Monday, September 9th, 2024

Enjoy a nice cup of freshly brewed quantum news ☕️ 

Today’s issue includes:

• Researchers from Kipu Quantum developed the Bias-Field Digitized Counterdiabatic Quantum Optimization algorithm, which successfully outperformed classical and quantum optimization methods.

• Microsoft is integrating post-quantum cryptography algorithms into its SymCrypt library to safeguard its products and services from future quantum threats.

• The Post-Quantum Cryptography Council provides an analysis on international post-quantum cryptography requirements for technology vendors.

• Plus Sierpinski triangles, Infleqtion’s collaboration with the Australian Army, PsiQuantum’s new lab, and more.

And even more research, news, & events within quantum.

🚀 Kipu Quantum Announces BF-DCQO Algorithm Outperforms Alternative Methods in Binary Optimization

QUICK BYTE: Researchers from Kipu Quantum developed and demonstrated the Bias-Field Digitized Counterdiabatic Quantum Optimization (BF-DCQO) algorithm, which successfully outperformed classical and quantum optimization methods in solving higher-order binary optimization problems using IBM's quantum processor.

DETAILS: 

• The Bias-Field Digitized Counterdiabatic Quantum Optimization algorithm was developed to solve higher-order unconstrained binary optimization through quantum computing.

• BF-DCQO improves upon classical combinatorial optimization by using Ising spin-glass models and quantum computing to find ground-state solutions, introducing an improved bias term and counterdiabatic driving protocols to mitigate issues like decoherence and noise.

• Experimental results on a 156-qubit IBM quantum processor showed that BF-DCQO outperforms other optimization methods, including QAOA, simulated annealing, and Tabu search. Specifically, the algorithm achieved a 26.7% improvement in the approximation ratio and a 92.7% improvement in the distance to solution compared to D-Wave’s quantum annealing system.

• Numerical simulations on a 433-qubit Osprey-like processor were used to show BF-DCQO's ability to take on larger HUBO problems. Overall, the study highlights that BF-DCQO requires fewer computational resources per iteration while improving upon solution quality, making it a promising approach for large-scale industrial optimization problems.

🧩 Microsoft Advances Quantum-Safe Security with Post-Quantum Cryptography Integration in SymCrypt

QUICK BYTE: Microsoft is integrating post-quantum cryptography algorithms into its SymCrypt library to safeguard its products and services from future quantum threats.

DETAILS: 

• Microsoft is preparing for the future of cryptography by supporting the development and integration of post-quantum cryptography algorithms, which are designed to resist quantum attacks.

• They have begun integrating PQC algorithms, such as ML-KEM and XMSS, into SymCrypt, their open-source cryptographic library used in products like Azure, Microsoft 365, and Windows, ensuring that these products are ready for quantum-safe encryption.

• Microsoft is actively collaborating with organizations like NIST, the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the Open Quantum Safe project to standardize and implement PQC algorithms across the industry.

• As PQC evolves, Microsoft emphasizes the importance of "crypto agility," allowing systems to be flexible and upgradable to newer cryptographic algorithms as standards develop and mature.

✅ Post Quantum Cryptography Coalition Publishes Analysis on International PQC Standards

QUICK BYTE: The Post-Quantum Cryptography Council, including representatives from AWS and SandboxAQ, provide an analysis on international post-quantum cryptography requirements for technology vendors, asserting that differing standards across countries may create challenges for vendor compliance and interoperability.

DETAILS: 

• International regulatory bodies are defining quantum-resistance requirements for technology vendors used in government security systems, but there are alignment and misalignment issues that may challenge compliance and interoperability.

• While many countries, such as the US, UK, Germany, and France, align on adopting NIST's ML-KEM for post-quantum cryptography, some countries, like South Korea and China, are standardizing their own algorithms, leading to potential implementation challenges for vendors.

• Quantum-resistant signature algorithms have more flexibility, with most countries endorsing NIST signatures, Stateful Hash-Based Signatures (LMS/XMSS), and others like SLH-DSA, but concerns remain over state management and compliance complexities.

