Thursday, September 26th, 2024

Enjoy a nice cup of freshly brewed quantum news ☕️ 

Today’s issue includes:

• IQM Quantum Computers will provide the LUMI-Q consortium quantum system featuring 24 qubits and set to be integrated into Europe's supercomputing infrastructure.

• Quandela and attocube systems AG will deliver the Lucy quantum computer, a 12-qubit single-photon based system, to be integrated into Europe's supercomputing infrastructure.

• Researchers from the National University of Singapore, A*STAR, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design demonstrated the successful transmission of entangled photon pairs over 155 km of metropolitan fiber.

• A group of scientists from the Center for Integrated Quantum Information Technologies, Kipu Quantum, TuringQ, and others introduce a codesigned counter-diabatic quantum optimization algorithm.

• Plus quantum for skin microbiome research, the largest hub for utility-scale quantum computers, and the first quantum company to be funded by the state of Illinois.

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

🖥️ LUMI-Q: A 24-Qubit Star-Topology Quantum Computer to Upgrade Europe's Supercomputing Capabilities

QUICK BYTE: IQM Quantum Computers will provide the LUMI-Q consortium quantum system, a superconducting qubit quantum computer with a unique star-shaped topology, featuring 24 qubits and set to be integrated into Europe's supercomputing infrastructure.

DETAILS

• The LUMI-Q quantum computer is based on superconducting qubits arranged in a star-shaped topology, which minimizes the need for swap operations between qubits, improving the execution of complex quantum algorithms. The system will feature 24 physical qubits coupled to a central resonator.

• The LUMI-Q system will be connected to the EuroHPC Karolina petascale supercomputer, hosted at the IT4Innovations National Supercomputing Center in Ostrava. This connection will make the system accessible to European users from academia, industry, and the public sector.

• LUMI-Q will support the development of applications with industrial, scientific, and societal relevance, contributing new capabilities to Europe's quantum and supercomputing infrastructure. The system is co-funded with a total cost of €5M (approx. $5.6M), with 50% financed by the EuroHPC Joint Undertaking and the rest by the LUMI-Q consortium.

• The installation of LUMI-Q will begin in 2025, involving a pan-European collaboration of nine countries.

🖥️ Lucy: Europe's Most Powerful 12-Qubit Photonic Quantum Computer to Complement Research by 2025

QUICK BYTE: Quandela and attocube systems AG will deliver the Lucy quantum computer, a 12-qubit single-photon based system, will be integrated into Europe's supercomputing infrastructure to take on complex scientific, industrial, and societal challenges through hybrid quantum-classical computing, starting in 2025.

DETAILS

• Lucy is a photonic quantum computer with 12 physical qubits, utilizing MOSAIQ-12 technology. Its single-photon-based architecture, named after the Latin word "lux" (light), will provide an upgrade to Europe's quantum computing capabilities, supporting a variety of applications across science, industry, and society.

• Coupled with the Joliot-Curie supercomputer at the CEA in France, Lucy will enable the exploration of hybrid high-performance computing and quantum computing workloads. It will address problems in fields such as electromagnetic simulation, structural mechanics, materials simulation, meteorology, and earth observation.

• Lucy's availability to European users, from academia to public sectors, will encourage development and innovation in quantum computing. The project is co-funded by EuroHPC JU and France with a total budget of €8.5M (approx. $9.5).

• The EuroQCS-France consortium, led by GENCI with support from CEA and partners from Romania, Germany, and Ireland, will install and operate the system at TGCC in France, with installation beginning in 2025.

🌐 Researchers Achieve 155 km Entanglement Transmission Using Silicon Nanophotonic Chip for Quantum Networks

QUICK BYTE: Researchers from the National University of Singapore, A*STAR, and the Singapore University of Technology and Design demonstrated the successful transmission of entangled photon pairs over 155 km of metropolitan fiber using a silicon nanophotonic chip.

DETAILS

• The team successfully transmitted entangled photons generated from a silicon-on-insulator chip over 155 km of deployed fiber, overcoming challenges such as photon loss and chromatic dispersion. This marks the first long-distance demonstration using such a chip, with a photon pair brightness of up to 460,000 pairs per second and an entanglement fidelity of 97.9%.

• The experiment involved a continuous-wave laser and a Sagnac interferometer setup to create entangled photons through spontaneous four-wave mixing. The photons were transmitted through metropolitan fiber loops in Singapore, using polarization correction and nonlocal dispersion compensation techniques to maintain high fidelity.

• This result demonstrates that silicon nanophotonic chips can rival traditional bulk crystal sources in terms of photon brightness and fidelity, making them promising for future scalable quantum networks, where integrated nanophotonic platforms will be necessary for high-efficiency quantum communication.

• By using an integrated silicon photonic platform, this experiment opens the door to the practical deployment of quantum networks in urban environments, contributing to advancements in secure communications, quantum key distribution, and future quantum internet infrastructure.

