CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- A prototype
quantum processor repeatedly beat a traditional, classical
processor in a race to solve a puzzle, figuring out a secret
combination up to 100 times faster by using exotic physics to sort
through data that was deliberately packed with errors.
The experiment, detailed in a new academic paper by scientists
from Raytheon (NYSE:RTN) and IBM, marks a small but significant
step forward for quantum computing – an emerging area of technology
that could one day lead to things like advanced encryption
technologies, complex new medicines and more accurate radars.
Specifically, the team's work challenges the notion quantum
computers will never have more than a negligible advantage over
classical machines.
"Despite all the excitement about quantum computing, there are
still lingering doubts that what we're after is on loose
foundations," said Blake Johnson, a
co-author of the paper, "Demonstration of quantum advantage in
machine learning," published in the April
2017 issue of the journal Nature Quantum Information. "We're
really on the verge of putting the nail in the coffin of those
doubts."
Researchers say the findings are encouraging, but they caution
that practical quantum computers are still years away. The
processor chip used in the experiment has only five quantum bits,
used to store data, compared to the millions of bits found on a
typical computer chip. The combination it cracked had only four
digits.
The experiment took place at Raytheon BBN Technologies in
Cambridge, Massachusetts. Working
amid a web of wires, dials and digital displays, the team
programmed an ordinary desktop computer to generate a four-digit
combination. They sent that data to a small quantum circuit that
can also function as a classical processor.
At first, with plain, clean data, the race was a tie – a result
the IBM researchers predicted in a previous paper. So the team made
the problem harder, telling the desktop computer to confuse the
processor by mixing errors into the information. As the data became
dirtier, the quantum processor's margin of victory increased.
The processor used a quantum phenomenon known as entanglement,
which allowed it to see two pieces of data as identical twins; as
long as it could see one piece, it knew everything about the other.
The classical processor, by contrast, was far less tolerant of the
distorted data; just one glitch would throw off the rest of its
computations.
The findings hint at a day when scaled-up quantum computers
could start solving seriously complicated problems, researchers
said
"It's a very clear demonstration of a quantum processor
outperforming a classical processor by a very large factor," said
Zac Dutton, who leads the quantum
information processing group at Raytheon BBN Technologies. "It
shows that quantum computing can actually work."
A full news feature on the research is available at
Raytheon.com.
About Raytheon
Raytheon Company, with 2016 sales of $24
billion and 63,000 employees, is a technology and innovation
leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity
solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 95 years, Raytheon
provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration,
C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support
for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered
in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow
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