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What is Quantum Computing?

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What is Quantum computing?

Quantum computing is a multidisciplinary field comprising aspects of computer science, physics,
and mathematics that utilizes quantum mechanics to solve complex problems faster than on
classical computers. The field of quantum computing includes hardware research and application
development. Quantum computers are able to solve certain types of problems faster than classical
computers by taking advantage of quantum mechanical effects, such as superposition and
quantum interference. Some applications where quantum computers can provide such a speed
boost include machine learning (ML), optimization, and simulation of physical systems. Eventual
use cases could be portfolio optimization in finance or the simulation of chemical systems, solving
problems that are currently impossible for even the most powerful supercomputers on the market.

What is the quantum computing advantage?

Currently, no quantum computer can perform a useful task faster, cheaper, or more efficiently than
a classical computer. Quantum advantage is the threshold where we have built a quantum system
that can perform operations that the best possible classical computer cannot simulate in any kind
of reasonable time.
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What is quantum mechanics?

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Quantum mechanics is the area of physics that studies the behavior of particles at a microscopic
level. At subatomic levels, the equations that describe how particles behave is different from those
that describe the macroscopic world around us. Quantum computers take advantage of these
behaviors Get
to perform
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for Free in a completely new way. Contact Us

What is a qubit?
Quantum bits, or qubits, are represented by quantum particles. The manipulation of qubits by
control devices is at the core of a quantum computer's processing power. Qubits in quantum
computers are analogous to bits in classical computers. At its core, a classical machine's processor
does all its work by manipulating bits. Similarly, the quantum processor does all its work by
processing qubits.

How are qubits different from classical bits?

In classical computing, a bit is an electronic signal that is either on or off. The value of the classical
bit can thus be one (on) or zero (off). However, because the qubit is based on the laws of quantum
mechanics it can be placed in a superposition of states.

What are the principles of quantum computing?

A quantum computer works using quantum principles. Quantum principles require a new dictionary
of terms to be fully understood, terms that include superposition, entanglement, and decoherence.
Let's understand these principles below.

Superposition

Superposition states that, much like waves in classical physics, you can add two or more quantum
states and the result will be another valid quantum state. Conversely, you can also represent every
quantum state as a sum of two or more other distinct states. This superposition of qubits gives
quantum computers their inherent parallelism, allowing them to process millions of operations
simultaneously.

Entanglement

Quantum entanglement occurs when two systems link so closely that knowledge about one gives
you immediate knowledge about the other, no matter how far apart they are. Quantum processors
can draw conclusions about one particle by measuring another one. For example, they can
determine that if one qubit spins upward, the other will always spin downward, and vice versa.
Quantum entanglement allows quantum computers to solve complex problems faster.

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When a quantum state is measured, the wavefunction collapses and you measure the state as
either a zero or a one. In this known or deterministic state, the qubit acts as a classical bit.
Entanglement is the ability of qubits to correlate their state with other qubits.
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Decoherence

Decoherence is the loss of the quantum state in a qubit. Environmental factors, like radiation, can
cause the quantum state of the qubits to collapse. A large engineering challenge in constructing a
quantum computer is designing the various features that attempt to delay decoherence of the
state, such as building specialty structures that shield the qubits from external fields.

What are the components of a quantum computer?

Quantum computers have hardware and software, similar to a classical computer.

Quantum hardware

Quantum hardware has three main components.

Quantum data plane

The quantum data plane is the core of the quantum computer and includes the physical qubits and
the structures required to hold them in place.

Control and measurement plane

The control and measurement plane converts digital signals into analog or wave control signals.
These analog signals perform the operations on the qubits in the quantum data plane.

Control processor plane and host processor

The control processor plane implements the quantum algorithm or sequence of operations. The
host processor interacts with the quantum software and provides a digital signal or classical bits
sequence to the control and measurement plane.

Quantum software

Quantum software implements unique quantum algorithms using quantum circuits. A quantum
circuit is a computing routine that defines a series of logical quantum operations on the underlying
qubits. Developers can use various software development tools and libraries to code quantum
algorithms.

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What are the types of quantum technology?

No one hasGet
shown the for
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way to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer, and multiple
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companies and research groups are investigating different types of qubits. We give a brief example
of some of these qubit technologies below.

Gate-based ion trap processors

A gate-based quantum computer is a device that takes input data and transforms it according to a
predefined unitary operation. The operation is typically represented by a quantum circuit and is
analogous to gate operations in traditional electronics. However, quantum gates are totally
different from electronic gates.

