Insider Brief
- IBM and Qedma demonstrated an error-mitigated quantum computation workflow using IBM Quantum Heron processors and Qedma’s QESEM software to study a 74-qubit physics model.
- The study compared quantum results against classical simulation methods, including simulations run on the Fugaku supercomputer, and found consistent quantum results beyond the range where classical approaches agreed.
- The collaboration used validation techniques across quantum platforms to demonstrate a framework for trusted quantum computation in scientific applications.
Press release – Qedma Quantum Computing, a pioneer in quantum error reduction software and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a breakthrough study demonstrating how trusted, error-mitigated quantum computation is possible, and can be used to explore the physics of materials beyond the capabilities of state-of-the-art classical simulations, including those run on one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. By combining Qedma’s advanced error mitigation software, QESEM, with IBM quantum computers, researchers observed complex and long-lived quantum dynamics in systems of up to 74 qubits. This enabled them to reach a paradigm where multiple state-of-the-art classical approaches failed to provide consistent, reliable answers.
The results mark the first time quantum advantage has been achieved with commercially available hardware and software to establish error-mitigated, advanced quantum computers as trusted scientific instruments for exploring physics that could lead to better and ultrafast optoelectronics, light-induced superconductors, and other advanced materials applications.
Exploring Physics at the Classical Frontier
The collaboration investigated the subtle, oscillatory dynamics of a two-dimensional Floquet Ising model, which is a system that physicists use to study how a material’s magnetic properties evolve when rhythmically driven by external pulses. Understanding whether such oscillations persist in larger systems has remained an open challenge because the relevant regimes rapidly overwhelm classical computational methods. Using an IBM quantum computer, which is powered by the IBM Quantum Heron processor and available on the cloud, together with Qedma’s Quantum Error Suppression and Error Mitigation (QESEM) software, which is also available on the cloud, the team was able to resolve these dynamics with precision.
Beyond Leading Classical Methods
To evaluate the significance of the quantum results, the team worked with RIKEN, Japan’s leading national comprehensive research institute, and BlueQubit, a leading developer of large-scale quantum circuit simulation technology, to compare them against state-of-the-art classical simulation approaches that spanned fundamentally different computational strategies. As the system grew in complexity over time, none of the classical approaches could consistently agree at the scale reached by the quantum experiments, even when run on Fugaku, one of the world’s most powerful supercomputers. By contrast, the error-mitigated quantum results remained consistent and revealed clear, long-time oscillatory behavior. To enable continued classical benchmarking from the community, the team publicly released the quantum circuits and results to the Quantum Advantage Tracker, prior to the arXiv pre-print released this week.
Building Trust Through Validation
A defining feature of the study is its extensive validation strategy. The team first employed an unbiased error-mitigation protocol against classical calculations wherever such comparisons remained possible, before pushing the protocol to the point where these classical simulations lost accuracy. Then, they benchmarked a more scalable mitigation approach against those trusted results before extending to larger system sizes and longer evolution times. Independent validation was also performed across quantum hardware platforms, including trapped-ion systems from Quantinuum. The consistent behavior observed across technologies provided additional evidence that the measured physics originated from the simulated quantum system, rather than from device-specific or mitigation errors.
“IBM quantum computers have reached a maturity where they can produce solutions that, for the first time, achieve both trust in the solution through extensive testing and outperform the best classical simulation methods. I look forward to seeing future results benchmarked through the Quantum Advantage Tracker as we deepen our understanding of the boundary between quantum and classical computation,” said Jay Gambetta, Director of IBM Research and IBM Fellow. “By combining IBM’s quantum computers with Qedma’s advanced error reduction technology, we are transforming quantum computing into a practical tool to expand the frontier of knowledge.”
“For decades, quantum computing has promised discoveries beyond the reach of classical computers. Today, we’re beginning to see that promise become reality,” said Dr. Asif Sinay, CEO and co-founder of Qedma. “By leveraging Qedma’s software to make today’s quantum computers significantly more powerful and reliable, we’re helping move the quantum computing industry closer to real-world, commercial impact.”
“Quantum computers are beginning to open new possibilities for scientific discovery within the high-performance computing environment,” said Dr. Mitsuhisa Sato, Division Director of the Quantum-HPC Hybrid Platform Division, RIKEN Center for Computational Science. “This work leveraged RIKEN’s leadership in advanced classical simulation and supercomputing, alongside Qedma’s error mitigation software on IBM quantum computers, to demonstrate the ability of quantum computing to surpass the capabilities of leading classical methods. It is an important step towards a future where quantum and classical computing work together to advance science.”
Qedma’s advanced error reduction software, QESEM, available in the Qiskit Functions Catalog on the IBM Quantum Platform, mitigates the impact of noise present in today’s quantum computers. Rather than waiting for large-scale, fully fault-tolerant quantum computers, QESEM’s patented approach unlocks the ability to execute larger and more complex quantum workloads while producing more accurate results. The software offers various error mitigation methods, including an unbiased approach which provides guaranteed accuracy in extracting reliable results from noisy quantum hardware. It is currently being used by leading enterprises, academic institutions, and research laboratories around the world.
More Announcements of Quantum Advantage Emerge
Today, alongside this milestone from IBM and Qedma, partners from across IBM’s ecosystem are announcing demonstrations of quantum advantage. To learn more, visit https://www.ibm.com/quantum/blog/quantum-advantage.
