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Levy flights describe statistical properties of elementary quantum magnets as well as of bees foraging for food. Credit: Christoph Hohmann (MCQST Cluster)

At first glance, a system consisting of 51 ions may appear to be easily manageable. But even if these charged atoms are only switched back and forth between two states, the result is more than two quadrillion (1015) different orderings which the system can take on.

The behavior of such a system is practically impossible to calculate with conventional computers, especially since an excitation introduced to the system can propagate erratically. The excitation follows a statistical pattern known as a Lvy Flight.

One characteristic of such movements is that, in addition to the smaller jumps which are to be expected, significantly larger jumps also sometimes take place. This phenomenon can also be observed in the flights of bees and in unusual fierce movements in the stock market.

While simulating the dynamics of a complex quantum system is a very tall order for even traditional super computers, the task is childs play for quantum simulators. But how can the results of a quantum simulator be verified without the ability to perform the same calculations it can?

Observation of quantum systems indicated that it might be possible to represent at least the long-term behavior of such systems with equations like the ones the Bernoulli brothers developed in the 18th century to describe the behavior of fluids.

In order to test this hypothesis, the authors used a quantum system which simulates the dynamics of quantum magnets. They were able to use it to prove that, after an initial phase dominated by quantum-mechanical effects, the system could actually be described with equations of the type familiar from fluid dynamics.

Furthermore, they showed that the same Lvy Flight statistics which describe the search strategies used by bees also apply to fluid-dynamic processes in quantum systems.

The quantum simulator was built at the Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (IQOQI) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at The University of Innsbruck Campus. Our system effectively simulates a quantum magnet by representing the north and south poles of a molecular magnet using two energy levels of the ions, says IQOQI Innsbruck scientist Manoj Joshi.

Our greatest technical advance was the fact that we succeeded in individually addressing each one of the 51 ions individually, observes Manoj Joshi. As a result we were able to investigate the dynamics of any desired number of initial states, which was necessary in order to illustrate the emergence of the fluid dynamics.

While the number of qubits and the stability of the quantum states is currently very limited, there are questions for which we can already use the enormous computing power of quantum simulators today, says Michael Knap, Professor for Collective Quantum Dynamics at the Technical University of Munich.

In the near future, quantum simulators and quantum computers will be ideal platforms for researching the dynamics of complex quantum systems, explains Michael Knap. Now we know that after a certain point in time these systems follow the laws of classic fluid dynamics. Any strong deviations from that are an indication that the simulator isnt working properly.

Reference: Observing emergent hydrodynamics in a long-range quantum magnet by M. K. JoshiF. Kranzl, A. Schuckert, I. Lovas, C. MaierR. Blatt, M. Knap and C. F. Roos, 12 May 2022, Science.DOI: 10.1126/science.abk2400

The research activities were subsidized by the European Community as part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and the European Research Council (ERC); by the German Research Foundation (DFG) as part of the Excellence Cluster Munich Center for Quantum Science and Technology (MCQST); and by the Technical University of Munich through the Institute for Advanced Study, which is supported by funding from the German Excellence Initiative and the European Union. Additional support was provided by the Max Planck Society (MPG) under the auspices of the International Max Planck Research School for Quantum Science and Technology (IMPRS-QST); by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and the Federation of Austrian Industries Tyrol.

Authors Prof. Michael Knap (TU Munich) and Prof. Rainer Blatt (University of Innsbruck) are active in Munich Quantum Valley, an initiative with the objective of establishing a Center for Quantum Computing and Quantum Technology (ZQQ) over the next five years. Here three quantum computers are to be built based on superconducting qubits as well as qubits from ions and atoms. Members of the Munich Quantum Valley e.V. association include the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW), Fraunhofer (FhG), the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Friedrich-Alexander-Universitt Erlangen-Nrnberg (FAU), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitt Munich (LMU), Max Planck Society (MPG) and die Technical University of Munich (TUM).

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Dynamics of Complex Quantum Systems and the Flight of the Bee - SciTechDaily

A team from the U.S. military that included Gabriel Camarillo, under secretary of the Army, learned how shrimp, ants and quantum computing could improve military operations and technology during a tour of three Duke University research labs Monday.

Camarillo spent the afternoon getting briefed by Duke faculty members leading projects funded by the Army and other government agencies.

This research is absolutely critical to making the technological advances to develop war-fighting into the future, Camarillo said at the conclusion of his visit.

