Category Archives: Quantum Computer
$5M NSF Grant to Fund Research on Quantum Internet Foundations – Maryland Today
The National Science Foundation (NSF) today announced a $5 million, two-year award to a University of Maryland-led multi-institutional team to develop quantum interconnectscrucial technology to connect quantum computers and pave the way for a quantum internet.
The team, QuaNeCQT (Quantum Networks to Connect Quantum Technology), has been developing the quantum versions of a modem and a routerfamiliar equipment in the world of standard, or classical computing, but a challenge to build for use with devices that operate based on the principles of quantum.
The devices allow ion trap quantum computersa leading approach to quantum information processing developed in part at the University of Marylandto exchange quantum information over distances measured in kilometers, eventually leading to the development of networks that could revolutionize numerous industries and help solve vexing societal problems.
Quantum networks are at an inflection point with the potential for significant expansion, said Edo Waks, a professor of electrical and computer engineering and associate director of UMDs Quantum Technology Center (QTC). But the scale-up cant happen without standardized modular hardware between the new computers that are emerging and the vast infrastructure of the current internet.
The hardware we are developing will address the critical gap, opening up the door to the future quantum internet that can connect quantum computers over continental distances, said Waks.
Other UMD team members include physics Assistant Professor and QTC Fellow Norbert Linke, and Mid-Atlantic Crossroads (MAX) Executive Director Tripti Sinha, assistant vice president and chief technology officer for UMDs Division of Information Technology. The team also includes Dirk Englund of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Saikat Guha of the University of Arizona.
The researchers plan to deploy this new technology in the Mid-Atlantic Region Quantum Internet (MARQI), UMD's regional quantum network footprint. The MARQI network will interconnect quantum computers at UMD, the Army Research Laboratory, MAX and IonQa leading quantum computing company focused on ion-trap computers that operates in UMDs Discovery Districtwith a potential for significant expansion.
During the first phase of research, the team developed working prototypes of the quantum router and modem. Using a process called quantum frequency conversion, the modem converts signals from a quantum computer to infrared photons that can propagate through optical fibers over long distances. The router is powered by a silicon photonic chip that manipulates quantum signals in the network using quantum teleportationan effect demonstrated in 2009 by researchers at UMDs Joint Quantum Institute that allows quantum states to be transferred between particles that are physically separate. The team has deployed these prototypes in the MARQI network and established direct links with the various nodes of the network.
A quantum network could revolutionize numerous industries that take advantage of quantum computing including computing, banking, medicine and data analytics It would also enable connection of many multiple small quantum computers into powerful distributed quantum computers that could potentially solve problems with significant societal impact, from curing diseases to new approaches to fighting climate change.
As quantum technology converges with the Internet, a new technology sector would emerge, the researchers say, bringing with it the potential for major economic growth by producing rapid technological innovation and creating a large number of new jobs for the future quantum workforce, just as the emergence of the Internet did toward the late 20th century.
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$5M NSF Grant to Fund Research on Quantum Internet Foundations - Maryland Today
DoD Buys Two New Supercomputers That Rank Among Its Most Powerful Ever – Breaking Defense
Sandia National Laboratory Computer Annex conducts the hourly walk-through of the Thunderbird supercomputer at 2 a.m.
WASHINGTON: The Pentagon recently completed a $68 million acquisition of two new supercomputing platforms and related technical services that rank among its most powerful supercomputers ever and will be among the top 100 performers globally.
These are significant assets, Kevin Newmeyer, deputy director of the Defense Departments High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP), told Breaking Defense. They bring to us an increase in our computing capacity and the latest advanced chips for artificial intelligence work and storage to support applications of both computational and machine learning concepts within the same computer that we hope will deliver products and services to the warfighter faster.
Its the HPCMPs job to give DoD military and civilian as well as defense contractor scientists, engineers, and technologists access to such supercomputers to solve some of the militarys most computationally complex problems.
The problems range from climate/weather/ocean modeling and simulation, space/astrophysical sciences, and acoustics to signal/image processing, data/decision analytics, and electronics, networks, and C4I systems. Newmeyer said the most common use case is computational fluid dynamics, which is required for making complicated calculations in areas such as aircraft and ship design and engineering.
