Friday, June 28, 2013

Paper presents effect of thermal noise on quantum annealing

Quantum Computing Firm D-Wave Systems Announces Publication of New Peer-Reviewed Paper in Nature Communications

BURNABY, British Columbia and PALO ALTO, Calif., May 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- D-Wave Systems Inc., the world's first commercial quantum computing company, today announced the publication of a peer-reviewed paper entitled "Thermally assisted quantum annealing of a 16-qubit problem" in the journal Nature Communications.

The paper presents the results of the first experimental exploration of the effect of thermal noise on quantum annealing. Quantum annealing is the process by which qubits, the basic unit of information in a quantum computer, are slowly tuned (annealed) from their superposition state (where they are 0 and 1 at the same time) into a classical state (where they are either 0 or 1). D-Wave quantum computers use this process to solve optimization problems in which many criteria need to be considered in order to come up with the best solution. These types of problems exist in many disciplines, such as cancer research, image recognition, software verification, financial analysis and logistics.
Paper presents effect of thermal noise on quantum annealing

Using 16 qubits within a D-Wave processor, the experiments demonstrated that, for the problem studied, even with annealing times eight orders of magnitude longer than the predicted single-qubit decoherence time (the typical time it takes for environmental factors to start to corrupt the state of a qubit), the probabilities of performing a successful computation are similar to those expected for a fully coherent system. The experiments also demonstrated that by repeatedly annealing the open system quickly several times rather than annealing a hypothetical closed system slowly once, quantum annealing can take advantage of a thermal environment to achieve a speedup factor of up to 1,000 over the closed system (a closed system is one which does not interact with its environment, whereas an open system does interact with it).

"Our experiments demonstrated that mechanisms that many believed would disrupt quantum annealing (or AQC) calculations based on theoretical analyses of hypothetical, closed quantum systems operating at zero temperature don't necessarily do so for real, open quantum systems operating at finite temperature," said Eric Ladizinsky, co-founder and Chief Scientist of D-Wave. "One example of this, described in the paper, is that we found that a small amount of thermal noise (generally thought to be universally bad) can actually enhance problem solving effectiveness, rather than diminish it.  As all real quantum computers will inevitably be open quantum systems operating at finite temperature we hope our paper will encourage others to think more deeply about the prospects of quantum computing in open quantum systems."

This paper is the latest in a long line of peer-reviewed papers from D-Wave scientists. Earlier this year, D-Wave published another paper in Scientific Reports, a Nature Publishing Group journal, discussing the effect of environmental decoherence on the ground state during adiabatic quantum computation. Over the past decade, almost 60 peer-reviewed papers authored by scientists at D-Wave have been published in prestigious journals, including NaturePhysical ReviewScienceQuantum Information Processing, and the Journal of Computational Physics (see http://www.dwavesys.com/en/publications.html).

About D-Wave Systems Inc.

Founded in 1999, D-Wave's mission is to integrate new discoveries in physics and computer science into breakthrough approaches to computation. The company's flagship product, the 512-qubit D-Wave Two™ computer, is built around a novel type of superconducting processor that uses quantum mechanics to massively accelerate computation. Recently D-Wave announced the installation of a D-Wave Two at the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab created jointly by that NASA, Google and USRA. This came soon after Lockheed-Martin's purchase of an upgrade of their 128-qubit D-Wave One™ system to a 512-qubit D-Wave Two. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, the D-Wave U.S. offices are located in Palo Alto, California. D‑Wave has a blue-chip investor base including Bezos Expeditions, Business Development Bank of Canada, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Goldman Sachs, Growthworks, Harris & Harris Group, In-Q-Tel, International Investment and Underwriting, and Kensington Partners Limited. 

For more information, visit: www.dwavesys.com or 



Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Quantum Computing Firm D-Wave Systems Announces Milestone of 100 U.S.Patents Granted

Quantum Computing Firm D-Wave Systems Announces Milestone of 100 U.S. Patents Granted

- Patent Portfolio also Rated #4 in Computing Systems by IEEE Spectrum in Latest Quality Assessment

BURNABY, British Columbia and PALO ALTO, Calif., June 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- D-Wave Systems Inc., the world's first commercial quantum computing company, today announced it has been granted its 100th patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. This is an important milestone for the company, whose patent portfolio was also rated #4 in the Computer Systems category by IEEE Spectrum this past December, just behind computing giants IBM, HP and Fujitsu.

Quantum Computing Firm D-Wave Systems Announces Milestone of 100 U.S. Patents Granted
Quantum Computing Firm D-Wave Systems Announces Milestone of 100 U.S. Patents Granted


In order to build the world's first commercial quantum computer, D-Wave needed to significantly advance the state-of-the-art in a diverse set of domains in physics, system architecture, manufacturing and computer science. This ranged from the science of quantum computing to the development, fabrication and manufacturing of all elements of the system from the superconducting qubits to the quantum processor to the magnetic shielding and cooling and the software and algorithms.

