Welcome to the Quantum Realm.

Enjoy today’s breakdown of news, research, & events within quantum.

🔍️ Seen any Zitterbewegung lately? If not, don’t fret — it’s a relatively rare phenomenon that results from a free electron as predicted by the Dirac equation. And it was recently observed through the first photonic digital quantum simulation of a free relativistic Dirac quantum field using Dirac quantum cellular automaton. Plus, Infleqtion UK make progress towards world’s first quantum power global nav system, Mayo Clinic & SandboxAQ use quantum sensing for rapid cardiac diagnosis, and the NVIDIA cuda-Q update is the quantum developer tool you need.

🗓️UPCOMING

Thursday, August 15th | QED-C Quantum Marketplace: Quantum Computing Systems III

Tuesday, August 20th | A Different Kind of Quantum Circuit: Exploring Atomtronics with Oqtant by Infleqtion

Thursday, August 22nd | D-Wave Deeper Dive into the new Fast Anneal Feature

Saturday, August 24th | PiQture - A Quantum Machine Learning Library for Image Processing

📰QUANTUM QUICK BYTES

🧭 Infleqtion UK completes the first phase of its Q-NAV project: Infleqtion UK has just completed the first phase of its Quantum Enhanced Inertial Navigation Systems (Q-NAV) project — the world’s first quantum-powered system designed to overcome the vulnerabilities of global navigation satellite systems, especially in environments prone to spoofing and jamming attacks. In collaboration with QinetiQ and the Royal Navy to blend quantum and classical systems for superior navigation accuracy, the Q-NAV project uses quantum superposition to improve inertial sensor performance and integrate continuous quantum sensor output with classical inertial sensors to reduce drift. A sea trial of the hybrid navigation system is planned for early 2025 on the Navy's XV Patrick Blackett experimental vessel.

💗 Mayo Clinic and SandboxAQ pursue a quantum sensing and AI-based device for rapid cardiac diagnosis: Mayo Clinic is collaborating with SandboxAQ to develop a medical device that uses quantum sensing technology and advanced AI algorithms for rapid cardiac diagnosis. The device, called CardiAQ, uses magnetocardiography to non-invasively assess cardiac health and overcomes previous limitations of MCG systems by using high-performance sensors and AI to eliminate the need for specialized rooms and expensive equipment. Clinical trials at the Mayo Clinic will examine the relationship between MCG and angiography findings, as the company plans to seek FDA clearance for CardiAQ, with potential applications in emergency departments and other clinical settings.

⚠️ NSF Director urges immediate U.S. investment in AI and quantum technologies: National Science Foundation Director Sethuraman Panchanathan emphasized the urgent need for U.S. investment in AI and quantum technologies to avoid losing global technological leadership. Speaking at an event, he highlighted the current struggles with semiconductor production as a cautionary example. Panchanathan stressed that proactive investment is essential to prevent falling behind in AI, quantum, biotech, and advanced manufacturing. The CHIPS and Science Act, signed by President Biden, addresses semiconductor manufacturing but more is needed for AI and quantum. National Science Board Chair Darío Gil echoed this sentiment, warning of severe consequences if timely investments are not made. Both leaders called for immediate and substantial appropriations to secure U.S. technological leadership.

⚡ Quantum computing’s promise for optimizing complex power grid planning and operation: Power grid operators face increasing complexity in planning and scheduling energy production due to the transition to net zero carbon emissions. Quantum computing offers new opportunities to optimize these processes. Researchers at the University of Oxford, including Xiangyue Wang, published a paper in Joule exploring how quantum computing can enhance power grid operations and planning. Quantum computing could help optimize decisions about renewable energy placement and grid upgrades, as well as manage the variability of wind and solar power and the increased demand from electrification of transport and heating. The National Grid plans to invest £30 billion in updating infrastructure, integrating low-carbon technologies, and accommodating millions of electric vehicles and heat pumps.

