A new computing approach that involves combining classical and quantum computing could open the door to different algorithms and experiments that bring quantum researchers closer to near-term applications. This new method is efficient enough to give scientists a more robust and flexible approach than trying to use a quantum computer alone.
Christine Muschik, a principal investigator at the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) and a faculty member in physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo, said, “In the future, quantum computers could be used in a wide variety of applications, including helping to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, developing artificial limbs and designing more efficient pharmaceuticals.”
Scientists worldwide are keen to develop hybrid computers based on quantum gates. But, scientists, in this study, we’re interested in the quantum computations that could be done without gates. Hence, they decided to design an algorithm in which a hybrid quantum-classical computation is carried out by performing a sequence of measurements on an entangled quantum state.
This new approach offers experimentalists a new way of thinking about optimization algorithms. The algorithm offers high error tolerance, often an issue in quantum systems.
Instead of using quantum gates, scientists used entangled quantum states. Doing so removed the struggle with finicky and delicate resources.
In the future, scientists believe that the method will help them tailor the datasets that the computers are researching more efficiently.
Muschik said, “Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that supercomputers can’t, but they are still experimental and fragile.”
Journal Reference:
- R. R. Ferguson et al. Measurement-Based Variational Quantum Eigensolver. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.220501