For the latest acquisition, the Pentagon chose Penguin Computings TrueHPC supercomputing platform. The two new supercomputers, according to the company, will provide DoD with a combined total of over 365,000 cores, more than 775 terabytes of memory, and a total of 47 petabytes of high-performance storage, including over 5 petabytes of high-performance flash storage.
Thats about 150,000 computers all stacked together, operating as one thing, Newmeyer said. If you laid them end to end, you would work your way pretty much across the country.
What does all that compute power get you? An additional 17.6 petaFLOPS, in total. FLOPS or floating point operations per second are the standard measure of a supercomputers performance. FLOPS are determined by how many real numbers a computer can process per second while accounting for the trade-off between range and precision of calculations.
FLOPS are a measure of computational power for solving computer-based problems. Its the horsepower of a machine, Penguins Vice President of Federal Sales Tom Ireland told Breaking Defense.
PetaFLOPS number one quadrillion (1,000,000,000,000,000). To put that in perspective, HPCMP currently has a total capacity across all of its supercomputers of approximately 100 petaFLOPS, according to Newmeyer. That includes the Navys most powerful (known) supercomputer, Narwhal, which is capable of 12.8 petaFLOPS. The known part of the Air Forces most powerful supercomputer, Mustang, is capable of 4.87 petaFLOPS. (Part of Mustang is classified, Newmeyer noted.) Penguins two TrueHPC supercomputers expected to register at 8.5 petaFLOPS and 9 petaFLOPS will be two of HPCMPs most powerful computers ever, Ireland said.
According to the Top500 Project, the fastest supercomputer in the world, as of June 2021, is Japans Fugaku, which registered 442.01 petaFLOPS in November 2020, taking the top spot from IBMs Summit (148.6 petaFLOPS), which is housed at the Department of Energys Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The Pentagons upgrade in supercomputing power comes amid an intense technological race against near-peer rival China. According to the Top500, China currently leads the world in the total number of supercomputers with 188, but when ranked by performance, the US has five of the top 10 most powerful supercomputers in the world, while China has two of the top 10. No other country has more than one in the top 10.
Ireland noted that Penguin, which has been building supercomputers for 20 years, has for years been running programs at the Department of Energy, which has the most powerful (known) supercomputers in the US. Fifteen of Penguins debuts over 20 years have made the Top500, and were DoD to run official benchmarks on these two new supercomputers, they would rank within the top 100 worldwide, Ireland said.
The Navys DoD Supercomputing Resource Center (DSRC) at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi will house one of the new platforms, while the other will go to the Air Force Research Labs DSRC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
But first Penguin has to build, deploy, and integrate them into HPCMPs network, known as the Defense Research Engineering Network (DREN). Ireland said Penguins TrueHPC consists of about 1,500 nodes, which must be engineered to work as one, giant machine.
The trick with distributed computing meaning its taking what heretofore was done on a mainframe-style computer where its all on a board, and its broken up into separate, discrete servers is making sure that is an adequate platform for any given application, Penguins Chief Strategy Officer Matt Jacobs told Breaking Defense. To make sure that balance between the elements is right and theres an appropriate amount of compute to solve the problem.
Jacobs said some of the key elements include data patterns, network traffic, and storage capacity, which all must be brought together in a way that doesnt strand investment in any given element of those resources and that its an effective production platform for the workload application. Thats really the art, he added.
Jacobs said that Penguin generally builds these types of platforms in a couple of months, but like many companies worldwide, Penguin has encountered challenges in the global supply chain, especially around chips. Jacobs and Ireland said the supply chain hiccups are beyond the companys control, but said they still wouldnt significantly delay the project.
Notably, the platforms will include over 100 NVIDIA graphics processing units, or GPUs, to bolster DoDs AI and machine learning capabilities, Ireland said.
Ultimately, Ireland said, the project is about keeping the US warfighter equipped with state-of-the-art technologies to solve compute problems. Were keeping our warfighters current. You dont want them fighting wars with F-14s when theres F-22s.
Its unclear how long the era of supercomputers will last, as the US and China, among others, race ahead towards quantum computing, which uses quantum mechanics to make a technological leap in processing power. But Newmeyer said hes not concerned traditional supercomputing platforms will become obsolete anytime soon.
