New superconducting quantum processor outpaces world’s fastest supercomputer by quadrillions

The abstract of the scientific article

In the relentless pursuit of quantum computational advantage, we present a significant advancement with the development of Zuchongzhi 3.0. This superconducting quantum computer prototype, comprising 105 qubits, achieves high operational fidelities, with single-qubit gates, two-qubit gates, and readout fidelity at 99.90%, 99.62%, and 99.13%, respectively. Our experiments with an 83-qubit, 32-cycle random circuit sampling on the Zuchongzhi 3.0 highlight its superior performance, achieving 1×106 samples in just a few hundred seconds. This task is estimated to be infeasible on the most powerful classical supercomputers, Frontier, which would require approximately 5.9×109 yr to replicate the task. This leap in processing power places the classical simulation cost 6 orders of magnitude beyond Google’s SYC-67 and SYC-70 experiments [Morvan et al., Nature 634, 328 (2024)], firmly establishing a new benchmark in quantum computational advantage. Our work not only advances the frontiers of quantum computing but also lays the groundwork for a new era where quantum processors play an essential role in tackling sophisticated real-world challenges. https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.090601

Random circuit sampling is a problem designed to showcase quantum computing strength. Random circuit sampling is the simulation of the outcome of many randomly generated quantum circuits. So, having a computer based on quantum phenomenon, such as superposition and entanglement, is obviously a big help, as opposed to having to imperfectly simulate this on a classical computer. So much that classical super computer cannot simulate this problem in a reasonable human time anymore. They call this "quantum superiority".
It's like giving a math problem to a math professor and a philosophy professor, and then demonstrating how much better the math professor was at solving this problem.
But it's a good benchmark to compare quantum computers between them.

Overall, it's still useless to the average server or gamer.

17 comments

The abstract of the scientific article
In the relentless pursuit of quantum computational advantage, we present a significant advancement with the development of Zuchongzhi 3.0. This superconducting quantum computer prototype, comprising 105 qubits, achieves high operational fidelities, with single-qubit gates, two-qubit gates, and readout fidelity at 99.90%, 99.62%, and 99.13%, respectively. Our experiments with an 83-qubit, 32-cycle random circuit sampling on the Zuchongzhi 3.0 highlight its superior performance, achieving 1×106 samples in just a few hundred seconds. This task is estimated to be infeasible on the most powerful classical supercomputers, Frontier, which would require approximately 5.9×109 yr to replicate the task. This leap in processing power places the classical simulation cost 6 orders of magnitude beyond Google’s SYC-67 and SYC-70 experiments [Morvan et al., Nature 634, 328 (2024)], firmly establishing a new benchmark in quantum computational advantage. Our work not only advances the frontiers of quantum computing but also lays the groundwork for a new era where quantum processors play an essential role in tackling sophisticated real-world challenges. https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.134.090601
Random circuit sampling is a problem designed to showcase quantum computing strength. Random circuit sampling is the simulation of the outcome of many randomly generated quantum circuits. So, having a computer based on quantum phenomenon, such as superposition and entanglement, is obviously a big help, as opposed to having to imperfectly simulate this on a classical computer. So much that classical super computer cannot simulate this problem in a reasonable human time anymore. They call this "quantum superiority".
It's like giving a math problem to a math professor and a philosophy professor, and then demonstrating how much better the math professor was at solving this problem.
But it's a good benchmark to compare quantum computers between them.
Overall, it's still useless to the average server or gamer.
- TL;DR:
  Overall, it’s still useless to the average server or gamer.
Very cool, but can it run flight simulator at 60fps?
- Only when that Flight Simulator is running in an emulator inside of Doom.
New superconducting quantum processor outpaces world’s fastest supercomputer by quadrillions at one worthless computation.
Again, it has been shown that a quantum computer is better than a normal computer in solving worthless quantum benchmarks. Hurray.
I still wait for any quantum computer solving a real problem like those normal computers solve every day.
- Give it some time, the progress is pretty fast
  
  Like fusion power, just 20-50 years away.
outperformed the latest results published by Google in October of last year by 6 orders of magnitude.
Just imagine a new car being 1 million times faster than the fastest car before...
- But it can only drive 100 meters.
  
  And only on roads made of short cake
  
  12 parsecs.
And is housed in a 3D printed graphene encasing