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Physicists have built and tested the world’s first 51-cubic-inch quantum computer

A team of Harvard and MIT researchers led by Mikhail Lukin, a Harvard physics professor and co-founder of the American Quantum Center, has created and successfully tested a programmable quantum computer based on 51 qubits, thereby becoming the leader among the participants in the quantum race. Lukin himself said this, speaking with a report at the IV International Conference on Quantum Technologies in New York ICQT-2017 on July 14.

Computer components

Many scientific groups are now trying to create a universal quantum computer, these projects have invested in many governments and corporations, such as Google, IBM, Microsoft or the Chinese Internet retailer Alibaba. The computational elements of these computers, qubits, are built around quantum objects, such as ions, cooled atoms or photons, that can be in a superposition of several states. It allows quantum computers to do many calculations at once, in one beat. Quantum computers can perform tasks that would take classical computers billions of years to accomplish. For example, they can be used to simulate the behavior of complex quantum systems and create new materials with unique properties.

Quantum computers capabilities depend on the number of qubits. Already a few dozen qubits can provide computational power gains that are beyond the reach of classical computers. Today Google’s quantum lab, headed by John Martinis, is planning experiments on a computer with 49 qubits IBM is already conducting experiments with a 17-qubit device. The creation of a 51-qubit computer is a giant step forward in this field.

According to Lukin, speaking at the ICQT conference, he and his colleagues used qubits based on cold atoms, which were held by optical “tweezers” – specially organized laser beams. Most modern quantum computers are based on the use of superconducting qubits based on Josephson contacts.

Lukin and his colleagues with the help of his quantum computer solved the problem of modeling the behavior of quantum systems of a set of particles, which was practically unsolvable with the help of classical computers. Moreover, as a result, they were able to predict several previously unknown effects, which were then verified using conventional computers. The results were post facto verified with ordinary computers. Scientists were able to find a way to approximate calculations that helped to obtain similar results on a classical computer.

In the near future, scientists intend to continue experiments with the quantum computer, perhaps they will try to use this system to test the quantum optimization algorithms that can surpass existing computers.

According to Lukin, the paper with the results of the work has been accepted for publication and will appear on the arXiv preprint server on Sunday. On the evening of July 14, he will take part in an open discussion at the ICQT conference, which will follow a public lecture by John Martinis.

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Comments: 2
  1. Ellery

    This is truly groundbreaking! As a layperson, I would love to understand more about how quantum computers work and their potential applications. Can you explain the significance of a 51-cubic-inch computer? Is it a significant milestone towards practical implementation?

    Reply
  2. Riley Parker

    Wow, that’s incredible! How does the performance of this quantum computer compare to traditional computers in terms of speed and computing power? Is this breakthrough expected to revolutionize the fields of science and technology? And what practical applications can we anticipate from such a powerful quantum computer?

    Reply
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