Youll still have a use for these types of machines, he said. Any quantum computer built in the near future is going to be highly expensive to operate, and [quantum computers] are only more useful for certain applications maybe in some stuff around hypersonics, certainly cryptology, navigation there quantum has a key role. But for general computation, [quantum] is an awful lot of money.
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DoD Buys Two New Supercomputers That Rank Among Its Most Powerful Ever - Breaking Defense
College Park’s IonQ and the University of Maryland are teaming up to open a $20M quantum lab – Technical.ly DC
This fall, the University of Maryland College Park (UMD) and College Park quantum computing company IonQ are partnering up to open the National Quantum Lab (Q-Lab), specializing in research of the technology.
Decked out with a commercial grade quantum computer and hardware from IonQ, UMD Chief Strategy Officer Ken Ulman said it will be a space for students and staff to explore solutions using quantum technology. The lab, which is being created with a $20 million investment from the school, is part of UMDs larger expansion of quantum resources at a time when scientists are moving to take the technology from the lab to commercial companies. So far, UMD has invested $300 million in quantum science, and has been working in the field on its campus for over 30 years.
Ulman told Technical.ly that UMD decided to pursue a national lab because it became apparent that quantum computing has the potential to help solve many of the worlds challenges, while also brining innovation to the local area.
We think theres an opportunity here to create, Ulman said. And we think that the Silicon Valley of X is totally overplayed and overused, but this may be one of the few times that its appropriate.
The lab, which will be located in the universitys innovation-centered development known as the Discovery District, will open next to IonQs headquarters. It will give students a chance to directly interact with IonQ employees. IonQ will also be assisting with staffing and program development within the lab, and it will serve as a collaborative workspace for students and staff.
The news coincides with IonQs move to go public, which is expected to be finalized in the next few weeks. The company, which started at a UMD lab, is said to be valued at approximately $2 billion following the IPO.
We are very proud that the nations leading center of academic excellence in quantum research chose IonQs hardware for this trailblazing partnership, said Peter Chapman, president and CEO of IonQ, in a statement. UMD has been at the vanguard of this field since quantum computing was in its infancy, and has been a true partner to IonQ as we step out of the lab and into commerce, industry, and the public markets.
Its location in the Discovery District, Ulman said, is also very intentional, because the investment in quantum is not happening in a vacuum, and it comes alongside a host of investment in the tech in and out of UMD. He hopes that the new center will help bring more innovation and investment to the area, especially given the potential reach of quantum technology. In addition to cybersecurity, he foresees applications in climate change solutions and rapid vaccine deployment, among other uses.
We believe that creating a hands-on quantum user facility that can bring those talented people from around the world to come to the University of Marylandand collaborate with the men and women at IonQ, we think its a really important step to creating the ecosystem, Ulman said.
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College Park's IonQ and the University of Maryland are teaming up to open a $20M quantum lab - Technical.ly DC
Where the laws of matter break down, a quantum discovery crops up – UPJ Athletics
For decades, scientistshave been fascinated by superfluids materials under extreme conditions where the typical laws of matter break down and friction disappears entirely.
University of Pittsburgh Professor of Physics and Astronomy Vincent Liu and an international team of collaborators report the creation of a stable material that achieves long-sought-after and strange quantum properties. This topological superfluid could find use in a variety of futuristic technologies and in the meantime will provide plenty of new questions for physicists to chew on.
Its a fundamental concept that might have a very huge impact to society in its application, Liu said.
In his field of artificial materials, theres a close interplay between two kinds of physicists: Those like Liu who specialize in theory use math and physics to imagine yet-undiscovered phenomena that could be useful for futuristic technologies, and otherswhodesign experiments that use contained, simplified systems of particles to try to create materials that act in the ways theorists predicted. Its the feedback between these two groups that pushes the field forward.
Liu and his collaborators, a team composed of both theorists and experimentalists, have been pursuing a material that holds the useful properties of a superfluid regardless of shape and is also stable in the lab, a combination that has eluded researchers for years. The solution they arrived at was shining lasers in a honeycomb pattern on atoms. The way those lasers combine and cancel each other out in repeating patterns can coerce the atoms into interacting with one another in strange ways. The team published their results in Nature on Aug. 11.
