huali Duan, Wenchao Chen, Wei Fang, Moritz Cygorek, Xing Lin, Da-Wei Wang, Chao-Yuan Jin and Feng Liu, 24 July 2023, Nature Nanotechnology. DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01442-y

The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (funding codes 62075194, 61975177, U21A6006, U20A20164, 62122067), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2021QNA5006), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (16KISQ009) and the German Research Foundation (DFH/UFA CDFA-05-06).

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The Dawn of a New Era: A New Type of Quantum Bit Achieved in Semiconductor Nanostructures - SciTechDaily

BMW Group, Airbus and Quantinuum collaborate to fast-track sustainable mobility research using cutting-edge … – BMW Press

Munich/Toulouse/Cambridge.Airbus, BMW Group and Quantinuum, world leaders in mobility and quantum technologies, have developed a hybrid quantum-classical workflow to speed up future research using Quantum Computers to simulate quantum systems, focusing on the chemical reactions of catalysts in fuel cells.

In a new technical paper, "Applicability of Quantum Computing to Oxygen Reduction Reaction Simulations", the three partners report accurately modeling the oxygen reduction reaction ("ORR") on the surface of a platinum-based catalyst. The ORR is the chemical reaction in the process that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water and electricity in a fuel cell and it limits the efficiency of the process. It is relatively slow and requires a large amount of platinum catalyst, so there is great interest and value in better understanding the underlying mechanisms involved in the reaction.

Using Quantinuum's H-Series Quantum Computer, the collaboration team has demonstrated the applicability of Quantum Computing in an industrial workflow to enhance our understanding of a critical chemical reaction. The three companies plan further collaboration to explore the use of Quantum Computing to address relevant industrial challenges.

Dr. Peter Lehnert, Vice-President, Research Technologies at BMW Group stated: Circularity and sustainable mobility are putting us on a quest for new materials, to create more efficient products and shape the future premium user experience. Being able to simulate material properties to relevant chemical accuracy with the benefits from the accelerating Quantum Computing hardware is giving us just the right tools for more speed in innovation for this decisive domain.

As a pioneer in the global automotive market BMW Group recognizes the transformative potential of Quantum Computing and its importance in researching new materials, where it can enable faster and more efficient processes while reducing lab prototypes. Approaching and accurately simulating one of the most fundamental electrochemical processes for the first time using Quantum Computing marks a substantial step towards the sustainable energy transition, benefiting metal-air batteries, and other products with enhanced efficiency.

Isabell Gradert, Vice-President, Central Research & Technology at Airbus said: We can clearly envision the benefits of the study in our quest for sustainable and hydrogen powered alternatives such as the ZEROe aircraft, which may operate on fuel cell engines. The study confirms that Quantum Computing is maturing at the scale we need for aviation.

Airbus has identified hydrogen as a promising candidate to power low-carbon aircraft, because it emits no CO2 when flying, when generated from renewable energy. The company previously announced plans to start testing a hydrogen-powered fuel cell propulsion system onboard its ZEROe demonstrator aircraft in the next few years. The company has the ambition to develop the worlds first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft for market entry by 2035.

Ilyas Khan, Chief Product Officer, Quantinuum said: We have been excited to be working for some time now to support the BMW Group and Airbus, both leaders in their fields, and both of whom recognize that Quantum Computing could play a pivotal role in advancing future sustainable mobility. In this pioneering work, we demonstrate how to integrate Quantum Computing into the industrial workflows of two of the world's most technologically advanced companies, tackling material science problems that are a prime target for progress using Quantum Computing."

The research team hopes that understanding the ORR reaction provides insights that help them identify alternative materials that may improve the performance and reduce the production costs of fuel cells. Modeling chemical reactions such as the ORR accurately is an intractable task for classical computers, due to the quantum properties of the chemical mechanisms involved, making such simulations a good candidate to benefit from a potential quantum advantage in the future.