Jenny Lodge, Dukes vice president for research and innovation, said the tour highlighted the importance of Dukes partnerships with the Army and other agencies who see real-world applications in the science practiced every day in campus labs.

We dont want our research to just sit on shelves, Lodge said. We want it out in the world. These partnerships enable those translations to real-world uses.

Camarillos tour included stops in:

Its really hard to visualize the progress teams are making and potential future applications until you see the work, Camarillo said. Its also a chance to interact with the researchers and understand what the applications might be.

The visit Monday was the latest in a string of partnerships between Duke and the U.S. Army.

Last year, Duke entered an agreement with the Armys 18th Airborne Corps, based at Fort Bragg, N.C. to spur innovation by bringing military situations into the university research lab.

That partnership created Soldier-Academic Innovation Teams to collaborate on problems of interest to both the Army and Duke researchers. The agreement similar to those the Army has with other universities is intended to spur innovation in the military and increase research and learning opportunities at Duke.

That agreement, in turn, built on Army-Duke collaborations already underway, where Duke scholars helped develop solutions to real-world problems faced by the military.

In one exercise, for example, Duke students worked with officials at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro streamline the planning and logistics of reservist training weekends through the design of software programs.

Camarillos visit to Duke also included a visit with recently retired mens basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. Camarillo presented a statue to Krzyzewski a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy who also coached the Army basketball team for five seasons prior to taking over the Duke program in 1980

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Pentagon Leaders Get Briefed on Innovative Duke Research - Duke Today

TEL AVIV, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Classiq, the leader in quantum computing software, today announced the Classiq Coding Competition, rewarding those that create highly-efficient quantum circuits to solve important real-world problems. The Classiq Coding Competition is the first competition focused on quantum efficiency. Quantum computers have limited resources, so building compact, optimized solutions that can make maximum use of those resources is critical.

Creating efficient quantum algorithms is part engineering, part art. The Classiq Coding Competition is a call to the worlds quantum software community to showcase their talents and demonstrate how quantum computing can take humans to new heights, said Classiq CEO Nir Minerbi. Efficient circuits enhance the ability of any quantum computer to solve important problems.

The Classiq Coding Competition will consist of four problems and will award 17 cash prizes totaling $25,000. The top entry for each of the four problems will receive $3,000, while $1,500 and $500 will be awarded for the second and third places in each problem. Classiq will also award several $1,000 prizes to creators of the best innovative solutions as well as to the most promising youth participants under the age of 18. In addition, first-place winners will be profiled in The Quantum Insider.

A panel of esteemed judges will determine the winners. The judges are:

For some problems, the winning entries will be those that create a working circuit with the fewest two-qubit gates, while others will seek to minimize the circuit depth. Classiq will reveal the Classiq Coding Competition winners in mid-June.

You would be surprised how much can be achieved with compact, efficient circuits, said Minerbi. The onboard computer used in the Apollo 11 space mission got a man to the moon using just 72 kilobytes of ROM. Quantum computing is taking off, and the need to create elegant and efficient quantum algorithms will exist for years to come. Organizations that manage to fit larger problems into available computers will reap their quantum benefits sooner than others. The Classiq Coding Competition will encourage the creativity and ingenuity required to make this happen and highlight the art of the possible in compact, efficient circuits.

The Classiq Coding Competition is open to all parties worldwide, except Classiq employees and their families. Click here to learn about and register for the Classiq Coding Competition.

About Classiq

Classiq is the leader in quantum computing software, provides a development platform built for organizations that want to jumpstart and accelerate their quantum computing programs. Classiqs patented CAD for quantum software engine automatically converts high-level functional models into optimized, hardware-aware circuits. Customers use the Classiq platform to build sophisticated algorithms that could not otherwise be created, bypassing the need to work at the quantum assembly level. Backed by powerful investors such as HPE, HSBC, Samsung NEXT, NTT and others, Classiq has raised more than $50 million since its 2020 inception, built a world-class team of scientists and engineers, and distilled decades of their quantum expertise into its groundbreaking platform. With Classiq, customers can push the envelope of whats possible in quantum software, build valuable IP blocks, explore quantum solutions for real-life problems, and prepare to take full advantage of the coming quantum computing revolution. To learn more, follow Classiq on LinkedIn, Twitter or YouTube or visit http://www.classiq.io.