In December of 2012, IEEE Spectrum announced their sixth Patent Power scorecard. According to IEEE Spectrum, "The scorecards are based on objective, quantitative benchmarking of the patent portfolios of more than 5000 leading commercial enterprises, academic institutions, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies. This benchmarking—carried out by us at 1790 Analytics, based in Haddonfield, N.J.—takes into account not only the size of organizations' patent portfolios but also the quality, as reflected in characteristics such as growth, impact, originality, and general applicability."

"Both the 100 patent milestone and the recognition by IEEE Spectrum for our patent quality is a reflection of the number of breakthroughs the company has made in order to actually develop, manufacture, sell and install the first commercial quantum computers," said Vern Brownell, D-Wave CEO. "The fact that D-Wave's patent portfolio is rated # 4 in a list that includes industry leaders like IBM, HP, Fujitsu, NEC, Dell, Cray and SGI is a testament to the hard work, dedication and passion of the D-Wave team. Furthermore, many of the breakthroughs these patents represent have been documented in more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific publications. I congratulate everyone at D-Wave for these achievements and for the commercial success that has resulted."

About D-Wave Systems Inc. Founded in 1999, D-Wave's mission is to integrate new discoveries in physics and computer science into breakthrough approaches to computation. The company's flagship product, the 512-qubit D-Wave Two™ computer, is built around a novel type of superconducting processor that uses quantum mechanics to massively accelerate computation. Recently D-Wave announced the installation of a D-Wave Two system at the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab created jointly by NASA, Google and USRA. This came soon after Lockheed-Martin's purchase of an upgrade of their 128-qubit D-Wave One™ system to a 512-qubit D-Wave Two computer. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, the D-Wave U.S. offices are located in Palo Alto, California. D‑Wave has a blue-chip investor base including Bezos Expeditions, Business Development Bank of Canada, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Goldman Sachs, Growthworks, Harris & Harris Group, In-Q-Tel, International Investment and Underwriting, and Kensington Partners Limited. 

For more information, visit: www.dwavesys.com or 


News Release Link : http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/quantum-computing-firm-d-wave-systems-announces-milestone-of-100-us-patents-granted-212283621.html

Friday, June 14, 2013

New Quantum Artificial Intelligence Initiative

D-Wave Two™ Quantum Computer Selected for New Quantum Artificial Intelligence Initiative

System to be Installed at NASA's Ames Research Center, and Operational in Q3

BURNABY, British Columbia and PALO ALTO, Calif., May 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- D-Wave Systems Inc., the world's first commercial quantum computing company, today announced that its new 512-qubit quantum computer, the D-Wave Two, will be installed at the new Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab, a collaboration among NASA, Google and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). The purpose of this effort is to use quantum computing to advance machine learning in order to solve some of the most challenging computer science problems. Installation has already begun at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California, and the system is expected to be available to researchers during Q3.

New Quantum Artificial Intelligence Initiative
New Quantum Artificial Intelligence Initiative

Researchers at Google, NASA and USRA expect to use the D-Wave system to develop applications for a broad range of complex problems such as machine learning, web search, speech recognition, planning and scheduling, search for exoplanets, and support operations in mission control centers. Via USRA the system will also be available to the broader U.S. academic community.

"D-Wave has made significant strides in the technology, application and now commercialization of quantum computing," saidSteve Conway, IDC research vice president for high performance computing. "The order for a D-Wave Two system for the initiative launched by NASA, Google and USRA attests to the revolutionary potential of this fundamentally different approach to computing for both industry and government. HPC buyers and users are looking for ways to speed up their applications beyond what contemporary technologies can deliver. IDC believes organizations that depend on leading-edge technology would do well to begin exploring the possibilities for quantum computing."

As part of the selection process, Google, NASA and USRA created a series of benchmark and acceptance tests that the new D-Wave 512-qubit system was required to pass before the installation at NASA Ames could proceed. In all cases, the D-Wave Two system met or exceeded the required performance specifications, in some cases by a large margin.

"We are extremely pleased to make this announcement," stated Vern Brownell, CEO of D-Wave. "Three world class organizations and their research teams will use the D-Wave Two to develop real world applications and to support research from leading academic institutions. This joint effort shows that quantum computing has expanded beyond the theoretical realm and into the worlds of business and technology."

About D-Wave Systems Inc.

Founded in 1999, D-Wave's mission is to integrate new discoveries in physics and computer science into breakthrough approaches to computation that serves business. The company's flagship product, the 512-qubit D-Wave Two™ computer, is built around a novel type of superconducting processor that uses quantum mechanics to massively accelerate computation. The NASA/Google/USRA installation marks a significant broadening of D-Wave's customer base, and comes on the heels of Lockheed-Martin's purchase of an upgrade of their 128-qubit D-Wave One™ system to a 512-qubit D-Wave Two earlier in this year. With headquarters near Vancouver, Canada, the D-Wave U.S. offices are located in Palo Alto, California. D‑Wave has a blue-chip investor base including Bezos Expeditions, Business Development Bank of Canada, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Goldman Sachs, Growthworks, Harris & Harris Group, In-Q-Tel, International Investment and Underwriting, and Kensington Partners Limited. 

For more information, visit: www.dwavesys.com or 


Source: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/d-wave-two-quantum-computer-selected-for-new-quantum-artificial-intelligence-initiative-207674881.html