To say that the experiment sits on a technical knife edge would be an understatement. It requires that atoms be kept at a temperature of around one ten-millionth of a degree above absolute zero. Its among the coolest systems on Earth, Liu said. All the while, the heat delivered by lasers makes it even more challenging to keep it cool.
Even the act of cooling the material creates its own wrinkles. The teams main trick was to use evaporation, meaning the warmest atoms fly off, but achieving a material with the right density means there also needs to be plenty of atoms remaining after evaporation. Combining just the right set of conditions is a stunning technical feat, pioneered in the lab of Lius collaborator and former postdoc Zhi-Fang Xu, a physicist at the Southern University of Science and Technology in Shenzhen, China. Another collaborator, quantum optics expert Andreas Hemmerich at the University of Hamburg in Germany, helped design the lattice of lasers that holds the atoms in place.
For the international team of physicists, that balancing act is worth it. The resulting material, the teams calculations show, is the much-sought-after topological superfluid needed to create next-generation quantum computers. But because Lius team used atoms to produce these quantum effects rather than using lighter particles like electrons orphotons, any quantum computer made from the material would be impractically slow. Instead, Liu said, it will likely be most useful for studying the finer points of how that technology might work.
Its like youre watching an NBA player in slow motion. Youre going to see all of the motion, all of the subtle physics, in a very clear way, he explained.
That more fine-tuned understanding could help researchers design quantum computers that could handle fast calculations. And the materials stability compared to other quantum materials could lend itself to other uses, like hyper-precise timekeeping and information storage.
As exciting as the discovery is, it represents only one line of Lius work as a theorist, he works with physicists across the globe to push the boundaries of different kinds of quantum materials. Besides the thrill of discovery and the mathematical beauty of the physics, Liu says its those collaborations that keep him excited about the field.
You could say the community moves as a whole, he said. If I just walked by myself, I probably wouldnt move very far.
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Where the laws of matter break down, a quantum discovery crops up - UPJ Athletics
Small, diamond-based quantum computers could be in our hands within five years – Cosmos Magazine
Small, affordable, plug-and-play quantum computing is one step closer. An Australian startup has won $13 million to make its diamond-based computing cores shine. Now it needs to grow.
ANU research spinoff Quantum Brilliance has found a way to use synthetic diamonds to drive quantum calculations. Now its on a five-year quest to produce commercially viable Quantum Accelerators. The goal is a card capable of being plugged into any existing computer system similar to the way graphics cards are now.
Were not deluding ourselves, says CEO Dr Andrew Horsley. Theres still a lot of work to do. But weve now got a five-year pathway to produce a lunchbox-sized device.
To do this, Quantum Brilliance is hiring 20 engineers, scientists, physicists, software engineers, and control engineers. The resulting quantum accelerator card will be valuable for self-driving car manufacturers, materials research labs, logistics hubs and financial services firms.
Weve understood electricity and magnetism for a long time, Dr Horsley says. We now understand quantum phenomena and are in the process of turning that into technology. Its very exciting. And its not just an iterative improvement. This is a whole new way of computing. And were doing it here, in Australia.
Read more: Innovation with spin qubits sparks breakthrough in quantum computing
Its about big-time boosts in performance.
If youve got one inside your self-driving car, it will be much better able to interpret its environment and make smarter decisions, Dr Horsley says. Or you could have a stack of them in a supercomputer, working through combinations of chemical properties to quickly simulate new battery materials or drugs.
The goal is to demonstrate a 50 qubit accelerator card by 2025. A qubit is the quantum equivalent of a traditional computers basic unit of data a bit.
Quantum Brilliances success has been using diamond as the engine for quantum processing in the same way silicon drives existing chips.
Most importantly, this can be done at room temperature with relatively simple control systems.
Competing techniques need cryogenic cooling or complex lasers to calm subatomic vibrations that can disrupt fragile quantum states.
Diamond is so rigid that, even at room temperature, we have long-lived quantum properties, Dr Horsley says. Thats the key. We have a diamond with ultra-high-density qubits inside of it, sitting there, in ambient conditions.
The technology is ready. Now the challenge is to turn it into a commercially viable reality.
We need to scale up the number of qubits that weve got while at the same time shrinking down the size of the control systems into a portable package, he says.