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Classiq Announces the Classiq Coding Competition a $25K Challenge to Encourage Innovation and Build the World's Best Quantum Circuits - Business Wire

Stephen Hawking once suggested Albert Einsteins assertion that God does not play dice with the universe was wrong. In Hawkings view, the discovery of black hole physics confirmed that not only did God play dice, but that he sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they cant be seen.

Are we here by chance or design?

A more pragmatic approach to the question, considering the subject matter, would be to assume that all answers are correct. In fact, thats the basis of quantum physics.

Heres the simplest explanation of how it all works that youll ever read: imagine flipping a coin and then walking away secure in the knowledge that it landed on heads or tails.

If we look at the entire universe and start zooming in until you get down to the tiniest particles, youll see the exact same effect in their interactions. Theyre either going to do one thing or another. And, until you observe them, that potential remains.

With all that potential out there in the universe just waiting to be observed, were able to build quantum computers.

However, like all things quantum, theres a duality involved in harnessing Gods dice for our own human needs. For every mind-blowing feat of quantum engineering we come up with just wait until you read about laser tweezers and time crystals we need some grounded technology to control it.

In reality, theres no such thing as a purely-quantum computer and there probably never will be. Theyre all hybrid quantum-classical systems in one way or another.

Lets start off with why we need quantum computers. Classical (or binary, as theyre often called) computers the kind youre reading this on complete goals by solving tasks.

We program computers to do what we want by giving them a series of commands. If I press the A key on my keyboard, then the computer displays the letter A on my screen.

Somewhere inside the machine, theres code telling it how to interpret the key press and how to display the results.

It took our species approximately 200,000 years to get that far.

In the past century or so, weve come to understand that Newtonian physics doesnt apply to things at very small scales, such as particles, or objects at particularly massive scales such as black holes.

The most useful lesson weve learned in our relatively recent study of quantum physics is that particles can become entangled.

Quantum computers allow us to harness the power of entanglement. Instead of waiting for one command to execute, as binary computers do, quantum computers can come to all of their conclusions at once. In essence, theyre able to come up with (nearly) all the possible answers at the same time.

The main benefit to this is time. A simulation or optimization task that might take a supercomputer a month to process could be completed in mere seconds on a quantum computer.

The most commonly cited example of this is drug discovery.In order to create new drugs, scientists have to study their chemical interactions. Its a lot like looking for a needle in a never-ending field of haystacks.

There are near-infinite possible chemical combinations in the universe, sorting out their individual combined chemical reactions is a task no supercomputer can do within a useful amount of time.

Quantum computing promises to accelerate these kinds of tasks and make previously impossible computations commonplace.

But it takes more than just expensive, cutting-edge hardware to produce these ultra-fast outputs.

Hybrid quantum computing systems integrate classical computing platforms and software with quantum algorithms and simulations.

And, because theyre ridiculously expensive and mostly experimental, theyre almost exclusively accessed via cloud connectivity.

In fact, theres a whole suite of quantum technologies out there aside from hybrid quantum computers, though theyre the technology that gets the most attention.

In a recent interview with Neural, the CEO of SandboxAQ (a Google sibling company under the Alphabet umbrella), Jack Hidary, lamented:

For whatever reason, the mainstream media seems to only focus on quantum computing.

There are also quantum sensing, quantum communications, quantum imaging, and quantum simulations although, some of those overlap with quantum hybrid computing as well.

The point is, as Hidary also told Neural, were at an inflection point. Quantum tech is no longer a far-future technology. Its here in many forms today.

But the scope of this article is limited to hybrid quantum computing technologies. And, for that, were focused on two things:

There are two kinds of problems in the quantum computing world: optimization problems and the kind that arent optimization problems.

For the former, you need a quantum annealing system. And, for everything else, you need a gate-based quantum computer probably. Those are still very much in the early stages of development.

But companies such as D-Wave have been building quantum annealing systems for decades.

Heres how D-Wave describes the annealing process:

The systems starts with a set of qubits, each in a superposition state of 0 and 1. They are not yet coupled. When they undergo quantum annealing, the couplers and biases are introduced and the qubits become entangled. At this point, the system is in an entangled state of many possible answers. By the end of the anneal, each qubit is in a classical state that represents the minimum energy state of the problem, or one very close to it.

Heres how we describe it here at Neural: have you ever seen one of those 3-D pin art sculpture things?

