Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub

We're delighted the Hub was able to help the ICO research for their "ICO tech futures: quantum technologies" report, which examines what a quantum-enabled future could look like, through a data protection and information rights lens. https://lnkd.in/eF4VBEaX

We have just released a comprehensive report on public attitudes towards quantum computing in the UK. The study reveals that while public awareness of quantum computing is growing, there is a mix of enthusiasm for potential benefits and concern about possible risks. Key findings include: ? 60% of respondents have heard of quantum computers, but only 11% claim more than a little knowledge ? Strong public enthusiasm for quantum computers' potential societal benefits, particularly in healthcare and climate change ? Support for UK development in quantum computing for security and defence, despite some concerns ?Recognition that potential benefits likely outweigh risks, though there are concerns exist about risks to jobs and other impacts ?Public desire for quantum computing to benefit society rather than just corporate interests ?Strong consensus on the need for regulation, with public involvement in the process You can find out more and download the report here:?https://lnkd.in/eNnaaUxa

This timeline, showing progress in Quantum Computing in the UK, is part of the Hub's Final Report, which you can see here: https://lnkd.in/eEqtbG7q

Now in its fifth and final year, the Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub is pleased to announce the publication of its?final report, summarising five years of collaborative research and innovation in quantum computing from across the UK. Established in December 2019 as part of the UK National Quantum Technologies Programme and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), the Hub has brought together 17 leading UK universities to tackle the most pressing challenges in quantum computing research. You can find the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eEqtbG7q

Keep an eye out for the Hub's final report, coming soon....

I'm excited to share that my very first research paper, titled "Generalising quantum imaginary time evolution to solve linear partial differential equations", has been published with Nature Portfolio in Scientific Reports! This work describes how quantum computers can simulate heat flow and other systems described with linear partial differential equations. A huge thanks to my advisor Colin Wilmott for his invaluable support and to the Quantum Computing and Simulation Hub for funding our research. You can read the full paper here: https://lnkd.in/g3NKvJuz #QuantumComputing #Research #Publication #ComputerScience #Physics #Maths

In the latest of our series of interviews with QCS Hub members, you can find out more about Professor Simon Benjamin's journey from rural roots to quantum frontiers... [Also available on the QCS Hub website at https://lnkd.in/eCQ3i4q9]

Why not take a look at some of the recent research from the Hub? Robust optimal control for a systematic error in the control amplitude of transmon qubits, Max Cykiert, Eran Ginossar, arXiv:2408.13554 https://lnkd.in/eV8P_dp6 A Graph-Theoretic Framework for Free-Parafermion Solvability, Ryan L. Mann, Samuel J. Elman, David R. Wood et al., arXiv:2408.09684 https://lnkd.in/et4YF_z3 Rapid stochastic spatial light modulator calibration and pixel crosstalk optimisation, P. Schroff, E. Haller, S. Kuhr, A. La Rooij, arXiv:2408.07672 https://lnkd.in/eHUKannm Robustness of electron charge shuttling: Architectures, pulses, charge defects and noise thresholds, Minjun Jeon, Simon C. Benjamin, Andrew J.Fisher, arXiv:2408.03315 https://lnkd.in/e6q-ByYP Exchange control in a MOS double quantum dot made using a 300 mm wafer process, Jacob F. Chittock-Wood, Ross C. C. Leon, Michael A. Fogarty et al., arXiv:2408.01241 https://lnkd.in/e3gqBUcB

Making conventional computers pretend to be quantum computers... The ideal way to test out an idea for a quantum algorithm, or an error mitigation technique, is of course to try it on a real quantum system. As more and more prototype quantum devices are put online, this becomes a real possibility. But in the current environment, the devices available are limited in scale, oversubscribed, and may suffer very severe levels of noise. Moreover, a given quantum device will have specific noise and connectivity properties that are ‘baked in’ whereas an algorithm designer may wonder how their idea will perform on systems that don’t yet even exist. For these reasons it is vital to have the power of emulation. ? In the Hub a family of emulators called QuEST (Quantum Exact Simulation Toolkit) has been developed. It is a C and C++ based simulation framework which supports a rich set of operations like Pauli gadgets, multi-qubit general unitaries, density matrices, and general Kraus maps. QuESTlink integrates these in Mathematica and pyQuEST gives Python programmers access to this resource. These emulators can run on local (e.g., laptop), multi-core, GPU, and distributed systems seamlessly. QuESTlink can even use remote hardware to perform simulations, with the results accessible within Mathematica.? ? To include noise the Virtual Quantum Device (VQD) platform was introduced [1]. This is a system based on the QuEST quantum emulator. Using VQDs, non-expert users can emulate specific quantum computers with detailed error models, bespoke gate sets and connectivity. Five families of VQDs corresponding to trapped ions, nitrogen- vacancy centres, neutral atom arrays, silicon quantum dot spins, and superconducting devices were created and explored, with close collaboration across our hardware work packages helping to enable this. The VQD platform offers researchers the ability to rapidly explore algorithms and protocols in a realistic setting; meanwhile, hardware experts can create their own VQDs to compare with their experiments. More information on QuEST can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ekUWeP6 ? [1] The Virtual Quantum Device (VQD): A tool for detailed emulation of quantum computers. C. Gustiani, T. Jones and S. Benjamin, arXiv:2306.07342.

From law to quantum physics: an unconventional journey... Andrew Daley is Professor of Quantum Physics at the University of Oxford and leader of the QCS Hub's work package on Cold Atoms, but his path to the world of quantum computing was not always clear-cut. "When I was at school, I was interested in a lot of things," he recalls. "Science and the world around me had always interested me. But so had history and literature." This breadth of interests initially led him to pursue law. "I went to Auckland University fully intending to study law and to become a lawyer," he explains. In New Zealand's university system, however, there's a flexibility that allows students to explore diverse subjects. "In the first year of a law degree in New Zealand it's typical that half of your subjects are law and half of them offer free choice from other parts of the university." This structure enabled Andrew to begin his law degree while simultaneously exploring his interest in physics. "I had really great physics lecturers and lab demonstrators in my first year at Auckland" he explains. "That made all the difference. I was so fascinated with the physics." Andrew's love of physics led him to put his law degree on hold and focus exclusively on his scientific work. Subsequently his academic interests took him from New Zealand to Austria, where he spent eight years delving deeper into quantum optics and quantum information. "I learned German. I had a theory background in quantum optics, but at the same time, again culturally as well as scientifically, that was where I really got my start in quantum simulation, and eventually in quantum information and quantum computing," Andrew shares. Following this, his career took him to the United States as an assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, before he returned to Europe to join the University of Strathclyde. "That was where I really got a little bit more into the focus on quantum technologies," he says. "Strathclyde has a lot of things both in metrology and sensing and then quantum computing and simulation, and strong connections with industry. It really strongly, positively influenced my perspective," he explains, "on the links between what we can achieve by collaborating with industrial partners" as part of the wider quantum ecosystem. Oxford and the future of quantum computing Having recently moved to the University of Oxford, Andrew is excited about the opportunities and connections his new position brings. In particular Oxford is strong in many of the areas where quantum computing may find early users. With chemistry, materials and computer science, for example, sitting alongside engineering and physics, Andrew says that "this breadth was one of the points that particularly attracted me." You can read the rest of the interview on our website: https://lnkd.in/gpZ27mTe