Quantum superposition allows a qubit to exist in two possible states at the same time, similar to a spinning coin — neither heads nor tails for the coin, neither one value nor the other for the qubit. Measuring the value of the qubit determines the probability of measuring either of the two possible values, similar to stopping the coin on heads or tails. That dynamic allows for a wider range of possible values, more like a dial with precise settings than a binary on-off switch.
“The quantum aspect allows us to represent the problem in a more efficient way and potentially opens up a new way to solve problems that we couldn’t before,” Beck said.
Scientists haven’t yet settled on the most effective technology for encoding qubits, and high error rates remain an obstacle to harnessing quantum computing’s potential. The study proposes developing quantum test beds to explore the various technologies and coupling those test beds with classical machines.
“We don’t want to tie ourselves to any single technology yet because we don’t know what approach will emerge as the best,” Beck said. “But while we’re in this early stage, we need to begin incorporating quantum elements into our computing infrastructure with an eye toward potential breakthroughs. Ultimately, we want to connect these two vastly different types of computers in a seamless way to run the machines together — similar to the hybrid architecture of graphics processing units, or GPUs, and central processing units, or CPUs, that accelerates current leadership-class supercomputers.”
That hybrid architecture, used by supercomputers such as Frontier, integrates the two kinds of processors on each node for the fastest possible computing — GPUs for the repetitive calculations that make up the backbone of most simulations and CPUs for higher-level tasks such as retrieving information and executing other instructions. The technology needed for classical and quantum processors to share space on a node doesn’t yet exist.
The study recommends a high-speed network as the best way to connect classical HPC resources with quantum computers for now.
“There are degrees of integration, and we won’t achieve the ideal right away,” said ORNL’s Sarp Oral, who oversees the NCCS Advanced Technologies Section. “To achieve that ideal, we need to identify which algorithms and applications can take advantage of quantum computing. Our job is to provide better ways to conduct science, and quantum computing can be a tool that serves that purpose.”
Support for this research came from the DOE Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, the Quantum Science Center, the OLCF, the OLCF’s Quantum Computing User Program and the Department of Defense’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The OLCF is an Office of Science user facility.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. The Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science. — Matt Lakin
This Oak Ridge National Laboratory news article "Study seeks to unite high-performance computing, quantum computing for science" was originally found on https://www.ornl.gov/news