Trapped ion quantum computers implement qubits using electronic states of charged atoms called
ions. The ions are confined and suspended above the microfabricated trap using electromagnetic
fields. Trapped-ion based systems apply quantum gates using lasers to manipulate the electronic
state of the ion. Trapped ion qubits use atoms that come from nature, rather than manufacturing
the qubits synthetically.

Gate-based superconducting processors

Superconductivity is a set of physical properties that you can observe in certain materials like
mercury and helium at very low temperatures. In these materials, you can observe a characteristic
critical temperature below which electrical resistance is zero and magnetic flux fields are expelled.
An electric current through a loop of superconducting wire can persist indefinitely with no power
source.

Superconducting quantum computing is an implementation of a quantum computer in

superconducting electronic circuits. Superconducting qubits are built with superconducting electric
circuits that operate at cryogenic temperatures.

Photonic processors

A quantum photonic processor is a device that manipulates light for computations. Photonic
quantum computers use quantum light sources that emit squeezed-light pulses, with qubit
equivalents that correspond to modes of a continuous operator, such as position or momentum.

Neutral atom processors

Neutral atom qubit technology is similar to trapped ion technology. However, it uses light instead
of electromagnetic forces to trap the qubit and hold it in position. The atoms are not charged and
the circuits can operate at room temperatures

Rydberg atom processors

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A Rydberg atom is an excited atom with one or more electrons that are further away from the
nucleus, on average. Rydberg atoms have a number of peculiar properties including an exaggerated
response to electric and magnetic fields, and long life. When used as qubits, they offer strong and
controllable
Getatomic interactions
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Quantum annealers

Quantum annealing uses a physical process to place a quantum system's qubits in an absolute
energy minimum. From there, the hardware gently alters the system's configuration so that its
energy landscape reflects the problem that needs to be solved. The advantage of quantum
annealers is that the number of qubits can be much larger than those available in a gate-based
system. However, their use is limited to specific cases only.

How do companies use quantum computing?

Quantum computing can revolutionize industries. We give some example use cases below:

ML

Machine learning (ML) is the process of analyzing vast quantities of data to help computers make
better predictions and decisions. Research in quantum computing studies the physical limits of
information processing and is breaking new ground in fundamental physics. This research leads to
advances in many fields of science and industry, such as chemistry, optimization, and molecular
simulation. It is also a growing area of interest for financial services to predict market movements
and for manufacturing to improve operations.

Optimization

Quantum computing can improve research and development, supply-chain optimization, and
production. For example, you could apply quantum computing to decrease manufacturing process–
related costs and shorten cycle times by optimizing elements such as path planning in complex
processes. Another application is the quantum optimization of loan portfolios so that lenders can
free up capital, lower interest rates, and improve their offerings.

Simulation

The computational effort required to simulate systems accurately scales exponentially with the
complexity of drug molecules and materials. Even using approximation methods, current
supercomputers cannot achieve the level of accuracy that these simulations demand. Quantum
computation has the potential to solve some of the most challenging computational problems
faced in chemistry, allowing the scientific community to do chemical simulations that are
intractable today. For example, Pasqal built their QUBEC computational software to run chemistry
simulations. QUBEC automates the heavy lifting necessary to run quantum computational tasks

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9/14/24, 12:32 AM What is Quantum Computing? - Quantum Computing Explained - AWS

from automatic provisioning of the computing infrastructure to running pre- and post-processing
classical calculations and performing error mitigation tasks.

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How can you get started with quantum computing?

If you want to try quantum computing, you can get started with a quantum hardware emulator on
your local machine. Emulators are regular software that imitates quantum behavior on a classical
computer. They are predictable and allow you to see quantum states. They are useful if you want to
test your algorithms before investing in quantum hardware time. However, they cannot recreate
real quantum behavior.

You can also use a cloud quantum computing service to code on a true quantum computer without
investing in expensive hardware.

How can AWS help with quantum computing?

Amazon Braket is a fully managed quantum computing service. It is designed to help speed up
scientific research and software development for quantum computing. You can use Amazon Braket
to do these tasks:

Work with different types of quantum computers and circuit simulators using a consistent set of
development tools.

Build quantum projects on a trusted cloud with straightforward pricing and management
controls for both quantum and classical technology.

Innovate quickly with expert guidance and tech support, or collaborate with consultants in the
Amazon Quantum Solutions Lab.

Push the boundaries of quantum hardware research with access to trapped ion,
superconducting, photonic, and annealing devices.

Get started with quantum computing by creating an AWS account today.

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