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

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IN TODAY’S ISSUE:

Tags: COLLABORATION ALGORITHMS QUANTUM SIMULATION CHEMISTRY APPLICATION

• Chicago continues its midwestern reign of quantum collaboration with the addition of Purdue University to the Chicago Quantum Exchange

• Quantum-inspired binary Grey Wolf Optimizer demonstrated superior results in image classification of breast cancer

• RIKEN Fugaku supercomputer alongside IBM Heron shown to effectively tackle complex electronic structure problems in chemistry

• Plus, IonQ & Rigetti first quarter results are in, Chinese companies added to trade restriction list over fears of using American quantum tech for military purposes, and Fugaku scores again—part of new method for identification of optimal quantum gate sequences

BRIEF BYTES

NEWS FOR THOSE IN A HURRY

• The Biden administration added 37 Chinese entities to a trade restriction list, citing involvement with a spy balloon incident and efforts by China Electronics Technology Group to acquire American quantum technology for military uses. This move was described by the Chinese embassy as "economic coercion and bullying," and is intended to curb China's access to technology that could enhance its military capabilities.

• Researchers have developed a new probabilistic method to quickly identify optimal quantum gate sequences for quantum computers which surpasses the capabilities of traditional exhaustive search methods. Using the Fugaku supercomputer, this technique successfully determined optimal sequences for a 6-qubit problem in hours—a task previously deemed impossible within the universe's lifespan by conventional methods.

• BBVA has successfully conducted a pilot test using AWS cloud to distribute the execution of quantum algorithms across multiple servers. This pilot is the first of its kind in the financial sector and demonstrates the potential of classical computers to handle quantum algorithms on a large scale.

• IonQ Inc. has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024: revenue of $7.6 million, net loss of $39.6 million. But, IonQ raised its full-year bookings guidance to $75 million to $95 million which shows strong potential for future revenue growth. Significant developments included the appointment of new leadership roles and advancements in strategic collaborations to demonstrate quantum computing applications, such as optimizing the U.S. power grid.

• Rigetti Computing has reported its financial results for the first quarter of 2024: revenue of $3.1 million, net loss of $20.8 million. But, Rigetti raised $32.9 million through stock sales and reported cash reserves of $102.8 million. The company has achieved a 99.3% median 2-qubit gate fidelity on its 9-qubit system and plans further expansion with the 84-qubit and 336-qubit systems. Additionally, Rigetti has successfully sold its Novera QPU to Horizon Quantum Computing as an entry into the Singapore market.

TOP HEADLINES IN NEWS & RESEARCH

NEWS

Tags: COLLABORATION 

CHICAGO QUANTUM EXCHANGE HAS A NEW RECRUIT — PURDUE UNIVERSITY

As of yesterday, Purdue University has officially joined the Chicago Quantum Exchange, linking arms with leading institutions in order to pursue quantum technology as well as cultivate a skilled quantum workforce. The other institutions include the University of Chicago, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and Northwestern University.

By becoming a member of the CQE, Purdue not only benefits from but also adds to one of the world's most substantial collaborative quantum research initiatives. This membership opens doors to shared resources, funding opportunities, and creates a collaborative environment for pioneering both research and education.

CQE is not the only highlight of Chicago’s involvement in quantum; the Bloch Quantum Tech Hub, recognized by the U.S. Economic Development Administration as a Regional Innovation and Technology Hub, unites a varied coalition of top-tier universities, major corporations, and startups. Supported by public and private investments, the Bloch Hub has an expected impact of $60 billion by 2035.

Integrating with the Bloch Hub's vision and joining the Chicago Quantum Exchange, Purdue is positioned to contribute to and benefit from the next wave of quantum innovation, collective endeavor, and economic growth in the field.

RESEARCH

Tags: ALGORITHMS

OVERVIEW OF BREAST CANCER DIAGNOSIS USING SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE OPTIMIZED BY IMPROVED QUANTUM INSPIRED GREY WOLF OPTIMIZATION

The Brief Byte: This study introduces a hybrid approach combining an improved quantum-inspired binary Grey Wolf Optimizer with support vector machines to improve breast cancer classification accuracy.