• There is general alignment on hybrid key exchange being acceptable as a transition measure, but misalignments exist for hybrid signatures and encryption standards like AES and hash functions, with varying levels of conservatism between countries.

🔭 Infleqtion announced its expanded collaboration with the Australian Army and Sydney-based Diraq as part of the Quantum Technology Challenge to improve the reliability and security of quantum systems through quantum physically unclonable functions. Using its proprietary quantum software, Superstaq, Infleqtion will develop and deploy QPUF solutions to safeguard quantum systems from threats like device spoofing. The progress and solutions will be showcased at the QTC 2024 Exhibition, happening September 11-12 in Melbourne.

🔬 Researchers from MITRE, MIT, Sandia National Laboratories, and The University of Arizona developed a multi-functional device that advances the scalability of solid-state color centers, essential for quantum computing and networking. This device integrates microwave and optical controls to manipulate qubit states, enabling high-speed, independent control of multiple qubits.

🏢 PsiQuantum announced it’s expanding its operations in Queensland by opening a ‘Test & Characterization’ lab at Griffith University’s Nathan Campus, scheduled for early 2025. The lab will focus on cryogenic and room-temperature photonic quantum computing subsystems, contributing to PsiQuantum’s utility-scale quantum computer development. It will also provide training for engineers and physicists and encourage research partnerships.

⚛️ Researchers from Dalhousie University proposed the first analog quantum simulation method for molecular vibronic dynamics without using the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. By mapping the molecular Hamiltonian to a device with coupled qubits and bosonic modes, their approach significantly reduces computational costs and shows exponential savings compared to classical algorithms.

🌐 The National Quantum Initiative Advisory Committee (NQIAC) recently released a report on the strategic importance of developing quantum networking for U.S. national security and economic growth. The report outlines seven key recommendations to secure U.S. leadership in quantum networking, including industry collaboration, testbed development, and promoting international partnerships.

📐 Scientists from Dartmouth College, the University of Cambridge, and the University of Warwick present a unique fermion-to-qubit encoding using a Sierpinski tree data structure, which is an improvement over traditional methods like the Jordan-Wigner and Bravyi-Kitaev encodings. This new method maintains optimal operator locality while also encoding fermionic states as computational basis states.

🇨🇳 A new report from the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) finds that China leads in quantum communication but lags behind the U.S. in quantum computing, while both countries are nearly equal in quantum sensing. The report highlights China's dominance in quantum communication infrastructure, such as the Beijing-Shanghai QKD network, but recommends the U.S. to increase funding and strengthen international partnerships to maintain its competitive edge in quantum technologies.

LISTEN

On this week’s episode of the Superposition Guy’s podcast, Yuval Boger, Chief Marketing Officer for QuEra sits down with Mariia Mykhailova, Principal Quantum Software Engineer at Microsoft Quantum, and author of ‘Quantum Programming in Depth.’ Mariia discusses her book, which focuses on practical skills for implementing real quantum algorithms, emphasizing the need for a strong foundation in quantum programming. She also addresses the challenges of teaching quantum computing, the state of current tools, and potential future applications.

The book is available on manning.com. Use code SPG45 to get 45% off all Manning products.

ENJOY

Physicists remain puzzled by why quantum effects such as superposition don't appear in larger objects, leading researchers to explore alternative "quantum collapse models" that predict when and why a system’s quantum behavior collapses into classical behavior. A team of international scientists has now refined tests for these models by predicting specific low-energy radiation that could provide experimental evidence for spontaneous collapse. If found, this discovery could have profound implications for our understanding of quantum theory and its boundaries. What a timeline to be alive in.

WATCH

Mathew Kinsella, CEO of Infleqtion, discusses the real-world applications of quantum technology across various industries, its market potential, and its synergy with artificial intelligence:

• On Tuesday, September 10th, Quantum Machines is hosting a webinar on Low Latency Imaging for Next-Gen Mid-Circuit Quantum Measurements—virtual