Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

By : Robert S. Sutor
5 (1)
Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

5 (1)
By: Robert S. Sutor

Overview of this book

Quantum computing is making us change the way we think about computers. Quantum bits, a.k.a. qubits, can make it possible to solve problems that would otherwise be intractable with current computing technology. Dancing with Qubits is a quantum computing textbook that starts with an overview of why quantum computing is so different from classical computing and describes several industry use cases where it can have a major impact. From there it moves on to a fuller description of classical computing and the mathematical underpinnings necessary to understand such concepts as superposition, entanglement, and interference. Next up is circuits and algorithms, both basic and more sophisticated. It then nicely moves on to provide a survey of the physics and engineering ideas behind how quantum computing hardware is built. Finally, the book looks to the future and gives you guidance on understanding how further developments will affect you. Really understanding quantum computing requires a lot of math, and this book doesn't shy away from the necessary math concepts you'll need. Each topic is introduced and explained thoroughly, in clear English with helpful examples.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Preface
13
Afterword

11.6 Quantum Volume

How powerful is a gate- and circuit-based quantum computer? How much progress is being made with one qubit technology versus another? When we say we can find a solution on a ‘‘powerful enough’’ quantum computer, what does that mean? When will we know we have arrived?

While it is certainly useful to know how well a given qubit is doing in terms of decoherence and error rates, it tells you nothing about the system in total and how well the components are working together. You may have one or two spectacular, connected, and low error rate qubits, but other aspects of your system may make it unusable for executing useful algorithms.

Implementing hundreds of very bad qubits does not give you an advantage in the circuit model over having far fewer but excellent qubits with good control and measurement. Therefore, we need a whole-system, or ‘‘holistic,’’ metric that can tell us at a glance the relative...