Multiverse Computing, a Spanish quantum computing company, has released new research on using quantum computers for complex mathematical calculations using a new algorithm. The algorithm is designed to enable quantum computers to run complex calculations used by scientists commonly, including derivatives, partial differential equations, Fourier analysis, and other measures that require specialized software.
The Multiverse algorithm is a tool for performing calculations on continuous variables, which cannot be counted because they can take on an unlimited number of values. The algorithm is intended for programmable quantum computers and was tested on a simulator. It could be used in factory operations, for example, to optimize processes based on constantly changing factors such as temperature, humidity, and air pressure.
To obtain the full effect of the algorithm, the researchers combined two approaches to continuous optimization – encoding qubits with three continuous variables and quantum state tomography. The algorithm takes advantage of quantum computers’ finest properties, including entanglement, superpositions, and continuous encoding.
In their method, each qubit in the quantum circuit encodes up to three continuous variables in the Bloch sphere parameters: two angles and one radius. Combining this with single-qubit quantum tomography, variational optimization of circuit parameters allows for the purely analog and quick determination of the extreme values of multidimensional functions.
However, this would give a stronger representation power at the expense of being more difficult to read out using multiqubit quantum state tomography. Encoding the variables in the parameters of mixed-state qubits results in a multiqubit entangled state created by the variational quantum circuit. In contrast, encoding in pure-state qubits results in a separable non-entangled state. Because their optimization approach is heuristic, it is extremely resistant to noise. This also makes it difficult to analyze its computing complexity.
Despite this limitation, their quantum optimization algorithm is the cornerstone of an efficient quantum toolbox for mathematical analysis on NISQ processors. A 127-qubit quantum computer, such as the IBM-Q System One, could use this technique to evaluate 381-dimensional functions in the continuum directly. The classical simulation of these quantum algorithms is extraordinarily fast, with performance equivalent to ordinary classical computational software.
“Our research shows that we can transform today’s Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices into advanced quantum-based ‘calculators’ that are able to do very complex calculations with very few qubits and limited error correction and provide value now,”
Román Orús, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer at Multiverse.
