Welcome to the Quantum Realm. 

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

🗓️ UPCOMING

Sunday, July 14 | QTM-X Quantum Education Series 6 of 10: Quantum Hardware

📰 QUANTUM QUICK BYTES

🍃 A project to optimize the energy consumption of quantum computers: French utility company EDF, in collaboration with Quandela, Alice & Bob, and CNRS, is working on the Energetic Optimisation of Quantum Circuits project. Supported by a €4.5 million France 2030 grant, the project will measure and compare the energy consumption of high-performance computing systems and quantum computers, then focus on optimizing energy use in quantum processing units and auxiliary technologies.

💧 Qubit Pharma and Sorbonne University have reduced the number of qubits needed to simulate molecules: Qubit Pharmaceuticals and Sorbonne University have reduced the number of qubits required to simulate molecular properties from over 250 to just 20 using their Hyperion-1 emulator and a hybrid HPC/QC approach. This method, demonstrated with nitrogen and water molecules, promises significant advancements in quantum chemistry and drug discovery, improving the precision, speed, and carbon footprint of calculations.

⚛️ Quantum computing meets particle physics through the simulation of quantum chromodynamics: The Standard Model of Particle Physics, while comprehensive, leaves many questions unanswered. Researchers from the University of Washington and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory are advancing quantum simulations of fundamental particles using simplified models like the Schwinger model. By preparing and evolving hadron wavepackets in a one-dimensional quantum simulation with the IBM Quantum Heron processor and Scalable Circuits ADAPT-VQE, they are overcoming previous challenges related to qubit interactions and circuit complexity.

🔋 Physicists induce superconducting effects in quantum anomalous Hall insulators: A team led by the University of Cologne has demonstrated the creation of superconducting effects in quantum anomalous Hall insulators, materials known for their unique edge-only electrical properties. The study utilized thin films of the insulator with a superconducting Niobium electrode, achieving crossed Andreev reflection to detect induced superconductivity — something others have tried and been unable to do for the past decade. Future experiments will pursue the confirmation of chiral Majorana fermions and explore their potential in creating topologically protected "flying qubits."

☯️ Widespread adoption of AI is funneling interest into complementary quantum technologies: Quantonation, a firm investing in quantum and AI startups, highlights how AI's computational demands are driving interest in quantum technologies. Quantum computing, as hardware improves, has the disruptive potential to enable more efficient computation for certain use cases. Quantum and AI technologies also work in tandem with quantum computing accelerating AI training, providing better data, and improving privacy and security, while AI can optimize quantum processor design, calibration, and algorithm efficiency. Despite early-stage challenges, this convergence promises notable advancements, backed by sustained investment and innovation.

📈 D-Wave notes significant growth in quantum training course enrollments: D-Wave reported a double-digit growth in enrollments for its quantum training courses in the first half of 2024. The Quantum Programming Core course saw a 53% increase, and total enrollments surged by 85%, reflecting the global demand for quantum computing skills. Unless academia, industry, and government align to inject additional avenues for quantum skillset development, it’s projected that less than half of quantum computing job openings will be filled by 2025. In the meantime, D-Wave’s courses focus on practical applications and their quantum cloud service is accessible in 42 countries, making it one of the few widely available for hands-on learning.

🌴 The Quantum Innovation Summit 2025 is headed to Dubai: The Quantum Innovation Summit 2025 will be held from February 25-27 in Dubai, coinciding with the UN's International Year of Quantum Science and Technology. The summit will gather leading quantum experts, industry professionals, and innovators from over 50 countries to discuss the many advancements in quantum technology. Key features include insightful keynotes, workshops, extensive networking opportunities, and exhibitions from around 40 startups. The event will also feature the QInnovision World Challenge 2025, Femtum Leap Awards, and Quantum Leadership Awards to promote and recognize contributions in the field. The summit's theme will be “Quantum Frontiers: Innovating for a Secure Future."

☕️ FRESHLY BREWED RESEARCH

🌌 QUANTUM ENHANCEMENT IN DARK MATTER DETECTION WITH QUANTUM COMPUTATION

QUICK BYTE: Researchers have proposed a specialty circuit preparation for detecting dark matter using qubits, increasing the wavelike dark matter detection sensitivity through quantum interference, with the signal rate scaling polynomially with the number of qubits.

PRE-REQS: 

• Dark matter is thought to make up over a quarter of the universe’s mass, with its gravitational effects on visible matter indicative of its existence. Despite being prevalent, it is challenging to detect as it doesn’t interact with electromagnetic forces and its interaction with regular matter is weak. Despite these obstacles, scientists continue to develop new detection methods, as understanding dark matter would provide deeper insights into the history of the universe and potentially reveal new physics beyond the Standard Model.

• Signal rate, in the context of dark matter detection, refers to the frequency at which detectable events or signals occur

SIGNIFICANCE: The extreme sensitivity to external fields is a large contributing factor as to why quantum computation has yet to be done on a fault-tolerant scale. However, it is this same sensitivity that makes qubits particularly well-suited as quantum sensors, especially in the detection of dark matter — and even more especially when they’re superconducting trapped ion, or nitrogen-vacancy center qubits.

Previously, a larger number of qubits was most advantageous for dark matter detection as the probability of observing at least one qubit excitation (the signal rate) was proportional to the number of qubits. However, with the development of a specific parameter estimation technique, the signal rate becomes proportional to n² .

RESULTS: 

• Signal rate scales according to n² with n being the number of qubits; an improvement over previous detection sensitivity

• The proposed circuit is resilient against dephasing noise, ensuring reliable operation

• The method can be applied to other quantum computing platforms, including those using superconducting qubits and trapped ions, making it relatively applicable to current technology

HONORABLE RESEARCH MENTIONS: 

A hybrid classical-quantum architecture for vectorized image classification of hand-drawn sketches is developed using parameterized Bezier curves to represent the sketches. The setup achieved effective dimensionality reduction and improved classification accuracy. —> link to paper

A classical neural network is developed on IBM quantum processors for processing syndrome measurement data from heavy-hexagonal code architecture and applying appropriate corrections for error protection. —> link to paper

A quantum convolutional neural network was developed to accurately detect topological order and phase transitions, even in the presence of noise, specifically identifying the transition from a Toric Code phase to a paramagnetic phase. The efficient characterization of complex quantum states is central for both advancements in quantum computing and condensed matter physics. —> link to paper

Multi-stage quantum walks outperform the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm in solving optimization problems using the same resources. MSQW demonstrated better performance in both numerical and analytical comparisons, particularly in finding the ground state of spin glass Hamiltonians. —> link to paper

UNTIL TOMORROW.