Thats pretty much what the annealing process is. The pin art sculpture thing is the computer and your hand is the annealing process. Whats left behind is the minimum energy state of the problem.

Gate-based quantum computers, on the other hand, function entirely differently. Theyre incredibly complex and there are a number of different ways to implement them but, essentially, they run algorithms.

These include Microsofts new cutting-edge experimental system which, according to a recent blog post, is almost ready for prime time:

Microsofts approach has been to pursue a topological qubit that has built-in protection from environmental noise, which means it should take far fewer qubits to perform useful computation and correct errors. Topological qubits should also be able to process information quickly, and one can fit more than a million on a wafer thats smaller than the security chip on a credit card.

And even the most casual of science readers have probably heard about Googles amazing time crystal breakthrough.

Last year, here on Neural, I wrote:

Googles time crystals could be the greatest scientific achievement of our lifetimes.

A time crystal is a new phase of matter that, simplified, would be like having a snowflake that constantly cycled back and forth between two different configurations. Its a seven-pointed lattice one moment and a ten-pointed lattice the next, or whatever.

Whats amazing about time crystals is that when they cycle back and forth between two different configurations, they dont lose or use any energy.

Heck, even D-Wave, the company that put quantum annealing on the map, has plans to introduce cross-platform hybrid quantum computing to the masses with an upcoming gate-based model of its own.

The quantum computing industry is already thriving. As far as were concerned here at Neural, the mainstream is just now starting to catch a whiff of what the 2030s are going to look like.

As Bob Wisnieff, CTO of IBM Quantum, told Neural back in 2019 when IBM unveiled its first commercial quantum system:

We get to be in the right place at the right time for quantum computing, this is a joy project This design represents a pivotal moment in tech.

According to Wisnieff and others building the hybrid quantum computer systems of tomorrow, the timeline from experimental to fully-implemented is very short.

Where annealing and similar quantum optimization systems have been around for years, were now seeing the first generation of gate-based models of quantum advantage come to market.

You might remember reading about quantum supremacy a few years back. Quantum advantage is the same thing but, semantically speaking, its a bit more accurate. Both terms represent the point at which a quantum computer can perform a given function in a reasonable amount of time that would take a classical computer too long to do.

The reason supremacy quickly went out of favor is because quantum computers rely on classical computers to perform these functions, so it makes more sense to say they give an advantage when used in tandem. Thats the very definition of hybrid quantum computing.

As for whats next? Its unlikely youll see a ticker-tape parade for quantum computing any time soon. There wont be an iPhone of quantum computers, or a cultural zeitgeist surrounding the launch of a particular processor.

Instead, like all great things in science, over the course of the next five, 10, 100, and 1,000 years, scientists and engineers will continue to pass the baton from one generation to the next as they stand upon the shoulders of giants to see into the future.

Thanks to their continuing work, in our lifetimes were likely to see vast improvements to power grids, a resolution to mass scheduling conflicts, dynamic shipping optimizations, pitch-perfect quantum chemistry simulations, and even the first inklings of far-future tech such as warp engines.

These technological advances will improve our quality of life, extend our lives, and help us to reverse human-caused climate change.

Hybrid quantum computing is, in our humble opinion here at Neural, the single most important technology humankind has ever endeavored to develop. We hope youll stick with us as we continue to blaze a trail of coverage at the frontier of this new and exciting realm of engineering.

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A regular person's guide to the mind-blowing world of hybrid quantum computing - The Next Web

Quantum computers will eventually break much of todays encryption, and that includes the signing algorithm of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Approximately one-quarter of the Bitcoin ($168bn) in circulation in 2022 is vulnerable to quantum attack, according to a study by Deloitte.

Cybersecurity specialist Itan Barmes led the vulnerability study of the Bitcoin blockchain. He found the level of exposure that a large enough quantum computer would have on the Bitcoin blockchain presents a systemic risk. If [4 million] coins are eventually stolen in this way, then trust in the system will be lost and the value of Bitcoin will probably go to zero, he says.

Todays cryptocurrency market is valued at approximately $3trn and Bitcoin reached an all-time high of more than $65,000 per coin in 2021, making crypto the best-performing asset class of the past ten years, according to Geminis Global State of Crypto report for 2022. However, Bitcoins bumpy journey into mainstream investor portfolios coincides with major advances in quantum computing.