⚛️ Co-Designed Counterdiabatic Algorithms on Photonic Processors for Faster, Efficient Problem Solving

QUICK BYTE: A group of scientists from the Center for Integrated Quantum Information Technologies, Kipu Quantum, TuringQ, and others introduce a codesigned counter-diabatic quantum optimization algorithm implemented on a photonic quantum processor.

DETAILS

• The authors present a counterdiabatic quantum optimization algorithm co-designed with a photonic quantum processor, improving both the success probability and convergence speed when solving optimization tasks, such as prime factorization. The system shows improved performance with fewer layers and fewer parameters compared to traditional algorithms like QAOA.

• The paper’s unique approach involves the combination of counterdiabatic driving with quantum optimization techniques on a photonic chip using Mach-Zehnder interferometers. The algorithm bypasses the need for digitization, allowing for direct implementation of unitary evolutions.

• This quantum co-design strategy to improve algorithmic performance in noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. The method reduces the circuit depth and the number of parameters required, achieving superior performance with minimal quantum resources.

• The CCQO algorithm, especially its enhanced version (CCQO-E), sets a benchmark for integrating software and hardware co-design in quantum processors, showing great potential for efficiently solving complex optimization problems. This advancement paves the way for future scalable quantum algorithms and more effective utilization of photonic quantum processors.

IBM has expanded its Quantum Data Center in Poughkeepsie, New York, making it the largest hub for utility-scale quantum computers, now powered by IBM’s Heron processors. The new Heron-based systems offer 16-fold performance improvements and 25-fold speed increases over 2022 models, enabling advanced quantum algorithms beyond classical simulation capabilities. IBM plans to further scale these systems globally, including a new data center in Germany, to accelerate quantum algorithm discovery.

Terra Quantum and Unilever have announced a collaboration to analyze complex skin microbiome data using Terra Quantum’s quantum machine learning toolset, TQml. This partnership intends to discover new insights into skin health by overcoming the limitations of traditional analysis methods through the use of quantum computational techniques, in order to demonstrate the tangible impact quantum technologies may have in industries like healthcare and consumer goods.

At the NetSfere Connections 2024 event in Munich, NetSfere announced its crypto-agile architecture, featuring integration of post-quantum cryptography to address future cybersecurity threats from quantum computing. This platform incorporates the NIST-recommended Module Lattice-based Key Encryption Module (ML-KEM) algorithm. NetSfere plans to extend this quantum-safe encryption to all users by January 2025.

Quside and PQShield have announced a collaboration to integrate Quside’s quantum randomness technology with PQShield’s post-quantum cryptographic solutions, ultimately providing a comprehensive approach to quantum-safe security. Their joint solution combines Quside's QRNG technology with PQShield’s Post-Quantum Software Development Kit (PQSDK) within OpenSSL 3.2+ environments, enabling seamless adoption of quantum-safe cryptography for applications with minimal changes. Key features include quantum-safe TLS 1.3, X.509 PKI, and high-quality entropy for cryptographic operations to ensure secure communications and data protection against future quantum threats.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker announced the state's support for EeroQ’s quantum computing headquarters in Chicago, marking the first time a quantum company in Illinois has received state funding. EeroQ will invest $1.1 million towards expanding its operations, creating five new full-time positions, and retaining eight existing jobs, focusing on developing quantum hardware using floating electrons above superfluid helium to scale qubits. This investment aligns with Illinois’ broader initiative to establish a quantum ecosystem and attract federal, state, and private investments in the quantum technology sector.

QuantWare has launched Crescendo-E, a traveling wave parametric amplifier designed to meet the high-volume, reliability, and customization needs of enterprise customers scaling their quantum computing systems. Crescendo-E offers flexible phased deliveries for smooth integration, customization options for specific system requirements, and competitive pricing starting. It enhances qubit readout with cutting-edge gain and noise performance and supports large-scale deployments through array packaging with six TWPAs.

LISTEN

In the most recent episode of the Quantum Podcast with Jay Shah, Nir Minerbi, Co-Founder and CEO of Classiq Technologies, discusses the company's quantum computing software platform, as well as explores the potential of quantum machine learning, hybrid workflows, and AI integration. Minerbi also addresses major challenges in quantum algorithm and software development, offers predictions for the future of quantum computing, and provides advice on how to break into the quantum software development field.

ENJOY

A recent survey explores the potential of applying quantum computing to improve clinical trial design and optimization. By leveraging quantum machine learning and quantum optimization techniques, the authors suggest that challenges such as site selection, cohort identification, and simulation accuracy in clinical trials can be addressed more efficiently. The integration of quantum algorithms may reinvent drug efficacy predictions and streamline trial logistics, potentially reducing both costs and failure rates.

WATCH

Bloomberg explores the global race for quantum tech leadership: