The Power of Quantum Computers is Becoming Increasingly Established in the Computing Industry. Recently, the fastest computer chips in the world were outperformed by a photonic quantum chip developed by researchers from Xanadu Quantum Technologies in Toronto, Canada, showcasing its ability to solve a complex problem.
According to the researchers’ documentation, current supercomputers and algorithms would take up to 9,000 years to solve this problem – yet the researchers’ Borealis quantum chip completed it in just 36 microseconds (each microsecond equals 1/1,000,000 seconds).
The problem referred to by the researchers is Gaussian Boson Sampling (GBS). This task requires the computer to generate a sample from the probability distribution of single photon measurements at the output of a circuit – and if it sounds nonsensical, that’s because even the fastest computers in the world struggle to comprehend and compute it.
Xanadu’s quantum computer.
The GBS task has certain advantages that make it uniquely suited for quantum setups, thus GBS has become a standard tool for calculating how much faster a quantum computer is compared to traditional computers.
While traditional computers use a binary system (0 and 1 representing off and on), quantum computers process up to 3 units of data using qubits (0, 1, and “both”). This gives them a remarkable speed advantage as they can compute the probabilities of each solution before utilizing it. In contrast, current traditional computers must trial each solution to determine its correctness.
Furthermore, the Borealis chip mentioned above is a photonic quantum chip, utilizing continuous light pulses to transmit quantum information. Even within the realm of quantum chips, it is a true powerhouse, boasting 219 qubits, of which 129 qubits are used for this research.
The cloud-based design of Borealis allows easier access for researchers.
The researchers believe that photonic quantum chips will be the most widely used architecture in the future, as they have significantly greater scalability compared to other solutions.
The Borealis chip stands out as each quantum gate is programmable, and although other chips may also offer this feature, they have yet to achieve quantum advantage (significantly superior computational power compared to traditional computers).
The researchers see this project as a critical milestone in advancing quantum computing. “This work is a significant milestone on the path to creating a true quantum computer, confirming the essential technological features of photonics as a platform for this goal.”
While all of this is extremely promising, especially considering the unparalleled performance of this photonic quantum chip, the GBS task currently lacks practical applications, and finding widespread real-world applications for quantum chips remains challenging. Even though the UK Ministry of Defence has recently purchased its first quantum computer for testing, it may still take years before such computers are deployed on a large scale.
This is partly why Xanadu is bringing the computational power of Borealis to the cloud, allowing researchers worldwide to access it more easily and create practical applications based on its extraordinary capabilities.
