The future of quantum computing with superconducting qubits

TLDR

The emergence of quantum processing units marks a pivotal shift in computing, promising super‑polynomial speedups but requiring advances in error correction, circuit knitting, and heuristic algorithms to achieve near‑term computational advantage. The authors propose quantum‑centric supercomputing, aiming to enhance hardware performance and integrate quantum and classical processors. They design an architecture that seamlessly combines quantum and classical processors to realize this new computing paradigm.

Abstract

For the first time in history, we are seeing a branching point in computing paradigms with the emergence of quantum processing units (QPUs). Extracting the full potential of computation and realizing quantum algorithms with a super-polynomial speedup will most likely require major advances in quantum error correction technology. Meanwhile, achieving a computational advantage in the near term may be possible by combining multiple QPUs through circuit knitting techniques, improving the quality of solutions through error suppression and mitigation, and focusing on heuristic versions of quantum algorithms with asymptotic speedups. For this to happen, the performance of quantum computing hardware needs to improve and software needs to seamlessly integrate quantum and classical processors together to form a new architecture that we are calling quantum-centric supercomputing. Long term, we see hardware that exploits qubit connectivity in higher than 2D topologies to realize more efficient quantum error correcting codes, modular architectures for scaling QPUs and parallelizing workloads, and software that evolves to make the intricacies of the technology invisible to the users and realize the goal of ubiquitous, frictionless quantum computing.