INESC TEC researchers have developed a new hybrid quantum–classical algorithm that promises to make quantum computing more practical and resilient to the challenges posed by current quantum devices. The research work “Bayesian Quantum Amplitude Estimation” proposes an innovative approach to one of the fundamental tasks in quantum computing – amplitude estimation – with applications in fields like engineering, finance, and Artificial Intelligence.
This breakthrough represents an important step towards making quantum computing more accessible, practical, and scalable, advancing the concrete application to real-world problems.
Moreover, the study aims to combine the best of both worlds: the acceleration power of quantum computing and the stability and reliability of classical methods. According to Alexandra Ramôa and Luís Paulo Santos, authors of the paper and INESC TEC researchers in quantum computing, the new algorithm retains the known quantum advantage for this type of problem but demonstrates better performance under realistic condition – i.e., in conditions where noise and the limitations of current quantum devices make it difficult to obtain consistent results.
“We seek to adapt quantum algorithms with practical utility to the reality of current quantum machines. Our goal is for these algorithms not only to be theoretically advantageous but also to be efficiently applicable on the quantum computers we already have,” explained the researcher, who is also a quantum computing PhD student at the University of Minho.
Amplitude estimation is a vital operation in several types of computation- for instance, in numerical integration methods like Monte Carlo algorithms, which are widely used by the scientific community in fields like financial modelling, risk simulation, and even process optimisation. “Quantum computing enables a quadratic reduction in processing cost compared to traditional approaches. For example, if this cost increases by 100 in the classical case, in the quantum case it will increase by only 10 – i.e., one can obtain similar results with far fewer computational resources,” the researcher added.
In the tests carried out, the new algorithm outperformed all the evaluated alternatives, showing lower error for any computational cost, while also demonstrating greater robustness to noise – particularly to decoherence, one of the phenomena that most affects the stability of current quantum systems, representing the loss of quantum coherence due to the interaction of a system with the environment.
The researchers mentioned in this news piece are associated with INESC TEC and UMinho.
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