We introduce Monarq, a unified quantum data processing framework that combines QCrank encoding with the EHands protocol for polynomial transformations, and demonstrate its implementation on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware. This framework provides fundamental quantum building blocks for signal and image processing tasks, including convolution, discrete-time Fourier transform (DFT), squared gradient computation, and edge detection, serving as a reference for a broad class of data processing applications on near-term quantum devices.
The National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC), as the high-performance computing (HPC) facility for the Department of Energy's Office of Science, recognizes the essential role of quantum computing in its future mission. In this report, we analyze the NERSC workload and identify materials science, quantum chemistry, and high-energy physics as the science domains and application areas that stand to benefit most from quantum computers. These domains jointly make up over 50
The rapid execution of complex quantum circuit simulations is essential for validating theoretical algorithms, thereby facilitating their successful implementation on quantum hardware. Although mainstream CPU-based platforms for circuit simulations are well established, they tend to be slower. Conversely, the adoption of GPU platforms remains limited because of the necessity for specialized quantum simulation frameworks tailored to different hardware architectures, each requiring distinct implementation and optimization strategies. Therefore, we introduced Q-Gear, a platform-agnostic framework that transforms Qiskit quantum circuits into Cuda-Q kernels. By leveraging Cuda-Q seamless execution on GPUs, Q-Gear accelerates both CPU- and GPU-based simulations by two orders of magnitude and ten times, respectively, with minimal coding effort. Furthermore, Q-Gear leverages the Cuda-Q configuration to interconnect the memory of GPUs, allowing the execution of much larger circuits beyond the memory limit set by a single GPU or CPU node. Additionally, we created and deployed a Podman container and Shifter image at Perlmutter (NERSC/LBNL), both derived from an NVIDIA public image. These public NERSC containers were optimized for the Slurm job scheduler, allowing approximately 100% utilization of up to 1,024 GPUs. We present various benchmarks for Q-Gear to demonstrate the efficiency of our computational paradigm.
We present EHands, a quantum-native protocol for implementing multivariable polynomial transformations on quantum processors. The protocol introduces four fundamental, reversible operators: multiplication, addition, negation, and parity flip, and employs the Expectation Value ENcoding (EVEN) scheme to represent real numbers as quantum states. Unlike discretization or binary encoding methods, EHands operates directly on vectorized real-valued inputs prepared in the initial state and applies a shallow quantum circuit that depends only on the polynomial coefficients. The result is obtained from the expectation value measured on a single qubit, enabling efficient parallel evaluation of a polynomial across multiple data points using a single circuit. We introduce both a reversible implementation for degree-d polynomials, requiring 3d qubits, and a non-reversible variant that uses qubit resets to reduce the requirements to d+1 qubits. Both implementations exhibit linear depth scaling in d and are explicitly decomposed into one- and two-qubit gates for direct execution on current quantum processing units. The protocol's effectiveness is demonstrated through experimental validation on IBM's Heron-class quantum processors, showing reliable polynomial approximations of functions like ReLU and arctan.
Coherent errors constitute a significant barrier to successful large-scale quantum computation. One such error mechanism is crosstalk, which violates spatial locality or the independence of operations. We present a description of crosstalk and learn the underlying parameters by executing novel simultaneous Rabi experiments and fitting the Hamiltonian to the observed data. We use this model to predict three- and four-qubit experiments and observe excellent agreement between our theoretical predictions and experimental results. Our technique enables researchers to study the dynamics of multi-qubit circuits without performing experiments, potentially facilitating the minimization of coherent gate errors via digital pulse precompilation. Additionally, this method provides whole-chip crosstalk characterization, a useful tool for guiding quantum processor design.
Neutral-atom quantum simulators offer a promising approach to the exploration of strongly interacting many-body systems, with applications spanning condensed matter, statistical mechanics, and high-energy physics. Through a combination of quantum experiments, numerical calculations, and analytical methods, we demonstrate a rich set of phenomena accessible on such quantum simulators by studying an array of Rydberg atoms placed on the Lieb lattice. First, we map out the ground states and phase diagram of the system, identifying a range of density-wave-ordered phases,and find excellent agreement between theory and experiment. Allowing for local control of the detuning field thereafter, we discover a quantum analog of the classical liquid–vapor transition and probe its underlying hysteretic dynamics. Furthermore, we study out-of-equilibrium quantum quenches and observe anomalously slow relaxation dynamics arising from kinetic constraints. These results highlight how geometric control offered by neutral-atom simulators can extend the frontiers of programmable quantum matter, enabling access to complex phases, metastability, and thermalization dynamics in many-body quantum systems.
