Chinese researchers say they have achieved quantum supremacy by manipulating light

Scientists at Hefei University of Science and Technology in China have built a quantum computer that can compute a trillion times faster than other existing supercomputers – such as Sycamore, created by Google, which just announced the fact about a year ago.

This Chinese work was documented in an article in the journal Science, posted this Thursday. In that text, the researchers explain how its 53-bit quantum processor (qubit) took 200 seconds to perform a task that a supercomputer would take 10,000 years to accomplish. According to Lu Chaoyang, the researcher in charge of the project, this speed and efficiency were only possible through laser manipulation of light particles. “We have shown that we can use photons, [partículas que são] the unit of measurement of light, to demonstrate the power of the computational quantum far beyond classical computers, “added Jian-Wei Pan, another scientist who participated in the project.

This is the first time that the concept of “quantum supremacy” has been demonstrated through light and it didn’t take long for other scientists to validate the finding – it’s a “benchmark” in the field, said Christine Silberhorn, a specialist in quantum optics at the University of Paderborn, Germany. Instead of using light manipulation to work, Google’s supercomputer relies on conductive chips at lower temperatures.

Unlike conventional bits (processed on any computer), a quantum computer processes bits that can be in zero and in one state at the same time, solving problems that are very difficult or even impossible for classical computers: for example, designing better batteries, discovering how molecules can be used to produce more effective drugs or to minimize emissions of polluting gases in fertilizer production.

None of the advances made so far mean that the use of quantum machines to solve practical problems will come anytime soon. However, research on the quantum phenomenon has been very popular, with the United States of America and China competing for progress in areas such as cryptography and complex problem solving. “Building a quantum computer is a race between humans and nature, not between countries,” said Lu Chaoyang, admitting he admires Google’s work with Sycamore.

Right now, “a quantum machine can only perform one specific task, not all tasks,” explained the scientist. “It’s not fully programmable yet, and that’s something we’re working on,” he added. If researchers can build such computers on a large scale, they will be machines capable of revolutionizing the world of science: for example, they would be able to predict how proteins join together or see how molecules vibrate, according to Lu Chaoyang.

“There are still people wondering if quantum computers will be a reality in the future,” said an enthusiastic Richard Murray, executive director of ORCA, a British quantum technology company. “[Mas] with two different systems achieving these results, this argument is increasingly unlikely, ”he concluded.