Southwest Quantum Information and Technology

The exciting and scary world of near term quantum computers

Presenting Author: Dave Bacon, Google

Quantum computing technology is entering a new era with multiple technologies set to build O(100) qubit devices with gate and measurement fidelities from two to three nines. These devices can, for artificial problems, thwart direct classical simulation (exciting!) but whether they can solve problems that are of practical importance is yet to be seen (scary!). In this talk I will discuss the challenges of these near term devices from the perspective of the Google's xmon superconducting qubit computers. Interesting challenges in computer architectures and programming languages emerge for these devices. I'll then discuss the prospects for different near term algorithms on these devices, attempting to inspire your brain to come up with new quantum algorithms for near term quantum computers.

(Session 10 : Saturday from 8:30am-9:15am)