Progress toward a quantum advantage has been reported by a group of researchers led by D-Wave. The research is published in a paper on the pre-print server ArXiv. Scientists can effectively model the nonequilibrium dynamics of a magnetic spin system going through a quantum phase transition. They used superconducting quantum annealing processors for the process. Experts estimate that a traditional computer would require several years to complete the more complex versions of the task. Researchers from D-Wave, a Canadian pioneer in quantum computing, have made great progress in achieving a quantum advantage. They mimicked a phenomenon that is difficult for traditional computers to tackle.
Move Toward A Quantum Advantage
The study revolves around the transverse-field Ising model or TFIM. In quantum computing and statistical physics, phase transitions and the magnetism of materials are examined using the quantum mechanical model. The quench dynamics, or abrupt shifts in magnetic fields, were modeled by the researchers. For a quantum advantage, they used superconducting quantum annealers via a quantum phase transition. Two D-Wave quantum annealing processor models were used for the research: an AdvantageTM processor and a prototype Advantage2TM processor (ADV2).
The method produced samples that matched Schrödinger equation solutions. If it holds up to peer assessment, this would be a breakthrough in quantum simulation processes.
Historically, approaches that soon become unfeasible as the system size rises have been used in classical quantum dynamics simulations. Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of quantum annealing against the most advanced conventional modeling methods, like neural networks and tensor networks. Their findings demonstrate that no existing classical technique can match the quantum annealer’s accuracy in an acceptable length of time.
Beyond the topic’s theoretical importance alone, the study addresses its utilization in condensed matter physics, optimization, and potentially artificial intelligence. This work showcases the use of quantum annealing processors for high-precision simulation. The processors can be used for quantum phase transitions and quantum critical dynamics across various spin glass topologies. As a result, the team believes that the quantum advantage may have useful consequences for science and technology.
Quantum annealers have demonstrated computational benefits. The benefits encompass simulations of various structures, from one-dimensional chains to intricate ones like square, cubic, diamond, and biclique topologies. The precision of quantum annealers was verified for simulations on a smaller scale. It was by comparing their results with precise answers from MPS simulations conducted on some powerful supercomputers in the world. Quantum annealers can investigate quantum phenomena at hitherto unexplored scales, as demonstrated by their results. The conclusions align with theoretical forecasts on universal quantum critical dynamic scaling for bigger systems. It is beyond the reach of classical simulations.
The processing resources required for classical approaches to accurately mimic quantum dynamics to the quantum annealer’s level were evaluated. It is to quantify the difficulty of classical calculations. According to this study’s findings, the increase in computing costs is unfeasible. Thus, simulating bigger systems is nearly unattainable, even with the most sophisticated classical algorithms. The study specifically showed that the computational resources needed for MPS systems scaled exponentially with system size. Thus, simulations on advanced classical supercomputers are estimated to have runtimes of millions of years. It is for systems slightly larger than the current simulation capabilities.