The BMW Group

With its four brands BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad, the BMW Group is the worlds leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. The BMW Group production network comprises over 30 production sites worldwide; the company has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2022, the BMW Group sold nearly 2.4 million passenger vehicles and more than 202,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax in the financial year 2022 was 23.5 billion on revenues amounting to 142.6 billion. As of 31 December 2022, the BMW Group had a workforce of 149,475 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company set the course for the future at an early stage and consistently makes sustainability and efficient resource management central to its strategic direction, from the supply chain through production to the end of the use phase of all products.

About Quantinuum

Quantinuum is the worlds largest standalone quantum computing company, formed by the combination of Honeywell Quantum Solutions world-leading hardware and Cambridge Quantums class-leading middleware and applications. Science-led and enterprise-driven, Quantinuum accelerates quantum computing and the development of applications across chemistry, cybersecurity, finance and optimization. Its focus is to create scalable and commercial quantum solutions to solve the worlds most pressing problems in fields such as energy, logistics, climate change, and health. The company employs over 480 individuals, including 350+ scientists and engineers, at eight sites across the United States, Europe, and Japan. For more information, please visit https://www.quantinuum.com. The Honeywell trademark is used under license from Honeywell International Inc. Honeywell makes no representations or warranties with respect to this service.

About Airbus

Airbus pioneers sustainable aerospace for a safe and united world. The Company constantly innovates to provide the most efficient and technologically-advanced solutions in aerospace, defence, and connected services. In commercial aircraft, Airbus offers the most modern and fuel-efficient airliners. Airbus is also a European leader in defence and security and one of the world's leading space businesses. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.

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BMW Group, Airbus and Quantinuum collaborate to fast-track sustainable mobility research using cutting-edge ... - BMW Press

Quantum Computing in 2019: Revolutionizing Internet Technologies – Fagen wasanni

Quantum Computing in 2019: Revolutionizing Internet Technologies

Quantum computing, a technology that has been in the realm of science fiction for decades, is now becoming a reality. In 2019, we witnessed significant advancements in this field that are revolutionizing internet technologies and setting the stage for a new era of computing.

Quantum computing operates on the principles of quantum mechanics, a branch of physics that deals with phenomena on a very small scale, such as molecules, atoms, and subatomic particles. Unlike classical computers that use bits (0s and 1s) to process information, quantum computers use quantum bits, or qubits. These qubits can exist in multiple states at once, thanks to a property known as superposition. This allows quantum computers to process a vast number of possibilities simultaneously, potentially solving complex problems much faster than classical computers.

In 2019, quantum computing made headlines when Google announced that it had achieved quantum supremacy. This term refers to the point at which a quantum computer can perform a calculation that is practically impossible for a classical computer to solve within a reasonable timeframe. Googles 54-qubit processor, named Sycamore, reportedly accomplished a task in 200 seconds that would take the worlds most powerful supercomputer 10,000 years to complete. This marked a significant milestone in the field of quantum computing, demonstrating its potential to outperform classical computers in certain tasks.

However, its important to note that we are still in the early stages of quantum computing. While Googles achievement is impressive, it doesnt mean that quantum computers are ready to replace classical computers. The task performed by Sycamore was designed specifically to play to the strengths of quantum computers and doesnt have practical applications. Moreover, quantum computers are currently very delicate and require extremely cold temperatures to operate, making them impractical for widespread use.

Despite these challenges, the advancements in quantum computing in 2019 have significant implications for internet technologies. One area that stands to benefit greatly is cryptography. Many of the encryption methods that protect our online data rely on complex mathematical problems that classical computers find difficult to solve. Quantum computers, with their ability to process multiple possibilities simultaneously, could potentially crack these codes with ease. This has led to a race to develop quantum-resistant encryption methods to protect our data in the future.

In addition, quantum computing could revolutionize areas such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. These fields often involve complex calculations and large datasets that can be processed more efficiently by quantum computers. This could lead to more powerful AI systems and more accurate machine learning models.

In conclusion, 2019 was a pivotal year for quantum computing, with advancements that are set to revolutionize internet technologies. While we are still in the early stages of this technology, the potential applications are vast and exciting. As we continue to explore the possibilities of quantum computing, we can expect to see further breakthroughs that will shape the future of the internet and beyond.

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Quantum Computing in 2019: Revolutionizing Internet Technologies - Fagen wasanni