This is the Thursday edition of Quantum Computing Files, from the week started June 21st 2021.
In this edition we will be reading a research paper about one of most important Error Correction schemes ever invented for Quantum Information Processing: The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code. This seems to be an interesting new development along this line of error correcting codes in order for future quantum computers be able to perform fault-tolerant computations. There will be a link to further reading on this but from another paper by some of the same authors of the mentioned research paper, giving a timeline context.
To provide more context about the former link to the mentioned research paper, I also provide a Quantum Video to watch and analyse further this interesting topic of error-correction and fault-tolerant quantum computations, from an historical viewpoint. The video features some prominent researchers, including Prof. Daniel Gottesman, one of the pioneers of mentioned Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code.
On interesting links to read or follow through I share in today’s edition two resources from the weekly version of the newsletter The Quantum Daily publication. These links are more business/economics focused, and this newsletter will aslo be publishing on business issues related with Quantum Computing/Technologies. Business/economics developments about Quantum Computing have been gaining traction from several communities, perspectives or activities in recent years, with a promise to continue the trend and more to come!
The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code was proposed in 2001 by Daniel Gottesman, Alexei Kitaev, and John Preskill as a way to encode a qubit in an oscillator. The GKP codewords are coherent superpositions of periodically displaced squeezed vacuum states. Because of the challenge of merely preparing the codewords, the GKP code was for a long time considered to be impractical. However, the remarkable developments in quantum hardware and control technology in the last two decades has made the GKP code a frontrunner in the race to build practical, fault-tolerant bosonic quantum technology. In this Perspective, we provide an overview of the GKP code with emphasis on its implementation in the circuit-QED architecture and present our outlook on the challenges and opportunities for scaling it up for hardware-efficient, fault-tolerant quantum error correction.
Figure 6 - Illustration of how the Hamiltonian may be realized …
The second quarter for 2021 shows that quantum technologies continue to be an area of intense — and growing — interest for both commercial and governmental funding, according to The Quantum Daily and The Quantum Insider.
Data show that about $600 million (US) in new private capital flowed into quantum startups during the quarter. That figure is more than doubled to $1.3 billion (US) in total private capital, including special acquisition company (SPAC) funding, year-to-date. Information from TQI highlights some of the bigger funding efforts, including $400 million SPAC for UK-based Arqit, which implies a $1.4 billion market cap, and Xanadu, a photonic quantum computing company, announced it raised $100 million (US) in Series B financing.
Urban Air Mobility Vehicles, like air taxis, may create new, quick and convenient modes of travel. Not everyone is sold with the idea of thousands of flying cars buzzing around their heads.
Numerous air mobility vehicles and UAV will likely be flying by late 2030s, and a digital airspace management system, called Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) will be needed. More specifically, optimized flight routing and scheduling, will be required to realize such world. Many factors including vehicle performance, load capacity, geography and weather will need to be considered in order to develop optimized flight routes and scheduling, but it is hard to achieve due to current computing power limitations.
Under the Pilot Program, optimized flight routes and scheduling for UAM vehicles and UAV will be developed by leveraging quantum computing technology. Sumitomo Corporation will oversee the entire project and simulate UAM vehicles and UAV flying in urban areas leveraging OneSky Systems, Inc.’s UTM system and utilizing quantum computing technologies by Tohoku University.
