IBM quantum computer taught to model complex chemical elements

    In September, IBM announced a major breakthrough in quantum computing. According to company data, the algorithm prepared by the researchers made it possible to work with the currently largest model of a molecule created on a quantum computer. Such experiments suggest that quantum processors are finally approaching the practical task assigned to them.

    According to Dario Gil, vice president of AI research and IBM Q at IBM Research, it is about improving our knowledge of natural phenomena. / Flickr / IBM Research / CC




    By and large, the purpose of quantum computing is to create simulations of complex natural processes. As you know, Google and IBM have opened access to their cloud-based quantum computing platforms for members of the academic environment. This means that researchers from all over the world will be able to join the work on unique quantum problems.

    In a simulation project, an IBM research team used a seven-qubit quantum processor. The objects were lithium hydride and beryllium hydride. The "quantum approach" is well suited for this task - the algorithms for chemical modeling really work properly on quantum processors, according toRobin Blume-Kohout of Sandia National Laboratories, US Department of Energy lab.

    Nevertheless, the most accurate simulations within the framework of similar tasks are performed on classical computers today, which is confirmed by the researchers themselves. They stipulate that their processor is not without flaws. The main challenge for them is taking quantum computing to a new level and working on highly efficient quantum algorithms. The team is confident that with the development of technology, quantum modeling can be used for increasingly complex chemical problems. Then the industry will go beyond the framework of classical computing, and modeling will help in the search for new drugs and energy sources.

    In 1985, David Deutsch of Oxford University described the first attempts to model various states using quantum computing. However, the first viable algorithm was designed by Peter Shor of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology almost 10 years later.

    As science journalist Philip Ball points out, after that the idea of ​​making a quantum computer faster than the traditional eclipsed the original goal, which was to study the quantum nature of various phenomena.

    The IBM experiment is a continuation of those studies that have already been conducted previously. For example, in the summer of 2016, a group of researchers led by professors Markus Reiher and Matthias Troyer of the Swiss Higher Technical School of Zurich resorted to quantum computing in the process of studying complex chemical reactions.

    Corporate solutions in this area are still gaining momentum. In a race with IBM, Google’s lab is already trying to commercialize its product. A number of researchers gained access to the platform, and according to official statements by the corporation, the system will demonstrate its superiority over existing supercomputers by the end of 2017.

    The solution to the basic issues of chemical modeling, according to journalist Philip Ball, may lie in adiabatic quantum computing (AQC). This approach is the foundation of D-Wave One, the first commercial quantum computer. Although its merits as an effective tool for quantum computing are being challenged , researchers from around the world are trying to access it.


    / Flickr / Steve Jurvetson / CC

    Last year, Google researchers developed the idea and introduced a prototype device that combines AQC with a “digital” approach. Based on this principle of operation, in 2016 Google managed to carry out simulations for a hydrogen molecule.

    One way or another, in all the described cases, the researchers faced the problem of scaling. To solve it, specialists actively work out and improve the algorithmic component. We will try to consider this topic in one of the following materials of our blog on Habré.

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