Quantum Computers & Challenging Calculations
There are still some effective methods of benefiting from the additional computation capabilities of Quantum computers as they are growing larger. To overcome this obstacle, algorithms are designed by researchers to aid the transformation from traditional to quantum computers. The researches disclose an algorithm in new studies which decreases the noise or statistic errors that are produced in difficult chemistry equations by qubits or quantum bits.
At Google Quantum AI the algorithm was developed by Columbia postdoc Joonho Lee and professor of chemistry David Reichman with the help of researchers for the calculation of ground state energy, the algorithm uses Google 53-qubit computer up to 16 qubits. Reichman stated that these are the biggest quantum chemistry computations that have ever been completed on an actual quantum machine.
A Google Quantum AI visiting researcher Lee stated that the capability to correctly compute the ground state energy will allow experts the development of brand new materials. This new algorithm might be used in designing materials that for farming increase the speed of nitrogen fixation and accelerate hydrolysis for getting clean energy along with other sustainable development goals.
Different variables are influencing the ground state energy like electrons numbers in a molecule, their orbiting path of the nucleus, and their spinning direction. Schrodinger equation is encoding this electronic energy. On traditional computers it is extremely difficult to solve such equations where molecules get larger, however, solution estimation techniques have made this process easy. How these quantum computers could get around with the scaling complication is still an open question.
On the whole, extremely huge and very complex computations should be handled easily by quantum computers such as the one needed for solving the Schrodinger equation which is made up of qubits taking the edge of quantum states. Qubits can live in two different states concurrently unlike bits or binary which are made of ones and zeros. Although Qubits are weak and prone to error as the more qubits are used, the less accuracy there will be in the final answer. To solve the equations of chemistry more effectively while reducing the quantum computers errors, the combination of traditional and quantum computers power is harnessed by Lee’s algorithm.
Lee stated that we are taking advantage of all the tools we already had along with the tools of quantum science to process quantum chemistry computations.
