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Pages 1-11

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From page 1...
... Interest in the field grew in the 1990s with the introduction of Shor's algorithm, which, if implemented on a quantum computer, would exponentially speed up an important class of cryptanalysis and potentially threaten some of the cryptographic methods used to protect government and civilian communications and stored data. In fact, quantum computers are the only known model for computing that could offer exponential speedup over today's computers.1 While these results were very exciting in the 1990s, they were only of theoretical interest: no one knew of a method to build a computer out of quantum systems.
From page 2...
... Many innovations over the past 25 years have enabled researchers to build physical systems that are starting to provide the needed isolation and control for quantum computing. In 2018, two technologies are used in most quantum computers (trapped ions and artificial "atoms" generated by superconducting circuits)
From page 3...
... However, QEC incurs significant overheads in terms of both the number of physical qubits required to emulate a more robust and stable qubit, called a "logical qubit," and the number of primitive qubit operations that must be performed on physical qubits to emulate a quantum operation on this logical qubit. While QECs will be essential to create error-free quantum computers in the future, they are too resource intensive to be used in the short term: quantum computers in the near term are likely to have errors.
From page 4...
... Since quantum programs are different from programs for classical computers, research and development is needed to further develop the software tool stack. Because these software tools drive the hardware, contemporaneous development of the hardware and software tool chain will shorten the development time for a useful quantum computer.
From page 5...
... In fact, they require a number of classical computers to control their operations and carry out computations needed to implement quantum error correction. Thus, they are currently being designed as specialpurpose devices operating in a complementary fashion with classical processors, analogous to a co-processor or an accelerator (see Section 5.1)
From page 6...
... "Analog quantum computers" directly manipulate the interactions between qubits without breaking these actions into primitive gate operations. Examples of analog machines include quantum annealers, adiabatic quantum computers, and direct quantum simulators.
From page 7...
... Key Finding 4: Given the information available to the committee, it is still too early to be able to predict the time horizon for a scalable quantum computer. Instead, progress can be tracked in the near term by monitoring the scaling rate of physical qubits at constant average gate error rate, as evaluated using randomized benchmarking, and in the long term by monitoring the effective number of logical (error-corrected)
From page 8...
... It is expected that large, concerted research efforts entailing both foundational scientific advances and new strategies in engineering -- spanning multiple traditional disciplines -- will be required to build a successful QC. Key Finding 8: While the United States has historically played a leading role in developing quantum technologies, quantum information science and technology is now a global field.
From page 9...
... For example, results from QC R&D have already helped to advance progress in physics -- for example, in the area of quantum gravity -- and in classical computer science by motivating or informing improvements in classical algorithms. Key Finding 6: Quantum computing is valuable for driving foundational research that will help advance humanity's understanding of the universe.
From page 10...
... Historically, classical computing has had a transformative impact across society. While the potential for applying quantum algorithms to industrial and research applications has only begun to be explored, it is clear that quantum computing has the potential to transcend current computational boundaries.
From page 11...
... Furthermore, future decisions on funding levels, likely dependent on near-term successes and commercial applications, as well as the strength and openness of the research community both in the United States and abroad, will influence the timeline for achieving a practical computer in the public domain. Progress in the field can be tracked using the metrics proposed in Key Finding 3.


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