Quantum Leap: IBM quantum computer can simulate real magnetic materials

Welcome to the latest edition of “Quantum Leap” where The Fly decodes news and activity in the quantum computing space.

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PRECISION TIMING SOLUTION: Infleqtion (INFQ) announced availability of the first quantum-enabled precision timing solution delivered as part of the company’s partnership with global civil and military equipment manufacturer Safran Electronics & Defense. The new solution includes Infleqtion’s Tiqker quantum optical clock, which has been integrated and validated with Safran’s White Rabbit and SecureSync systems.

QUANTUM VULNERABILITIES IN CRYPTOCURRENCY: Google Quantum AI (GOOGL) said in a blog post, “In a new whitepaper, we show that future quantum computers may break the elliptic curve cryptography that protects cryptocurrency and other systems with fewer qubits and gates than previously realized. We want to raise awareness on this issue and are providing the cryptocurrency community with recommendations to improve security and stability before this is possible, including transitioning blockchains to post-quantum cryptography, or PQC, which is resistant to quantum attacks. To share this research responsibly, we engaged with the U.S. government and developed a new method to describe these vulnerabilities via a zero-knowledge proof, so they can be verified without providing a roadmap for bad actors. We urge other research teams to do the same to keep people safe. We look forward to continuing our work across the industry following our 2029 timeline alongside others working on responsible approaches, like Coinbase, the Stanford Institute for Blockchain Research, and the Ethereum Foundation… In our whitepaper, we share updated estimates of the quantum computing “resources” necessary to break the 256-bit elliptic curve discrete logarithm problem on which elliptic curve cryptography is based. We express our resource estimates in terms of the number of logical qubits (error-corrected qubits composed of hundreds of physical qubits) and Toffoli gates (expensive elementary operations on qubits that are the primary driver of the time needed to execute many algorithms). Specifically, we have compiled two quantum circuits that implement Shor’s algorithm for ECDLP-256: one that uses less than 1,200 logical qubits and 90 million Toffoli gates and one that uses less than 1,450 logical qubits and 70 million Toffoli gates. We estimate that these circuits can be executed on a superconducting qubit CRQC with fewer than 500,000 physical qubits in a few minutes, given standard assumptions about hardware capabilities that are consistent with some of Google’s flagship quantum processors. This is an approximately 20-fold reduction in the number of physical qubits required to solve ECDLP-256 and a continuation of a long history of gradual optimization in compiling quantum algorithms to fault-tolerant circuits. Most blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies currently rely on ECDLP-256 for critical aspects of their security. As we argue in our paper, PQC represents a well-understood path to post-quantum blockchain security, underwriting confidence in the long-term viability of cryptocurrencies and the digital economy in a world with CRQCs. We provide examples of post-quantum blockchains and experimental PQC deployments on otherwise quantum-vulnerable blockchains. We note that while viable solutions like PQC exist, they will take time to implement, bringing increasing urgency to act. We also lay out additional recommendations for the cryptocurrency community to help improve security and stability in the short term and long term, including refraining from exposing or reusing vulnerable wallet addresses as well as potential policy options to address abandoned cryptocoins.”

QPU SALE: Rigetti Computing (RGTI) announced that it has sold a 9-qubit Novera QPU to the University of Saskatchewan. The Novera QPU, which was shipped in March, will be at the core of USask’s first quantum computing system. The system will be managed by USask’s Centre for Quantum Topology and its Applications, an interdisciplinary institute devoted to advancing quantum science and quantum technology development.

NEW ALGORITHM CLASS: IBM (IBM) and ETH Zurich announced a 10-year collaboration to advance the next generation of algorithms at the intersection of AI and quantum computing. This initiative represents the latest milestone in the long-standing collaboration between the two institutions. Over the next decade, IBM and ETH Zurich aim to create new classes of algorithms capable of bridging classical computing, machine learning, and quantum systems to address some of the day’s critical challenges in business. IBM will also support the creation of professorship positions and research projects at ETH Zurich, with the goal of advancing the algorithmic expertise of the next generation workforce.

ECHONET CONSORTIUM: Sealsq (LAES) announced it has joined the Echonet Consortium, an international standardization body for smart home and energy management systems. The Echonet Consortium plans to enhance its Echonet Lite security framework with public key infrastructure technology, and Sealsq aims to contribute to enhancing the identity, authentication, and reliability of Echonet Lite devices by providing its INeS PKI platform services to consortium members.

SIMULATION OF MAGNETIC MATERIALS: IBM announced new results that its quantum computer can simulate real magnetic materials with results that match neutron scattering experiments. The work, reported in a pre-print, was conducted by scientists from the U.S. Department of Energy-funded Quantum Science Center at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Purdue University, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the University of Tennessee and IBM. The company said, “The ability to design new materials-such as better superconductors, more efficient batteries, or novel drugs-depends on understanding quantum behavior that is often challenging for classical methods to model. While quantum computers are expected to address this challenge, it has remained unclear whether today’s processors could deliver quantitatively reliable simulations of real materials. These results show that current quantum hardware, combined with new algorithms and quantum-centric supercomputing workflows, can already simulate properties of materials, which in general, can be difficult to predict using classical methods alone.”

UK INVESTMENT: Rigetti announced that it intends to invest up to $100M in the UK to accelerate quantum computing development, which will be the company’s first major investment outside of the U.S. With this investment, the company plans to deploy a quantum computer with over 1,000 qubits in the next three to four years. This follows the UK’s recently announced program that will dedicate up to GBP 2B of government investment with the aim of establishing the UK as a global leader in quantum computing.