At the same time, different companies and institutions will be acting as testbeds for simulated quantum computing to design the software needed for the real thing.
This is helping Australian companies understand quantum computing and their own applications so that theyre ready to commercially exploit these powerful devices as soon as they become available, he adds.
The $13 million investment is led by QxBranch founders and Main Sequence investment consortium.
Originally published by Cosmos as Small, diamond-based quantum computers could be in our hands within five years
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Small, diamond-based quantum computers could be in our hands within five years - Cosmos Magazine
IBM partners with the University of Tokyo on quantum computer – Illinoisnewstoday.com
Tokyo IBM and the University of Tokyo have announced one of Japans most powerful quantum computers.
According to IBM, IBM Quantum System One is part of the Japan-IBM quantum partnership between the University of Tokyo and IBM, advancing Japans quest for quantum science, business and education.
IBM Quantum System One is currently in operation for researchers at both Japanese scientific institutions and companies, and access is controlled by the University of Tokyo.
IBM is committed to growing the global quantum ecosystem and facilitating collaboration between different research communities, said Dr. Dario Gil, director of IBM Research.
According to IBM, quantum computers combine quantum resources with classical processing to provide users with access to reproducible and predictable performance from high-quality qubits and precision control electronics. Users can safely execute algorithms that require iterative quantum circuits in the cloud.
see next: IBM partners with Atos on contract with Dutch Ministry of Defense
IBM Quantum System One in Japan is IBMs second system built outside the United States. In June, IBM unveiled the IBM Quantum System One, managed by the scientific research institute Fraunhofer Geselleschaft, in Munich, Germany.
IBMs commitment to quantum is aimed at advancing quantum computing and fostering a skilled quantum workforce around the world.
We are thrilled to see Japans contributions to research by world-class academics, the private sector, and government agencies, Gil said.
Together, we can take a big step towards accelerating scientific progress in different areas, Gil said.
Teruo Fujii, President of the University of Tokyo, said, In the field of rapidly changing quantum technology, it is very important not only to develop elements and systems related to quantum technology, but also to develop the next generation of human resources. To achieve a high degree of social implementation.
Our university has a wide range of research capabilities and has always promoted high-level quantum education from the undergraduate level. Now, with IBM Quantum System One, we will develop the next generation of quantum native skill sets. Further refine it.
In 2020, IBM and the University of Tokyo Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC) aims to strategically accelerate the research and development activities of quantum computing in Japan by bringing together the academic talents of universities, research groups and industries nationwide.
Last year, IBM also announced partnerships with several organizations focusing on quantum information science and technology. Cleveland Clinic, NS Science and Technology Facilities Council in the United Kingdom, And that University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign..
see next: Public cloud computing provider
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IBM partners with the University of Tokyo on quantum computer - Illinoisnewstoday.com
A Simple Crystal Could Finally Give Us Large-Scale Quantum Computing, Scientists Say – ScienceAlert
Vaccine and drug development, artificial intelligence, transport and logistics, climate science - these are all areas that stand to be transformed by the development of a full-scale quantum computer. And there has been explosive growth in quantum computing investment over the past decade.
Yet current quantum processors are relatively small in scale, with fewer than 100 qubits - the basic building blocks of a quantum computer. Bits are the smallest unit of information in computing, and the term qubits stems from "quantum bits".
While early quantum processors have been crucial for demonstrating the potential of quantum computing, realizing globally significant applications will likely require processors with upwards of a million qubits.
Our new research tackles a core problem at the heart of scaling up quantum computers: how do we go from controlling just a few qubits, to controlling millions? In research published today in Science Advances, we reveal a new technology that may offer a solution.
Quantum computers use qubits to hold and process quantum information. Unlike the bits of information in classical computers, qubits make use of the quantum properties of nature, known as "superposition" and "entanglement", to perform some calculations much faster than their classical counterparts.
Unlike a classical bit, which is represented by either 0 or 1, a qubit can exist in two states (that is, 0 and 1) at the same time. This is what we refer to as a superposition state.
Demonstrations by Google and others have shown even current, early-stage quantum computers can outperform the most powerful supercomputers on the planet for a highly specialized (albeit not particularly useful) task - reaching a milestone we call quantum supremacy.