Most encryption relies on the relationship between public and private keys, which is called asymmetric cryptography. Quantum-vulnerable Bitcoins include those created before 2010 when public keys had not been hashed into a different and safer format. Also at risk are Bitcoin addresses that have been already used once and have therefore become visible on the blockchain. There are four million Bitcoin addresses that could in theory be hacked by a quantum computer large enough to derive the corresponding private key to unlock and transfer the value to another address. This is known as a storage attack.

The second kind of attack a transit attack attacks Bitcoin transactions in transit. In contrast to the storage attacks, where only a subset of addresses is vulnerable, all transactions are vulnerable.

In January 2022, a team at Sussex University spin-out company Universal Quantum published research on transit attacks, which calculated that it would require a quantum computer with a 1.9 billion qubit-capacity to break Bitcoins encryption in the required ten-minute window (this is the time taken for a Bitcoin to be mined). Even at 317 million qubits it would take an hour and 13 million qubits for a day. For context, IBMs superconducting quantum computer currently has a 127-qubit processor.

Cybersecurity is top of mind for those within the quantum community, but many industry insiders, including Barmes, believe there is not enough communication between the quantum computing community and the Bitcoin community to ensure future cybersecurity on the Bitcoin blockchain. There are a lot of statements made from either community which indicates a lack of understanding of the other side, he says.

Barmes believes that as long as cryptocurrencies migrate on time (to post-quantum cryptography) then everything should be fine. It is not too late to migrate, but such a migration takes time, so waiting until the last moment might turn out to be too late, he says. The exact moment when it becomes too late is, of course, unknown.

The blockchain presents a unique challenge for quantum-safe cryptography because of its decentralised nature and the complications in governance structures that this poses. Achieving this consensus is extremely difficult, so the governance issues are possibly equal to the complexities of the technical problems agreement takes much more time than people think, says Barmes. While not enough is being done on technical solutions, too little attention is also given to governance issues, he adds.

Barmes is advocating awareness of the issues as the first stage in addressing the problem. Then, very technical people need to come up with published and demonstratable solutions, not just speculation, he adds.

For investors without a technical background, quantum security is a difficult topic to evaluate. Cryptocurrency projects should be more transparent about their plans to mitigate quantum risk, says Barmes. That will give investors the information they need in order to make decisions. The hope is that this transparency could encourage a more robust mitigation strategy.

While more mainstream investors may not be aware of the potential security issues arising from quantum computing advances on Bitcoin, Miko Matsumura, general partner at San Francisco-based Cryptos Capital, says most knowledgeable investors have priced in the risk of quantum cybersecurity breaches. He is not concerned about quantum computing risk because attackers have two ways to breach Bitcoin, neither one of which presents a catastrophe for the blockchain.

You could attack Bitcoins signing mechanism, which would create havoc during an attack, but the attack would be very visible, adds Matsumura. If such attackswere to take place, Satoshi [Bitcoins architect] had a plan, which was simply to hard fork Bitcoin (a complete protocol change leading to divergence from the original) and replace the signing mechanism.

On the point of consensus, Matsumura is much more buoyant than Barmes. Satoshi already wrote about what to do in case the signing algorithm was penetrated, so it is likely that the community would just agree to do what Satoshi proposed, he says.

On this more positive note, Duncan Jones, head of cybersecurity at Cambridge Quantum, says the conversation about risk needs to be more focused on how quantum technologies can enhance digital asset security. The focus is often on the threat from quantum computers, and yet blockchains face complex and sophisticated threats every day, he says. We can strengthen blockchains against some of these risks if we integrate quantum technology into the core of these systems.

This is a view reiterated by Charles Hayter, CEO and co-founder of CryptoCompare, who believes quantum computing cyber risk is not on the radar of the cryptocurrency investment community. The optimistic view is that quantum-safe cryptocurrency will solve the problems that arise and that is the reason that the community is not worried, he says. It is considered by many in the industry as like having to replace the engine on your car there is a solution.

Cryptography has always been a race against hackers and there have always been solutions along the way, says Hayter. As for quantum cybersecurity mitigation strategies on cryptocurrency exchanges, he believes it is far too early for quantum computing to be an issue.

Transitioning to post-quantum algorithms and conversations between the Bitcoin community and the quantum computing community will be key to mitigating the cybersecurity risk to cryptocurrency investment. As always, timelines around quantum computing appear to be vague, but nevertheless the time has come for Bitcoin investors to take note.

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Will Bitcoin be killed by quantum computing? - Investment Monitor