Evidence for the utility of quantum computing before fault tolerance

TLDR

Quantum computing promises substantial speed‑ups, yet noise remains the primary obstacle, and fault‑tolerant circuits are currently unattainable. The experiments leverage improved coherence and calibration of a 127‑qubit superconducting processor, along with precise noise characterization, to validate expectation‑value measurements against exactly verifiable circuits. Accurate expectation values for circuit volumes beyond classical brute‑force limits were obtained, demonstrating quantum advantage in a pre‑fault‑tolerant era and providing a foundation for near‑term quantum applications.

Abstract

Quantum computing promises to offer substantial speed-ups over its classical counterpart for certain problems. However, the greatest impediment to realizing its full potential is noise that is inherent to these systems. The widely accepted solution to this challenge is the implementation of fault-tolerant quantum circuits, which is out of reach for current processors. Here we report experiments on a noisy 127-qubit processor and demonstrate the measurement of accurate expectation values for circuit volumes at a scale beyond brute-force classical computation. We argue that this represents evidence for the utility of quantum computing in a pre-fault-tolerant era. These experimental results are enabled by advances in the coherence and calibration of a superconducting processor at this scale and the ability to characterize1 and controllably manipulate noise across such a large device. We establish the accuracy of the measured expectation values by comparing them with the output of exactly verifiable circuits. In the regime of strong entanglement, the quantum computer provides correct results for which leading classical approximations such as pure-state-based 1D (matrix product states, MPS) and 2D (isometric tensor network states, isoTNS) tensor network methods2,3 break down. These experiments demonstrate a foundational tool for the realization of near-term quantum applications4,5.