Google's quantum computer, built from superconducting electrical circuits, had just 53 qubits and was cooled to a temperature below -273 in a high-tech refrigerator. This extreme temperature is needed to remove heat, which can introduce errors to the fragile qubits. While such demonstrations are important, the challenge now is to build quantum processors with many more qubits.
Major efforts are underway at UNSW Sydney to make quantum computers from the same material used in everyday computer chips: silicon. A conventional silicon chip is thumbnail-sized and packs in several billion bits, so the prospect of using this technology to build a quantum computer is compelling.
In silicon quantum processors, information is stored in individual electrons, which are trapped beneath small electrodes at the chip's surface. Specifically, the qubit is coded into the electron's spin. It can be pictured as a small compass inside the electron. The needle of the compass can point north or south, which represents the 0 and 1 states.
To set a qubit in a superposition state (both 0 and 1), an operation that occurs in all quantum computations, a control signal must be directed to the desired qubit. For qubits in silicon, this control signal is in the form of a microwave field, much like the ones used to carry phone calls over a 5G network. The microwaves interact with the electron and cause its spin (compass needle) to rotate.
Currently, each qubit requires its own microwave control field. It is delivered to the quantum chip through a cable running from room temperature down to the bottom of the refrigerator at close to -273. Each cable brings heat with it, which must be removed before it reaches the quantum processor.
At around 50 qubits, which is state-of-the-art today, this is difficult but manageable. Current refrigerator technology can cope with the cable heat load. However, it represents a huge hurdle if we're to use systems with a million qubits or more.
An elegant solution to the challenge of how to deliver control signals to millions of spin qubits was proposed in the late 1990s. The idea of "global control" was simple: broadcast a single microwave control field across the entire quantum processor.
Voltage pulses can be applied locally to qubit electrodes to make the individual qubits interact with the global field (and produce superposition states).
It's much easier to generate such voltage pulses on-chip than it is to generate multiple microwave fields. The solution requires only a single control cable and removes obtrusive on-chip microwave control circuitry.
For more than two decades global control in quantum computers remained an idea. Researchers could not devise a suitable technology that could be integrated with a quantum chip and generate microwave fields at suitably low powers.
In our work we show that a component known as a dielectric resonator could finally allow this. The dielectric resonator is a small, transparent crystal which traps microwaves for a short period of time.
The trapping of microwaves, a phenomenon known as resonance, allows them to interact with the spin qubits longer and greatly reduces the power of microwaves needed to generate the control field. This was vital to operating the technology inside the refrigerator.
In our experiment, we used the dielectric resonator to generate a control field over an area that could contain up to four million qubits. The quantum chip used in this demonstration was a device with two qubits. We were able to show the microwaves produced by the crystal could flip the spin state of each one.
There is still work to be done before this technology is up to the task of controlling a million qubits. For our study, we managed to flip the state of the qubits, but not yet produce arbitrary superposition states.
Experiments are ongoing to demonstrate this critical capability. We'll also need to further study the impact of the dielectric resonator on other aspects of the quantum processor.
That said, we believe these engineering challenges will ultimately be surmountable - clearing one of the greatest hurdles to realizing a large-scale spin-based quantum computer.
Jarryd Pla, Senior Lecturer in Quantum Engineering, UNSW and Andrew Dzurak, Scientia Professor in Quantum Engineering, UNSW.
This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
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A Simple Crystal Could Finally Give Us Large-Scale Quantum Computing, Scientists Say - ScienceAlert
IBM Partnering with University of Tokyo on Quantum Computer – Datamation
TOKYO IBM and the University of Tokyo have unveiled one of the most powerful quantum computers in Japan.
IBM Quantum System One is part of the Japan-IBM Quantum Partnership between the University of Tokyo and IBM to advance Japans exploration of quantum science, business, and education, according to IBM last month.
IBM Quantum System One is now operational for researchers at both scientific institutions and businesses in Japan, with access administered by the University of Tokyo.
IBM is committed to the growth of the global quantum ecosystem and fostering collaboration between different research communities,, said Dr. Dario Gil, director, IBM Research.
The quantum computer gives users access to repeatable and predictable performance from high-quality qubits and high-precision control electronics, with quantum resources tightly coupled with classical processing, according to IBM. Users can securely run algorithms requiring repetition of quantum circuits in the cloud.