The Kibble-Zurek mechanism quantifies defect formation during adiabatic passage across a continuous phase transition, providing key insights into universality in quantum many-body systems. We explore counting statistics of defects in adiabatic passage experiments on long 1D Rydberg atom chains. The experiments reveal an anomaly in the defect number distribution at long ramp times, challenging the hypothesis of defect formation through independent domain mergers. Numerical simulations confirm the anomaly and suggest its link to non-critical coarsening dynamics, which we suppress in prepare-and-hold experiments. Our results highlight the ability of quantum simulators to uncover unexpected correlated quantum phenomena.
Neural networks are rapidly gaining popularity in scientific research, but training the models is often very time-consuming. Particularly when the training data samples are large high-dimensional arrays, efficient training methodologies that can reduce the computational costs are crucial. To reduce the training cost, we propose a Multi-Resolution Model Fusion (MRMF) method that combines models trained on reduced-resolution data and then refined with data in the original resolution. We demonstrate that these reduced-resolution models and datasets could be generated quickly. More importantly, the proposed approach reduces the training time by speeding up the model convergence in each fusion stage before switching to the final stage of finetuning with data in its original resolution. This strategy ensures the final model retains high-resolution insights while benefiting from the computational efficiency of lower-resolution training. Our experiment results demonstrate that the multi-resolution model fusion method can significantly reduce end-to-end training time while maintaining the same model accuracy. Evaluated using two real-world scientific applications, CosmoFlow and Neuron Inverter, the proposed method improves the training time by up to 47
The 2024 Quantum Computing, Math and Physics Camp (QCaMP) for Students was a 4-week long summer camp aimed at introducing high school students to quantum concepts and careers, including applications spanning quantum computing, sensing, and communication. The program ran for 7 hours/day, Monday-Friday, July 1-26, and included hands-on modules and activities, professional development, and project-based learning. Here we provide details on the camp curriculum and outcomes based on pre and post knowledge and attitudes assessments.
Algorithm and hardware-aware compilation co-design is essential for the efficient deployment of near-term quantum programs. We present a compilation case-study implementing QCrank -- an efficient encoding protocol for storing sequenced real-valued classical data in a quantum state -- targeting neutral atom-based Dynamically Programmable Qubit Arrays (DPQAs). We show how key features of neutral-atom arrays such as high qubits count, operation parallelism, multi-zone architecture, and natively reconfigurable connectivity can be used to inform effective algorithm deployment. We identify algorithmic and circuit features that signal opportunities to implement them in a hardware-efficient manner. To evaluate projected hardware performance, we define a realistic noise model for DPQAs using parameterized Pauli channels, implement it in Qiskit circuit simulators, and assess QCrank's accuracy for writing and reading back 24-320 real numbers into 6-20 qubits. We compare DPQA results with simulated performances of Quantinuum's H1-1E and with experimental results from IBM Fez, highlighting promising accuracy scaling for DPQAs.
The dynamics of isolated quantum systems following a sudden quench plays a central role in many areas of material science, high-energy physics, and quantum chemistry. Featuring complex phenomena with implications for thermalization, non-equilibrium phase transitions, and Floquet phase engineering, such far-from-equilibrium quantum dynamics is challenging to study numerically, in particular, in high-dimensional systems. Here, we use a programmable neutral atom quantum simulator to systematically explore quench dynamics in spin models with up to 180 qubits. By initializing the system in a product state and performing quenches across a broad parameter space, we discover several stable, qualitatively distinct dynamical regimes. We trace their robustness to Floquet-like prethermal steady states that are stabilized over long emergent timescales by strong dynamical constraints. In addition, we observe sharp peaks in the dynamical response that are quantitatively explained by the structured melting of prethermalization through resonances. In two dimensions, we uncover a sharp dynamical response change that converges with increased system size, that is linked to the proliferation of Néel-order defects and indicative of a dynamical phase transition with no equilibrium analogs. Uncovering an intricate interplay between quantum prethermalization and emergent dynamical phases, our results demonstrate the use of quantum simulators for revealing complex non-equilibrium quantum many-body phenomena.
