IBM's Quantum Processor Completes Complex Calculations in 19 Seconds

A team of researchers led by theoretical condensed matter physicist Tigran Sedracian has published results demonstrating quantum superiority using IBM's commercially available Nighthawk r2 quantum processor. The experiment involved randomly generated complex calculations and extracting a large number of bit sequences from the results. In this benchmark, 61 qubits were selected and subjected to up to 40 cycles in a random circuit.

The amount of computation required to reproduce these results on a classical computer is estimated to be approximately 10^22 complex operations for just one output. Collecting one million samples on a state-of-the-art supercomputer would be equivalent to around 110 years of computation time.

However, the team reported that a quantum computer using Nighthawk R2 completed the collection of 1 million samples in just 19 seconds after 36 cycles, according to their preprint version. This is the first example of demonstrating quantum superiority through common random circuit sampling on a commercially available and widely accessible quantum processor.

The research team states that 'This is the first example of demonstrating quantum superiority through common random circuit sampling on a commercially available and widely accessible quantum processor, and it can be easily replicated by most non-expert quantum computer users.'