My Journey from Classical to Quantum: Womanium Global Quantum Program {Part 1}
The journey began when I received a message about the registration for Womanium Quantum from Mr. Vardaan Sahgal [Quantum Software Lead]@ Womanium Quantum.
WOMANIUM is an organization created to encourage women in STEM as PRACHI J. V., one of its founders stated: “The next best thing to being the next great woman scientist is to discover the next great women scientists; and support, nurture and fund them!”. However, the programs also help those who are interested in becoming the quantum smiths of the future.
Marlou Slot, PhD, Program’s Head, and Lead, continuously reminded us that the “Womanium Quantum Scholarship” is the most extensive and comprehensive program in Quantum Computing in the market.
The opening lecture, delivered by Whurley (William Hurley), CEO of Strangeworks, and titled “Today’s Space Race: Quantum Computing,” was incredibly motivational. He urged us to advance in the field of quantum computing, saying that while it might be cold and snowy in the near future for QC, we will benefit in the long run from our choice to start a quantum start-up, pursue a Ph.D., or work for multinational corporations in the field. Additionally, he emphasized how crucial it is to acquire a device that displays the true quantum advantage over classical computing because money is presently flowing to hardware-based businesses rather than software development ones.
Before diving into the quantum world, the workshops made sure that everyone had a firm understanding of the fundamentals by starting with classical approaches for each topic. Participants were led on a discovery journey as the courses continued, moving from foundational lectures to more complex ones.
In the Quantum Cryptography section, the participants delved into the fascinating world of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), a revolutionary method of transmitting cryptographic keys securely using the principles of quantum mechanics. From the basic concepts of quantum communication to the intricacies of long-distance QKD protocols, attendees gained a deeper appreciation for the power of quantum cryptography in ensuring secure communications.
The following components make up the DiVincenzo Criteria, which must be fulfilled for the effective application of a quantum computer:
- a physically scalable system made up of well-characterized qubits.
- the capacity to set the qubits to a straightforward fiducial state.
- a set of quantum gates that is “universal”.
- Long relevant decoherence times, far longer than the time required for gate activation.
- an ability to measure qubits specifically.
Additionally, two additional conditions must be met for quantum communication, which entails sending whole qubits between dispersed locations:
the capacity to convert between flying and immobile qubits.
the capacity to send flying qubits to far-off destinations over extended distances.
A single electron can be used to represent a qubit, with the states 0 and 1 denoting whether the electron is on the left or right side of a bistable potential wall. The system must be brought into a random state that is neither 0 nor 1, but rather a combination of the two, in order to enter the domain of quantum physics. This is accomplished by putting the system in an environment similar to a hardware random number generator, where it is unsure of its behavior.
David discussed the history of quantum computing, highlighting some significant milestones.
Although it wasn’t the field’s origin, Richard Feynman’s 1981 talk on quantum computing acted as a significant stimulus. R. Landauer’s work from 1960, A. Holevo’s contributions from 1975, and Soviet Union scientists, particularly Yuri Manin, who articulated the concept of a quantum computer years before Feynman, are the first works in the history of quantum computing. The development of quantum computers slowed down following Feynman’s lecture. His theories presented ideas that stimulated the growth of fresh notions in the complexity theory of quantum computing. Before Feynman’s theories became well-known, many years had passed.
The next day, Neutral-Atom Computers were the star again, but this time from the software side. Pedro Lopes, PhD, from QuEra Computing Inc. and a very passionate communicator of quantum computing, led the way. We explore, through the quera-education repository the basics of programming a neutra-atom quantum computer. He showed off the capabilities of Bloqade, a Julia SDK ackage for quantum computation and quantum dynamics based on neutral-atom architectures. Neutral-atom quantum computers have two major modes of computation: the first mode is a “digital mode” to do universal, digital quantum computation that uses two ground states ∣0⟩ and ∣1⟩ to encode the qubit, which has long coherence time, and one Rydberg state ∣r⟩ to entangle the qubits; the second mode is an “analog mode” as a programmable quantum simulator that uses one ground state ∣g⟩ and one Rydberg state ∣r⟩, where the quantum dynamics is governed by a Rydberg Hamiltonian H^ described below.
According to the nomenclature used in atomic physics, j, j, and j stand for the Rabi frequency, laser phase, and detuning of the driving laser field on atom (qubit) jj coupling the two states gj (ground state) and rj (Rydberg state); nj=rj, rj is the number operator and Vjk=C6/xj, xk, k describes the Rydberg The default C6 value for Bloqade is C6=8626902 MHz m for r=70 S1/2 of the 87Rb atoms; is the scaled-down Planck’s constant. In the analog mode, the states g and r are occasionally referred to as 0 and 1, respectively.
Bloqade simulates the time development of a starting quantum state, ini, under the Hamiltonian H(t), given the placements of the qubits and the time-dependent profiles for j, j, and j. The real-time evolved state ((t)) is then output by Bloqade and can be used to measure various observables. Bootcamp for software is quite fantastic.
In conclusion, OQC is starting a quantum journey and offering a variety of quantum computing-related contracts that have the potential to revolutionize numerous industries, including finance, national security, defense, energy, the environment, health, life sciences, automotive, and logistics. OQC aims to capture the mass market by attempting to make quantum computing available to a large audience, including businesses. Notably, her desire to leave a lasting legacy as a result of her transforming journey is what motivates her mission.
After delving into the intricacies of neutral-atom computing, he outlined the challenges and progress within this technology:
- Achieving universality in a large-scale computer requires not only gate operations but also executing them in a locally addressed manner.
- Implementing single-qubit rotations or two-qubit gates on specific atoms or ions is more intricate for atom and ion qubits when compared to superconducting qubits and quantum dots, mainly due to the lack of direct wiring.
- On atom and ion qubits, focused laser beams are used to perform gates; improvements are being made in producing a variety of finely focused laser beams.
- By utilising current camera technology to capture the fluorescence that the qubits emit, measurements are made.
- Across all quantum systems, dividing tens of millions of qubits into distinct modules within various rooms or buildings poses a substantial issue.
- It is a difficult task to transmit data between these components.
In order to communicate data across modules in atomic qubit systems, the idea of entangling quantum states in trapped or neutral atoms with photons that can be sent via optical fibers over great distances shows potential.
The collaboration between Terra Quantum AG and QMware AG took the initiative to continue the event. Along with other representatives, Kim Shyu led the company presentation. A superb software bootcamp was then established under the direction of Terra Quantum’s Margarita Veshchezerova and QMware’s Markus Buchberger. They solved the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP) using Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimisation (QUBO) during this bootcamp. Prior to this achievement, however, they spent just three hours thoroughly exploring important quantum computing (QC) topics. Phase Kickback, Variational Quantum Eigensolvers, Quantum Fourier Transformation, and Quantum Phase Estimation were some of these ideas. It was extremely surprising how well they handled these difficult subjects in such a short amount of time.
In the end, I would like to express my gratitude to the Womanium team, the countless collaborators, and everyone within the Quantum community for providing such an exceptional experience.
Thank you for reading and stay tuned for the next part. 🙌