Quantum data encoding (QDE) enables faster com-putations than classical algorithms through superposition and en-tanglement. Circuit cutting and knitting are effective techniques for ameliorating current noisy quantum processing unit (QPUs) errors via a divide-and-conquer approach that splits quantum circuits into subcircuits and recombines them using classical postprocessing. Unfortunately, the existing QDE frameworks fail to consider quantum hardware limitations, such as the topology of the chip. Designing a computation model that supports the algorithm level of quantum computation and optimizes non-all-to-all connected quantum circuit simulations remains underde-veloped. In this study, we introduce shardQ, a method that leverages the SparseCut algorithm with matrix product state (MPS) compilation and a global knitting technique to mitigate the quantum error rates. This method elucidates the optimal trade-off between the computational time and error rate for quantum encoding with a theoretical proof, evidenced by an ablation analysis using an IBM Heron-type QPUs with 15
Metastable states of quantum many-body systems with confinement offer a means to simulate false vacuum phenomenology, including non-equilibrium dynamical processes like decay by nucleation, in truncated limits. Recent work has examined the decay process in 1D ferromagnetic Ising spins and superfluids. In this paper, we study nucleation dynamics in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with Rydberg interactions, using both numerical simulations and analytic modeling. We apply a staggered local detuning field to generate the metastable and ground states. Our efforts focus on two dynamical regimes: decay and annealing. In the first, we corroborate the phenomenological decay rate scaling and determine the associated parameter range for the decay process; in the second, we uncover and elucidate a procedure to anneal the metastable state from the initial to the final system, with intermediate nucleation events. We further propose experimental protocols to prepare the required states and perform quenches on near-term neutral atom quantum simulators, examining the experimental feasibility of our proposed setup and parameter regime.
Accurate and timely quantum state discrimination is critical for quantum computing, particularly in protocols requiring mid-circuit measurement (MCM) and conditional feed-forward. While classical state readout in transistors is near-instantaneous, identifying the state of superconducting qubits remains latency-limited and error-prone. Existing approaches rely on post-processing measurement data transferred to host computers, introducing delays on the order of milliseconds – vastly exceeding the coherence time of quantum states, which typically last only hundreds of microseconds. To bridge this latency gap, we present an in-situ machine learning (ML) inference engine implemented on a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), enabling real-time quantum state discrimination within 40 ns. Our system supports both two-level (qubit) and three-level (qutrit) systems and performs inference directly on digitized readout signals without host-side intervention. This low-latency operation facilitates mid-circuit measurements, where qubit states are measured and reused within a single quantum circuit, and enables real-time conditional operations essential for quantum error correction. Crucially, fast and accurate mid-circuit readout is a prerequisite for implementing practical fault-tolerant error correction, where errors must be detected and corrected within a single circuit cycle to preserve logical state coherence. We validate our system using superconducting transmon devices, demonstrating robust discrimination fidelity across multiple qubit and qutrit channels. Further, we implement a conditional qutrit logic protocol based on FPGA-resident state classification, highlighting the practical benefits of our approach for NISQ-era quantum algorithms and scalable fault-tolerant architectures.
This work addresses the critical challenge of accurately and swiftly identifying quantum states in superconducting quantum processors, with a particular focus on qubit (two-level) states. It introduces QubiCML, an innovative FPGA-based system designed for in-situ, real-time quantum state discrim-ination, which is essential for mid-circuit measurements and the implementation of advanced error correction techniques. By integrating a multi-layer neural network on the FPGA platform, QubiCML achieves exceptional accuracy and low latency in distinguishing quantum states. Traditional methods of quantum state discrimination rely heavily on offline data processing, which is inadequate due to the brief coherence time of quantum states and significant communication delays. QubiCML overcomes these limitations by utilizing in-situ machine learning for state discrimination, enabling real-time state determination in just 54 ns. It optimizes readout RF pulses and digital local oscillator (DLO) signals, significantly enhancing the fidelity of state discrimination. This capability enables mid-circuit measurements (MCM), which we successfully deployed using the QubiCML system. The system has been rigorously evaluated on in-house superconducting quantum processors, demonstrating an impressive average accuracy of 98.5%. QubiCML's modular architecture supports scalability across various qubits, making it adaptable to different quantum computing setups. Its real-time feedback capabilities are particularly beneficial for efficient quantum algorithm development and optimization. This system represents a groundbreaking advance-ment in the field of quantum computing, offering a robust tool for real-time quantum state discrimination. QubiCML has the potential to become the standard method for state discrimination, providing the quantum computing community with a powerful solution to push the boundaries of current technology.