The IBM Quantum System One in Japan is the second system of its kind by IBM to be built outside the U.S. In June, IBM unveiled an IBM Quantum System One in Munich, Germany, which is administered by Fraunhofer Geselleschaft, a scientific research organization.
IBMs quantum efforts are intended to help advance quantum computing and develop a skilled quantum workforce worldwide.
Gil is excited to see the contributions to research that will be made by Japans world-class academic, private sector, and government institutions.
Together, we can take major steps to accelerate scientific progress in a variety of fields, Gil said.
Teruo Fujii, president of the University of Tokyo, said that in the rapidly changing field of quantum technology, it is extremely important not only to develop quantum technology-related elements and systems, but also to foster the next generation of human resources in order to achieve advanced social implementation on a global scale.
Our university has a broad base of research talents and has been always promoting high-level quantum education from the undergraduate level. Now, we will further refine the development of the next generation of quantum native skill sets by utilizing IBM Quantum System One.
In 2020, IBM and the University of Tokyo launched the Quantum Innovation Initiative Consortium (QIIC), with the goal of strategically accelerating quantum computing research and development activities in Japan by bringing together academic talent from across the countrys universities, research associations, and industry.
In the last year, IBM has also announced partnerships that include a focus on quantum information science and technology with several organizations: the Cleveland Clinic, the UKs Science and Technologies Facilities Council, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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IBM Partnering with University of Tokyo on Quantum Computer - Datamation
The week in science news: Olympic Bat, controlled qubits, and speeding metal stars – TechRadar
This week's science news was an eclectic mix of astronomy, conservation, and more trouble for Boeing's Starliner capsule.
There was trouble for Olympic Bat, who was taken down just 127 miles away from breaking a world record for the longest bat flight ever recorded, and you probably won't be surprised by the culprit.
Boeing suffered a crushing setback for its Starliner capsule after engineers could not fix a valve problem in its propulsion system, possibly keeping it grounded into 2022.
Researchers believe they may have tracked down the origin of the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, while astronomers in Boston say a white dwarf traveling 2 million miles an hour and destined to leave the galaxy was propelled by a gigantic supernova.
Finally, a new study out of the University of New South Wales says that a novel technique for controlling qubits in a quantum computer could be the key to developing large-scale quantum computers.
A Nathusius' Pipistrelle, a species of bat about the size of a thumb, was on a migration for the history books when an unidentified domestic cat in Russia grievously wounded it and left it for dead.
It had flown 1,253.9 miles (2,018 km) from the UK before being felled in the Russian village of Moglino, where it was found by conservationists who were unable to save its life.
They were able to determine where it came from though, thanks to a tag on its arm with London Zoo written on it. Though it was just 127 miles shy of the world record another Nathusius' Pipistrelle travelled 1,381 miles (2,223km) from Latvia to Spain in 2019 it had to settle for second place.
It did break a number of other records, however, including the longest bat flight across Europe from east to west, so it will at least be remembered by history for something and will remain first in our hearts forever.
A white dwarf star made of metals and heavy minerals is currently blazing a trail against the rotation of the Milky Way at 2 million mph or four times the speed of our sun's galactic orbit more than fast enough to break free of the galaxy entirely.
It is likely a piece of stellar shrapnel from a supernova, though researchers at Boston University aren't sure if the star is a remnant of one that went supernova or a partner star in a binary star system unlucky enough to be standing next to its partner when it exploded.
Its composition intrigued the astronomers after detecting the presence of magnesium and neon, which is exceptionally rare in most white dwarfs, but are commonly produced under the intense energy of a supernova.
While anything heavier than helium is considered a metal by astronomers, common metals like magnesium did suffuse the star, something that all but rules out other possible causes.
Whether the exploding star blasted its partner full of metals as it sent it careening across the galaxy or it produced them itself under the intense pressure and energy of the supernova as it blew itself apart remains an open question.
The asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago was absolutely massive, much larger than most asteroid impactors, and it turns out that they shoot past earth more often than previously thought.
A member of the carbonaceous chondrites class of asteroids, the rock that smashed into Earth just off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula and created the Chicxulub crater came from the outer half of the asteroid belt, which is full of large, rather dark material left over from the formation of the solar system.
