colloquium - Prof. Michael Geller

Date: 
Sun, 13/04/200312:00-13:30
Location: 
Levin 8 Hall
"Universal quantum simulation with prethreshold superconducting qubits:
I will discuss the prospects for the use of large-scale, error-corrected quantum computers to simulate complex quantum dynamics such as molecular collisions. This will likely require millions qubits. I will also discuss an alternative approach [M. R. Geller et al., arXiv:1210.5260] that is ideally suited for today's "prethreshold" superconducting circuits, which uses the single-excitation subspace (SES) of a system of n tunably coupled qubits. Prethreshold means that the performance is not yet sufficient for fault-tolerant operation. The SES method enables universal quantum computation and simulation, including simulation of the time-dependent Schrodinger equation, and a 1000-qubit SES processor should be capable of achieving quantum speedup relative to a petaflop supercomputer. I speculate on the utility and practicality of such a universal quantum simulator.