💻 NVIDIA's CUDA-Q v0.8 improves quantum simulation and hybrid quantum-classical application development: NVIDIA CUDA-Q just announced the release of v0.8, which improves simulation performance, developer experience, and flexibility. The most notable features of this release include improved state handling for efficient memory use, Pauli word operations to simplify the implementation of complex quantum operations, custom unitaries for abstract algorithm design, visualization tools for learning and collaboration, and integration with NVIDIA Grace Hopper to further accelerate simulations.

🛡️ Scope AI Corp. acquires QSE Technology to offer quantum-resilient security solutions: Scope AI Corp. plans to provide quantum-resilient security solutions for its retail and institutional customers through its recent acquisition of QSE Technology. The QSE Technology suite offers scalable, API-based entropy as a service and encrypted storage solutions to protect against current and future quantum threats. As the quantum cryptography market is projected to expand from $11 billion in 2024 to $126 billion by 2033, Scope has further strengthened its position within the deep tech industry.

🔒 Singtel launches Southeast Asia's first quantum-safe network: Singtel has introduced Southeast Asia’s first quantum-safe network for enterprise security solutions. This network supports various security devices and seamless integration for enterprises to secure communications across Singapore. Singtel CEO Ng Tian Chong emphasized the importance of preparing for quantum computing’s impact on critical sectors like banking and healthcare. Singtel will provide a three-phase pilot program, including workshops, testbeds, and live trials, to guide enterprises in adopting quantum-safe technologies.

🌐 URI will host the international QSim 2024: The University of Rhode Island Kingston Campus will host the international QSim 2024 conference on quantum simulation from August 12-16. Sponsored by the NSF Quantum Leap Challenge Institute of Robust Quantum Simulation and URI, and hosted by several prominent universities, the event will bring together experts to address complex quantum problems using quantum mechanical systems. The conference will feature around 40 speakers from top research institutions and companies such as IBM and Google Quantum AI.

☕️FRESHLY BREWED RESEARCH

PHOTONIC CELLULAR AUTOMATON SIMULATION OF RELATIVISTIC QUANTUM FIELDS: OBSERVATION OF ZITTERBEWEGUNG

QUICK BYTE: The first photonic platform for simulating a free relativistic Dirac quantum field in 1+1 dimensions using Dirac quantum cellular automaton successfully observes the phenomenon of Zitterbewegung, the rapid oscillatory motion predicted for relativistic particles. This demonstrates the capability of photonic systems to simulate relativistic quantum effects and allows for further exploration of complex quantum fields using quantum technology.

PRE-REQs:

• Quantum cellular automation is a theoretical model for quantum computation where a lattice of quantum cells evolves according to local, unitary rules. Each cell represents a finite-dimensional quantum system, and the system's evolution is governed by quantum mechanical principles, including superposition and entanglement.

• Relativistic quantum fields are fundamental objects in Quantum Field Theory, which describe particles and their interactions consistent with the principles of both quantum mechanics and special relativity. These fields are defined at every point in spacetime and can create and annihilate particles, providing a framework for understanding fundamental forces and particles.

• Antiparticles are subatomic particles that have the same mass as their corresponding particle but opposite electric charge and other quantum numbers (such as lepton and baryon numbers). When a particle and its antiparticle meet, they can annihilate each other and convert their mass into energy.

• Zitterbewegung is German for "trembling motion" and is a predicted rapid oscillatory motion of a free relativistic electron described by the Dirac equation. It arises due to the interference between positive and negative energy states and represents a fundamental aspect of relativistic quantum mechanics. Direct observation is challenging due to the high frequency and small amplitude of the oscillations.

SIGNIFICANCE: In classical cellular automata, first introduced by von Neumann to show how local interactions can lead to complex behaviors on a macroscale, a system is represented by a grid of cells. The state of each cell evolves according to a set of rules based on the states of neighboring cells.

Feynman first proposed a quantum cellular automaton as a potential quantum simulator. In QCA, the cells are represented by qubits and the system evolves according to quantum rules. For instance, each cell can exist in a superposition of states, leading to a more diverse set of possible configurations. Qubits can become entangled with neighboring qubits such that the state of one cell is dependent on the state of another. The evolution of the system is dictated by quantum gates that act on the qubits. QCA could be useful in applications such as simulating physical systems and exploring how information propagates and processes in a quantum system, leading naturally into the study of quantum fields.

Quantum Field Theory combines the principles of quantum mechanics with special relativity. In QFT, relativistic quantum fields represent particles and their interactions. Fields are defined at every point in spacetime and have discrete quantum states. Field operators act on these fields to create or annihilate particles. Relativistic quantum fields are studied according to a combination of spatial and temporal dimensions. For instance, a 1+1 dimension refers to one spatial and one temporal dimension. While the simplest model, it can be used to study the fundamental properties of quantum fields in a simpler context than 3+1 dimensions, which is useful for understanding the behavior of relativistic particles and antiparticles, the structure of vacuum states and excitations, and the role of symmetry and conservation laws in QFT.

Zitterbewegung is a phenomenon predicted by the Dirac equation for relativistic electrons. It refers to the rapid oscillatory motion of a free electron that arises due to the interference between positive and negative energy states in the Dirac equation. The Dirac equation is a relativistic wave equation that predicts solutions with both negative and positive energy states; the superposition of these states leads to Zitterbewegung. Direct observation of Zitterbewegung is challenging due to its extremely high frequency and small amplitude. However, studying Zitterbewegung is useful for understanding relativistic quantum behavior.

Researchers propose using Dirac quantum cellular automaton to simulate relativistic quantum fields, specifically single-particle QCA, which reduces to a discrete-time quantum walk. DTQWs have been studied previously using cold atoms, trapped ions, and photonics for implementation. This paper focuses on DQCA through digital simulation on a photonic quantum computer for the first time. The success of doing so is evidenced by the rare observation of zitterbewegung, which provides evidence of photonic platforms being capable of simulating relativistic phenomena. Ultimately, this serves as an initial step for using QCA in photonic platforms to explore relativistic fields.

RESULTS: 

• Successful implementation of the first photonic platform for simulating a free relativistic Dirac quantum field in 1+1 dimensions using Dirac quantum cellular automaton

• Rare observation of Zitterbewegung, an oscillatory motion predicted for relativistic particles, through their digital simulation on a photonic quantum computer, demonstrating the system's capability to simulate relativistic quantum effects

• Results showed a high degree of accordance between the expected theoretical model and the measured experimental data, confirming the effectiveness of the photonic platform in simulating relativistic phenomena

• Proof of principle for using photonic platforms to simulate complex relativistic quantum fields

HONORABLE RESEARCH MENTIONS:

The exploration of the interplay between chaotic and controlled phases in quantum systems reveals a connection between chaotic classical maps, their quantum analogs for qudits, and Potts models on random graphs. The study finds that both the classical and quantum models exhibit transitions driven by stochastic control, impacting the entanglement content in the quantum model, with phase transitions characterized by percolation and random walk universality classes. —> link to Statistical mechanics of stochastic quantum control: d-adic Rényi circuits

The investigation of the impact of classical chaos on quantum computers, particularly focusing on transmon qubit processors, demonstrates that classical simulations can be used to diagnose and predict chaotic instabilities in quantum hardware, showing that larger systems tend to exhibit increased chaotic behavior, which could affect the reliability and performance of quantum processors. The study suggests that maintaining stability in larger quantum layouts will require additional efforts in information protection and system design. —> link to Classical chaos in quantum computers

A hybrid quantum-classical algorithm designed to improve financial market predictions and trading strategies integrates a variational quantum circuit into a deep Q-learning framework, improving decision-making by leveraging quantum computing's potential advantages. The study evaluates the QADQN's performance using historical market data, demonstrating superior risk-adjusted returns and effective downside risk management compared to traditional methods and other deep learning approaches. —> link to QADQN: Quantum Attention Deep Q-Network for Financial Market Prediction

UNTIL TOMORROW.