6,162 research outputs found
Quantum Computing: Pro and Con
I assess the potential of quantum computation. Broad and important
applications must be found to justify construction of a quantum computer; I
review some of the known quantum algorithms and consider the prospects for
finding new ones. Quantum computers are notoriously susceptible to making
errors; I discuss recently developed fault-tolerant procedures that enable a
quantum computer with noisy gates to perform reliably. Quantum computing
hardware is still in its infancy; I comment on the specifications that should
be met by future hardware. Over the past few years, work on quantum computation
has erected a new classification of computational complexity, has generated
profound insights into the nature of decoherence, and has stimulated the
formulation of new techniques in high-precision experimental physics. A broad
interdisciplinary effort will be needed if quantum computers are to fulfill
their destiny as the world's fastest computing devices. (This paper is an
expanded version of remarks that were prepared for a panel discussion at the
ITP Conference on Quantum Coherence and Decoherence, 17 December 1996.)Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, submitted to Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. A, minor
correction
Layered architecture for quantum computing
We develop a layered quantum computer architecture, which is a systematic
framework for tackling the individual challenges of developing a quantum
computer while constructing a cohesive device design. We discuss many of the
prominent techniques for implementing circuit-model quantum computing and
introduce several new methods, with an emphasis on employing surface code
quantum error correction. In doing so, we propose a new quantum computer
architecture based on optical control of quantum dots. The timescales of
physical hardware operations and logical, error-corrected quantum gates differ
by several orders of magnitude. By dividing functionality into layers, we can
design and analyze subsystems independently, demonstrating the value of our
layered architectural approach. Using this concrete hardware platform, we
provide resource analysis for executing fault-tolerant quantum algorithms for
integer factoring and quantum simulation, finding that the quantum dot
architecture we study could solve such problems on the timescale of days.Comment: 27 pages, 20 figure
Simulating quantum field theory with a quantum computer
Forthcoming exascale digital computers will further advance our knowledge of
quantum chromodynamics, but formidable challenges will remain. In particular,
Euclidean Monte Carlo methods are not well suited for studying real-time
evolution in hadronic collisions, or the properties of hadronic matter at
nonzero temperature and chemical potential. Digital computers may never be able
to achieve accurate simulations of such phenomena in QCD and other
strongly-coupled field theories; quantum computers will do so eventually,
though I'm not sure when. Progress toward quantum simulation of quantum field
theory will require the collaborative efforts of quantumists and field
theorists, and though the physics payoff may still be far away, it's worthwhile
to get started now. Today's research can hasten the arrival of a new era in
which quantum simulation fuels rapid progress in fundamental physics.Comment: 22 pages, The 36th Annual International Symposium on Lattice Field
Theory - LATTICE201
Fault-tolerant computer study
A set of building block circuits is described which can be used with commercially available microprocessors and memories to implement fault tolerant distributed computer systems. Each building block circuit is intended for VLSI implementation as a single chip. Several building blocks and associated processor and memory chips form a self checking computer module with self contained input output and interfaces to redundant communications buses. Fault tolerance is achieved by connecting self checking computer modules into a redundant network in which backup buses and computer modules are provided to circumvent failures. The requirements and design methodology which led to the definition of the building block circuits are discussed
Optical Quantum Computation
We review the field of Optical Quantum Computation, considering the various
implementations that have been proposed and the experimental progress that has
been made toward realizing them. We examine both linear and nonlinear
approaches and both particle and field encodings. In particular we discuss the
prospects for large scale optical quantum computing in terms of the most
promising physical architectures and the technical requirements for realizing
them
- …