Quantum News Briefs April 28: Pawsey & Quantum Brilliance announce hybrid quantum-classic computing milestone with room-temperature quantum system; IonQ announces agreement with UAE Quantum Center; ETSI releases world first protection profile for quantum key distribution + MORE.
Pawsey & Quantum Brilliance announce hybrid quantum-classic computing milestone with room-temperature quantum system
This milestone demonstrates the effectiveness of hybrid quantum and classical computing models working together to solve complex problems. Additionally, it validates the potential of using room-temperature quantum computers in real-world environments, which may lower barriers to widespread adoption of quantum computing technology.
The achievement was made possible through the collaboration between the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre and Quantum Brilliance, a leading innovator in quantum computing technology. Their combined efforts have brought quantum computing one step closer to mainstream application, with the potential to revolutionize various scientific and computational domains.
Looking ahead, Pawsey plans to run a series of quantum chemistry and quantum machine learning simulations on the hybrid system. These simulations will expand the possibilities for researchers to explore the potential of quantum computing in areas such as drug discovery, material science, AI/ML, and more. Click here to read announcement in-entirety.
IonQ announces agreement with UAE Quantum Center
“We are pleased to provide the Technology Innovation Institute with access to what we believe is the world’s most powerful, commercially available quantum computer, as they look to develop quantum algorithms to tackle today’s most complex problems,” said Peter Chapman, CEO & President of IonQ. “Interest in quantum computing has grown throughout the region these last few years, and IonQ is proud to be recognized as a leading driver of quantum hardware innovation and accessibility.”
In recent years, the UAE government has allocated millions of dollars to support the QRC-TII and advance the country’s burgeoning quantum computing industry. Consisting of a wide array of the world’s leading scientists, researchers, and engineers, the institute focuses its attention on creating better quantum algorithms on commercially available quantum systems. Today’s announcement furthers QRC-TII’s efforts for developing, benchmarking, and optimizing novel quantum algorithms as well as quantum device characterization and quantum error mitigation techniques.
“Access to IonQ Aria will provide QRC-TII developers the opportunity to test and optimize novel quantum-enhanced algorithms for computational challenges. These complex problems range from heuristic variational quantum circuits for optimization problems, to prototype implementations of rigorous quantum algorithms for matrix arithmetics and quantum simulation,” said Prof. José Ignacio Latorre, Chief Researcher, QRC-TII. “Additionally, users can more easily explore quantum device characterization and error mitigation techniques, potentially leading to more accurate algorithms.” Click here to read complete announcement.
ETSI releases world first protection profile for quantum key distribution
ETSI has just released a Protection Profile (PP) for the security evaluation of quantum key distribution (QKD) modules, ETSI GS QKD 016. Quantum News Briefs summarizes the April 27 announcement.
This Protection Profile is a first and anticipates the need for quantum safe cryptography. The ETSI specification will help manufacturers to submit pairs of QKD modules for evaluation under a security certification process. Such modules can be used by telecom operators and enterprises in securing their networks with the knowledge that certified products have been subjected to the scrutiny of a formal security evaluation process. The Protection Profile specifies high-level requirements for the physical implementation of prepare and measure QKD protocols through to the output of final secret keys.
First Protection Profile for the security evaluation of quantum key distribution (QKD) modules
* Anticipates the need for quantum safe cryptography
* Will help manufacturers to evaluate QKD under a security certification process
* Using widely recognized security certification scheme of the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation
“We are delighted to publish this initial Protection Profile as an important step to help certify QKD modules under the widely recognized security certification scheme of the Common Criteria for Information Technology Security Evaluation,” says Martin Ward, Chair of the ETSI ISG QKD. Click here to read announcement in-entirety.
Team of researchers in Canada & Europe developing a blueprint for future satellite quantum link technology
The researchers include Li Qian and Professor John Sipe (Physics) at the University of Toronto, as well as partners at the University of Waterloo, Quebec’s Institut national de la recherche scientifique, and several European institutions.
“Establishing a quantum link over such large distances will involve satellites. We’d be sending a couple of photons from Earth’s orbit to ground. It’s quite a challenge and requires various areas of expertise,” says Qian.
“Our aim is to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology,” says Sipe. “By going through the ups and downs of a satellite mission that integrates the unique demands of quantum communication, we’ll have a solid blueprint in place. Ultimately, HyperSpace is about making quantum applications attractive and realistic in the near future.”
While optical fibre can be used for short-reach quantum cryptography, the distance between the two parties who want to secure quantum encryption is limited because photons inevitably scatter in optical fibre after about a hundred kilometres, degrading the transmission.
In classical optical fibre communications, simple amplifiers can boost the transmission signal, but the quantum equivalent of these amplifiers, called quantum repeaters, is still in the early stages of development. “That’s why grounded optical fibre is no longer feasible if you want to share quantum keys between Toronto and Berlin, for example,” says Qian. “A quantum satellite is a way to overcome the challenges associated with this very large distance. Such a satellite would also be necessary someday for distributed quantum computing or a quantum internet.” Click here to read original article in University of Toronto, Engineering News.
Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.