Breakdown:

• Breast cancer is diagnosed through mammography which involves imaging the breast to detect any abnormalities. The study identifies a gap in the current diagnostic methods; CAD systems still fall short in accuracy, particularly in distinguishing between benign and malignant tumors across different breast tissue types. A quantum-inspired approach along with the Grey Wolf Optimizer combines quantum operations with nature-inspired algorithms, a niche that remains largely unexplored. This study is a great first instance of that exploration in solving real-world problems.

• The hybrid algorithm combining improved quantum-inspired binary Grey Wolf Optimizer with SVM was tested on the Mammographic Image Analysis Society dataset. It involved tenfold cross-validation to assess various metrics like accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity, and also applied feature selection techniques.

• The proposed IQI-BGWO-SVM method showed superior performance compared to existing classification methods on the MIAS dataset. It achieved a mean accuracy of 99.25%, sensitivity of 98.96%, and specificity of 100%, respectively. The effectiveness of this method suggests it could be used to improve the diagnostic accuracy of breast cancer detection systems further. Its successful application in feature selection indicates potential for broader use in medical image processing and other complex data-driven fields.

RESEARCH

Tags: QUANTUM SIMULATION CHEMISTRY APPLICATION

OVERVIEW OF CHEMISTRY BEYOND EXACT SOLUTIONS ON A QUANTUM-CENTRIC SUPERCOMPUTER

The Brief Byte: Today’s quantum computers have the ability to solve electronic problems in chemistry, but the quantum circuit depth required results in impractical runtimes. This study integrates quantum computations within a supercomputing architecture (the supercomputer Fugaku alongside an IBM Heron superconducting quantum processor) to demonstrate that classical distributed computing coupled with quantum processors can effectively solve complex chemistry problems using current-state abilities.

Breakdown:

• The primary focus of the research is on accurately calculating the ground-state energies of molecules which is fundamental to predicting molecular behavior and interactions. These are key parts of developing new materials and drugs. Traditional quantum computing approaches to this problem are hindered by the need for deep quantum circuits that are just not feasible with current quantum processors. These deep circuits require a large number of quantum gate operations, which increase the probability of error. Although there have been advancements in error correction, the overall runtime remains impractically long. Alternatively, integrating quantum computations into a quantum-centric supercomputing architecture would allow the simulation of complex molecular structures by using quantum and classical computing in tandem while bypassing the limitations of deep quantum circuits.

• The study uses three quantum simulations to demonstrate: breaking the N2 triple bond with 58 qubits, simulating the electronic structure of [2Fe-2S] clusters with 45 qubits, and simulating the electronic structure of [4Fe-4S] cluster with 77 qubits. These simulations were set up using quantum circuits capable of approximating molecular eigenstates, processed by a hybrid estimator that combines quantum and classical computations to yield energy upper bounds and wavefunctions.

• The N2 triple bond breaking used 58 qubits and achieved high accuracy in computing energy levels which is a classical problem in quantum chemistry known for its complexity. The electronic structures of [2Fe-2S] and [4Fe-4S] clusters used 45 and 77 qubits respectively. The simulation demonstrated an accurate model which is significant in that this required handling systems with heavy electron interaction. Additionally, the demonstrated capability of the hybrid system to handle complex quantum chemistry simulations highlights the potential to be used in a broader range of scientific problems where conventional methods fall short; especially in complex systems within materials science and drug discovery where understanding intricate electron interactions is essential. Plus, this is a huge win for the concept of integrating quantum processors with HPC as a scalable model for future quantum computing architectures.

EVENTS

• Sunday, May 12 | Quantum Reliability: Circuit Susceptibility, Faults, and Integration Issues by Washington DC Quantum Computing Meetup

• Monday, May 13 | D-Wave conference call on Q1 2024 financial results

• Thursday, May 16 | Report on Quantum Computing in the Global South by the Centre for Quantum and Society

• Monday, May 20 | Stanford Responsible Quantum Technology Conference

• Now - May 31 | Register for Google/X-Prize Quantum Challenge

JOBS POSTED WITHIN LAST 24 HOURS

• Applied Materials Photonic Quantum Technology Development | Santa Clara, CA $140K - $192.5K

• Thermo Fisher Scientific Post Doctoral Fellow, Quantum Computing | Frederick, MD

• Maybell Quantum Manufacturing Engineer | Denver, CO $80K - $110K

• Maybell Quantum Lead Mechanical Engineer | Denver, CO $115K - $145K

UNTIL TOMORROW.

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