Welcome to the Quantum Realm.

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

📀 Quantum Platform-as-a-Service has a new precedent — Quantinuum announces Nexus, a full-stack quantum computing platform available now, for beta users. Plus, a framework and architecture proposal for fault-tolerant bosonic qubits with discrete-variable ancilla, optical fibers for improved quantum data transfer, insights into optimal quantum emitter design for quantum networks, and unprecedented quantum simulation for pharmaceutical design.

🗓️UPCOMING

Saturday, August 3rd | Optimizing Complex Processes using AI and QC

Sunday, August 4th |

📰QUANTUM QUICK BYTES

🔗 Quantinuum announces the beta launch of Nexus: Quantinuum has revealed Nexus: a quantum computing platform that simplifies quantum workflows with full-stack support. Nexus allows full management of resources across multiple quantum backends, including a preconfigured JupyterHub environment and the H-Series emulator. Integrated with Quantinuum's software and H-Series Quantum Processor, Nexus stores all experiment data in one place, making data management and sharing easier. Administrators benefit from resource controls, advanced usage visualization, and secure data-sharing tools. Nexus offers a consistent API and integration with third-party tools, setting a new standard in quantum Platform-as-a-Service providers. Those interested in beta access can apply here.

🔬 Oxford University leads a new quantum research hub, funded by UK government: The UK government previously announced the allocation of £100m across five research hubs. One of these will be the Quantum Computing Hub led by Oxford University. This hub will work towards advancing quantum technologies within applications related to materials, chemicals, fluid simulation techniques, and machine learning. Over 50 experts from 18 UK institutions will be involved in improving quantum hardware, developing scalable networking technologies, and collaborating with scientists and engineers on algorithm development.

💡 University of Bath physicists developed advanced optical fibers to improve quantum data transfer: The quantum internet will require creative solutions for long-range communication and integration of quantum repeaters. Physicists at the University of Bath have designed a new generation of specialty optical fibers with micro-structured cores to address the future data transfer challenges of quantum computing. These specialty fibers, in contrast to convention fivers, incorporate complex air pocket patterns to improve compatibility with single-photon sources, qubits, and the active optical components required for quantum technologies. Manipulating light properties within the fibers leads to the creation of entangled photons and various quantum states that are vital for applications across quantum computing, precision sensing, and secure communication.

🌐 UC Santa Barbara researchers developed improved models for photon-based quantum communication: Quantum computers need a quantum internet for effective long-distance data transmission and photons are the best candidate. Photons have weak environmental interactions which makes them ideal for carrying quantum information and maintaining entanglement. UC Santa Barbara researchers studied the atomic vibrations that reduce photon emission efficiency in defect-based quantum emitters and constructed models understand these inefficiencies and suggest techniques to improve emitter brightness and efficiency. Careful material selection, atomic-level engineering, and coupling emitters to a photonic cavity can further improve performance and instruct the design of better quantum emitters for future quantum networks.

💊 University of Melbourne team uses Frontier supercomputer for accurate drug performance modeling: Led by Associate Professor Giuseppe Barca, researchers at the University of Melbourne in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, AMD, and QDX achieve the first quantum simulation of biological systems at a scale necessary to accurately model drug performance. With the Frontier supercomputer's exascale power, the team’s software can predict chemical reactions and physical properties of systems with hundreds of thousands of atoms. This addresses the limitations of current drug methods by expanding the existing computational toolset for drug discovery and improving the speed and accuracy of drug development. Check out more below 👇️ 

☕️FRESHLY BREWED RESEARCH

FAULT-TOLERANT OPERATION OF BOSONIC QUBITS WITH DISCRETE-VARIABLE ANCILLAE

QUICK BYTE: A framework for fault-tolerant quantum computation uses a hybrid system of bosonic qubits and noisy discrete-variable ancillae and incorporates bosonic error correction and advanced quantum control. Numerical demonstrations and a presentation of hardware-efficient architecture suggest that current hardware has the potential to demonstrate fault-tolerant computation using the proposed hybrid system and corresponding error correction operations.

PRE-REQS:

• Bosonic qubits (continuous-variable qubits) are more resistant to certain errors as compared to discrete-variable qubits as they encode quantum information in the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space of harmonic oscillators. However, they require ancillary systems and advanced control techniques due to their weak nonlinear interactions.

• Discrete-variable qubits use two-level systems where the quantum states are denoted as 0 or 1.

SIGNIFICANCE: Surface codes with physical qubits require extensive resources, which is one challenge in closing the gap between future idealized fault-tolerant devices and current quantum devices. Bosonic qubits are worthy of study in this regard as they are more resilient to errors and maintain quantum information longer. Their resilience arises from their encoding in an infinite-dimension Hilbert space, compared to discrete-variable qubits which are typically encoded in a two-level system.

However, resilience to errors is not equivalent to an immunity to errors. Weak nonlinear interactions characteristic of bosonic modes require the use of auxiliary qubits, such as discrete-variable qubits, and advanced control techniques which add to the complexity of their design. These hybrid systems are challenging to work with as errors in the ancillae can affect the bosonic mode and compromise the encoded quantum information.

Several methods have been developed to maintain quantum control over bosonic modes, but a comprehensive framework for fault tolerance of a hybrid system is needed. In other words, the error detection for bosonic qubits requires the use of ancillae qubits which have the potential to introduce error into the bosonic modes as there is not yet a proven method for error correction in this context.

The authors propose a fault-tolerant framework tailored to a hybrid system of bosonic modes and discrete-variable ancillae. Additionally, they establish the properties required for “level 1” gadgets (building blocks of quantum circuits). And finally, they demonstrate how fault tolerance can be achieved through bosonic QEC and quantum control. They construct universal error-corrected gadgets as well as present a fault-tolerant quantum computing architecture that is hardware-efficient by concatenating four-legged cat qubits with an outer qubit code.

RESULTS: 

• Proposes a system using bosonic qubits with noisy discrete-variable ancillae, incorporates bosonic QEC and advanced quantum control

• Constructs gadgets tolerant to single-photon loss and ancilla faults, demonstrates compatibility with current circuit-QED technology

• Presents a hardware-efficient architecture by concatenating four-legged cat qubits with an outer qubit code

• Framework adaptable to other rotation-symmetrical bosonic codes

HONORABLE RESEARCH MENTIONS:

A gate-tunable transmon qubit in planar Germanium demonstrates superconductivity in a two-dimensional hole gas via aluminum evaporation. This qubit shows broad frequency tunability and coherence times up to 75ns; significant for the concept of hybrid qubits in CMOS-compatible materials. —> link to A gate tunable transmon qubit in planar Ge

Researchers propose using multi-octave transduction to lower frequencies for networking superconducting quantum circuits, converting excitations from 4-8GHz to 100-500MHz. This approach reduces noise and transmission losses as well as achieves higher single-photon fidelity and quantum channel capacity over long distances using flexible and compact cryogenic coaxial cables. —> link to Proposal for Superconducting Quantum Networks Using Multi-Octave Transduction to Lower Frequencies

A quantum-enhanced kernel method on a photonic processor achieves improved performance in binary classification tasks as compared to state-of-the-art classical kernels. Using quantum interference and single photon coherence, their method, which doesn't require entangling gates, provides efficient and scalable solutions for machine learning tasks. —> link to Experimental quantum-enhanced kernels on a photonic processor

UNTIL TOMORROW.