What's more, asteroids from this region are dislodged and sent hurtling toward the inner planets 10 times more frequently than first understood, leading to massive impacts like the Chicxulub Impactor once every 250 million years which at least gives us some breathing room before the next one hits.
The August launch window for the Boeing Starliner capsule was looking pretty bleak until the afternoon of Friday, August 13, when Boeing announced that it was going to destack its Starliner capsule from the United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket and bring the capsule back to the NASA Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility for deeper troubleshooting.
Engineers have been working around the clock to find the source of a valve malfunction that is keeping some valves in the capsules propulsion system from opening. After getting several open earlier this week, four valves remained closed with no solution possible without taking a deeper look into the capsule's propulsion system.
Boeing has struggled to get its Starliner capsule into orbit and docked with the International Space Station, having missed its first attempt to do so in 2020. The launch is a crucial step on the path to Boeing's Starliner ferrying astronauts into space.
Rival firm SpaceX has already advanced to successful crewed flights, so the stakes for a successful Starliner launch couldn't have been higher and this delay couldn't have come at a worse time for the storied aerospace company.
"It's probably too early to say whether it's this year, or not," said John Vollmer, vice president and program manager of Boeings Commercial Crew Program, of a possible Starliner launch in 2021. "I would certainly hope for as early as possible, and if we could fly this year it would be fantastic."
Qubits are notoriously finnicky things, and trying to control them long enough to quickly make the kind of complex calculations that would take even the world's fastest super computer hundreds of thousands of years to perform is an incredible challenge.
Researchers at Australia's University of New South Wales believe that they've solved the problem, developing a technique that would let quantum computing engineers control millions of cubits at once.
This could finally give us the kinds of quantum chips that are practically useful in fields like medical research, finance, logistics, and data security and could lead to a new era of human development not seen since the invention of the transistor.
Time will tell if their technique does what they say it does, but as the kids say: Big, if true.
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The week in science news: Olympic Bat, controlled qubits, and speeding metal stars - TechRadar
40 years ago the first IBM PC was presented, that’s how it was and what it knew how to do – Tech Gaming Report
It is incredible to think that 40 years have passed since the birth of the first personal computer, launched by IBM and cloned from its first months of life.
To be exact, 40 years and a day have passed since the IBM PC was launched on August 12, 1981: at the Waldorf Astoria in New York, at that time one of the most renowned hotels in the Big Apple, the 5150, first personal computer of the great company of Armonk.
The IBM personal computer was a real revolution at the time, although of course its cost was very high: in 1981. In the first months almost 200 thousand copies were sold, demonstrating how much it was appreciated by the general public.
The novelty was so appreciated that in the immediate future the first clones of the 5150 were born, the so-called IBM-compatible PCs. The 5150 was sold until 1987 it had an x86 microprocessor, the first computer of its kind to have one, and was eventually replaced by IBM Personal Computer XT.
As a demonstration of how technology is working at a rapid pace, 40 years after the launch of this personal computer, IBM will soon release its first quantum computer with more than 1000 qubits.
The shape of the Personal Computer has, from 1981 onwards, inspired the entire architecture of personal computers since then, although in 2004 the company stopped producing such models.
International Business Machines Corporation (commonly known as IBM and nicknamed Big Blue) is an American company, the oldest and among the largest in the world in the information technology sector. It produces and markets hardware, computer software, middleware, and IT services, offering infrastructure, hosting services, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and IT and strategic consulting.
Also important scientific research organization, which holds the record for most US patents issued by a company (as of 2020) for 27 consecutive years; Also active in the field of quantum computing, he also produced the first quantum cloud computer called IBM Q experience and the production of the first truly marketable quantum computer, called the IBM Q System One.
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IBM announced in October 2020 that it will be split into two separate public companies. The future target will be the Cloud Computing high margin andartificial intelligence, built on the foundation of the Red Hat acquisition in 2019.
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The new company NewCo, yet to be formally named, created by the unit Global Technology Services Managed Infrastructure ServicesIt will have 90,000 employees, 4,600 clients in 115 countries, with an order book of $ 60 billion. The IBM spin-off will be larger than any of its previous sales and will be well received by investors.
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40 years ago the first IBM PC was presented, that's how it was and what it knew how to do - Tech Gaming Report