Aquila, an analog quantum simulation platform developed by QuEra Computing, supports control of the position and coherent evolution of up to 256 neutral atoms. This study details novel experimental protocols designed for analog quantum simulators that generate Bell state entanglement far away from the blockade regime, construct a Z2 state with a defect induced by an ancilla, and optimize the driving fields schedule to prepare excited states with enhanced fidelity. We additionally evaluate the effectiveness of readout error mitigation techniques in improving the fidelity of measurement results. All experiments were executed on Aquila from QuEra and facilitated by the AWS Braket interface. Our experimental results closely align with theoretical predictions and numerical simulations. The insights gained from this study showcase Aquila's capabilities in handling complex quantum simulations and computations, and also pave the way for new avenues of research in quantum information processing and physics that employ programmable analog hardware platforms.
Metastable states arise in a range of quantum systems and can be observed in various dynamical scenarios, including decay, bubble nucleation, and long-lived oscillations. The phenomenology of metastable states has been examined in quantum many-body systems, notably in 1D ferromagnetic Ising spin systems and superfluids. In this paper, we study long-lived oscillations of metastable and ground states in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with long-range Rydberg interactions. We use a staggered local detuning field to achieve confinement. Using theoretical and numerical models, we identify novel spectral signatures of quasiparticle oscillations distinct to antiferromagnetic neutral atom systems and interpret them using a classical energy model of short-range meson repulsion. Finally, we evaluate the experimental accessibility of our proposed setup on current neutral-atom platforms and discuss experimental feasibility and constraints.
Compact data representations in quantum systems are crucial for the development of quantum algorithms for data analysis. In this study, we present two innovative data encoding techniques, known as QCrank and QBArt , which exhibit significant quantum parallelism via uniformly controlled rotation gates. The QCrank method encodes a series of real-valued data as rotations on data qubits, resulting in increased storage capacity. On the other hand, QBArt directly incorporates a binary representation of the data within the computational basis, requiring fewer quantum measurements and enabling well-established arithmetic operations on binary data. We showcase various applications of the proposed encoding methods for various data types. Notably, we demonstrate quantum algorithms for tasks such as DNA pattern matching, Hamming weight computation, complex value conjugation, and the retrieval of a binary image with 384 pixels, all executed on the Quantinuum trapped-ion QPU. Furthermore, we employ several cloud-accessible QPUs, including those from IBMQ and IonQ, to conduct supplementary benchmarking experiments.
The focus of this Visualization Viewpoints article is to provide some background on Quantum Computing (QC), to explore ideas related to how visualization helps in understanding QC, and examine how QC might be useful for visualization with the growth and maturation of both technologies in the future. In a quickly evolving technology landscape, QC is emerging as a promising pathway to overcome the growth limits in classical computing. In some cases, QC platforms offer the potential to vastly outperform the familiar classical computer by solving problems more quickly or that may be intractable on any known classical platform. As further performance gains for classical computing platforms are limited by diminishing Moore's Law scaling, QC platforms might be viewed as a potential successor to the current field of exascale-class platforms. While present-day QC hardware platforms are still limited in scale, the field of quantum computing is robust and rapidly advancing in terms of hardware capabilities, software environments for developing quantum algorithms, and educational programs for training the next generation of scientists and engineers. After a brief introduction to QC concepts, the focus of this article is to explore the interplay between the fields of visualization and QC. First, visualization has played a role in QC by providing the means to show representations of the quantum state of single-qubits in superposition states and multiple-qubits in entangled states. Second, there are a number of ways in which the field of visual data exploration and analysis may potentially benefit from this disruptive new technology though there are challenges going forward.
As the size and complexity of a quantum computer increases, quantum bit (qubit) characterization and gate optimization become complex and time-consuming tasks. Current calibration techniques require complicated and verbose measurements to tune up qubits and gates, which cannot easily expand to the large-scale quantum systems. We develop a concise and automatic calibration protocol to characterize qubits and optimize gates using QubiC , which is an open source FPGA (field-programmable gate array)-based control and measurement system for superconducting quantum information processors. We propose multi-dimensional loss-based optimization of single-qubit gates and full XY-plane measurement method for the two-qubit CNOT gate calibration. We demonstrate the QubiC automatic calibration protocols are capable of delivering high-fidelity gates on the state-of-the-art transmon-type processor operating at the Advanced Quantum Testbed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The single-qubit and two-qubit Clifford gate infidelities measured by randomized benchmarking are of 4.9(1.1) × 10 -4 and 1.4(3) × 10 -2 , respectively.