Quantum computers have performed the full slate of tricks needed for robust computation. And it all came down to a little magic.
In a pair of papers submitted June 17 at arXiv.org, researchers generated conditions called “magic states,” crucial components of quantum computations. And those magic states were high-quality enough to allow the computers to resist errors, one of the biggest bugaboos of quantum computers.
Quantum computing has the potential to allow calculations that are not possible with classical computers, by taking advantage of the physics that governs tiny scales. The computers are based on quantum bits, or qubits, that are analogous to the bits in a conventional computer. But qubits are finicky, meaning that errors accumulate during calculations, threatening to hold the computers back. So scientists are developing computers that correct errors as they happen, known as fault-tolerant quantum computers.
In the new studies, the researchers demonstrated a full set of error-resistant operations — a prerequisite for a fully functional quantum computer. These operations manipulate qubits during calculations, such as flipping their values or linking them through the quantum phenomenon of entanglement. While some operations can be implemented directly, others are more difficult. They require a workaround that involves generating special configurations known as magic states. Performing those more difficult operations in a fully fault-tolerant way — outperforming operations done without error correction — had eluded researchers until now.
“They’re demonstrating basically the final missing piece in the full fault-tolerant and scalable quantum computing architecture,” says physicist Boris Blinov of the University of Washington in Seattle.
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