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PHOTONICS QUANTUM SAMPLING MACHINE

Project description

DEENESFRITPL

Realising the potential of quantum computing in a photonics computational device

Quantum computers harness the magical possibilities of quantum mechanics to significantly enhance computing power. Their potential to surpass classical computation, demonstrating so-called quantum supremacy, has yet to be realised. Recently, the study of computational problems that produce samples from probability distributions (quantum sampling problems or random circuit sampling) has highlighted a potential path forward to demonstrate quantum supremacy. Random circuits quickly develop long-range entanglement, making them very difficult to simulate with classical algorithms. One promising way to achieve useful quantum computation is by using a hybrid computational model combining classical and quantum processes. The EU-funded PHOQUSING project plans to implement such a hybrid computational system based on integrated cutting-edge photonics, placing Europe at the forefront of a competitive and economically important emerging field.

Objective

Randomness is a resource that enables applications such as efficient probabilistic algorithms, numerical integration, simulation, and optimization. In the last few years it was realized that quantum devices can generate probability distributions that are inaccessible with classical means. Hybrid Quantum Computational models combine classical processing with these quantum sampling machines to obtain computational advantage in some tasks. Moreover, NISQ (Noisy, Intermediate-Scale Quantum) technology may suffice to obtain this advantage in the near term, long before we can build large-scale, universal quantum computers. PHOQUSING aims to implement PHOtonic Quantum SamplING machines based on large, reconfigurable interferometers with active feedback, and state-of-the-art photon sources based both on quantum dots and parametric down-conversion. We will overview the different architectures enabling the generation of these hard-to-sample distributions using integrated photonics, optimizing the designs and studying the tolerance to errors. We will build two quantum sampling machines with different technologies, as a way to do cross-checks while exploiting all advantages of each platform. These machines will establish a new state-of-the-art in photonic reconfigurability, system complexity, and integration. Finally, we plan to perform first, proof-of-principle demonstrations of Hybrid Quantum Computation applications in optimization, machine learning, and graph theory. The PHOQUSING team includes long-term scientific collaborators who were among the first to demonstrate quantum photonic samplers; two of the leading European start-ups in the relevant quantum technologies; and theoretical experts in photonics and quantum information science. This project will help establish photonics as a leading new quantum computational technology in Europe, addressing the science-to-technology transition towards a new industrial sector with a large foreseeable economic impact.

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Call for proposal

H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2020

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Sub call

H2020-FETOPEN-2018-2019-2020-01

Funding Scheme

RIA - Research and Innovation action

Coordinator

UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA
Net EU contribution
€ 970 000,00
Address
Piazzale Aldo Moro 5
00185 Roma
Italy

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Region
Centro (IT) Lazio Roma
Activity type
Higher or Secondary Education Establishments
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Total cost
€ 970 000,00

Participants (6)

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Last update: 28 December 2023

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/899544

European Union, 2024