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August 24, 2022 — Quantum company ColdQuanta recently announced the acquisition of Chicago-based quantum startup Super.Tech in a complementary marriage of research — ColdQuanta’s hardware capabilities with Super.Tech’s software innovations.
The May 2022 announcement was good news for Q-NEXT, the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Center for Quantum Information Science Research, led by DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory.
By bringing Super.Tech into the fold, ColdQuanta, a Q-NEXT partner, can work on core research areas of Q-NEXT with a more software-aware approach to quantum technology, accelerating research in quantum materials and simulation. And Super.Tech, itself a Q-NEXT affiliate, can leverage ColdQuanta’s quantum machines and hardware expertise to take its computing programs to the next level.
“This is an example of how a startup can identify and fill a need in the technology field and then grow to fulfill the mission of a more established technology company,” said David Auschalom, Argonne’s senior director. Scientist, Liu Family Professor of Molecular Engineering and Vice Dean for Research and Infrastructure at Chicago’s Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and Director of the Chicago Quantum Exchange.
ColdQuanta develops quantum devices and quantum data platforms based on cold atom technology, in which isolated atoms are cooled to temperatures ranging from zero to a few millionths of a degree. At that temperature, atoms can act as quantum information carriers, or qubits.
Unlike other types of qubits, man-made, cold atom qubits are naturally occurring.
“Atoms are really simple physical systems to understand. They are easy to model. And in fact, the qubit itself is somewhat perfect,” said Tom Noel, ColdQuanta’s vice president of quantum computing. “You’re using this excellent, naturally occurring qubit. So it takes the trouble of making a completely beautiful qubit out of the hands of the experimenter.
The main limitation is not in the design of the qubits themselves, but in the practical ability of the scientist or engineer to manipulate them, Noel said.
As a member of Q-NEXT, ColdQuanta supports the development of cold atom-based computing by Q-NEXT’s university partner at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. There, scientists are using the computer to simulate the behavior of candidate materials for quantum devices.
ColdQuanta plans to offer Q-NEXT collaboration to access its quantum computer at its headquarters in Boulder, Colorado.
“We want to make sure we’re exposing the functionality of these cold atom-based devices so they can be compared across the playing field. The space, including those in the Q-NEXT collaboration,” Noel said.
Now that Super.Tech is part of ColdQuanta, it has access to the Cold-Atom Quantum platform to test the software. One of Super.Tech’s offerings is SuperStack, which helps optimize software performance on various quantum computing platforms.
Q-NEXT researchers at Argonne are using to tackle perhaps the biggest problem in quantum computing: noise.
Noise, the inevitable uncertainty that accompanies all measurements and calculations, arises from the randomness of the environment and nature. And it brings an error to it.
It’s a particularly nasty problem for quantum devices. Quantum computing works by encoding information in a quantum state of matter. These quantum states are fragile, and even a whisper of noise can destroy them, making quantum devices particularly prone to error. The quantum information science community is experimenting with battery methods to deal with the problem.
Q-NEXT researchers use the Argonne Superstack to design algorithms that efficiently target quantum hardware, minimizing errors.
“For example, instead of running a program and getting the right answer 10% of the time, running Superstack will get you the right answer 50% of the time on common problems,” said Pranav Gokhale, vice president of software at ColdQuanta and Super. .Tech Co-Founder. “Their goal is to understand the types of errors that quantum computers are particularly prone to and how to work around them.”
Q-NEXT collaborators use Super.tech’s SupermarQ, a free, open-source stress test of quantum computers. Scientists can use the tests to evaluate different aspects of a quantum computer’s performance and determine which applications are best suited for that device.
“Super.Tech’s platforms are more hardware-aware than other devices,” says Gokhale. “And to some degree, you could call this a holistic approach: we’re combining algorithmic computer science with instrumental physics, with real systems.”
Quantum technologies are expected to revolutionize the information landscape, with ultra-precise sensors, unbreakable communications networks, and computers that can crack problems that today’s most powerful computers can’t solve.
The implementation of these future technologies depends on an ecosystem of strong research institutions and companies, and this is part of what the Q-NEXT partnership delivers.
The main benefit is the connection to this broad pool of expertise and network capacity, working on problems with this group and sticking to broad research directions that bring truly game-changing approaches to next-generation problems. Problems we probably don’t even know we have yet,” Noel said.
“Getting feedback from researchers who use our software is valuable. It was helpful in designing better services, and the researchers really came up with great and innovative ideas on our software,” said Gokhale. “It inspired us to push our quantum software vision even further.”
Mr. Auschalom says that creating connections between technology companies and research institutions is important for both the development of science and the quantum-technology market.
“A highly connected quantum ecosystem is key to bringing quantum technologies into everyday use, and strengthening the ecosystem is an important part of Q-NEXT,” Auschalom said. “ColdQuanta and Super.tech are an excellent example of how strong connections between researchers can accelerate R&D. Their partnership is not only helpful for Q-NEXT, but also advances the broader field of quantum science.”
About Q-next
Q-NEXT is the US Department of Energy’s National Quantum Information Science Research Center, led by Argonne National Laboratory. Q-NEXT brings together world-class researchers from national laboratories, universities and US technology companies with the goal of advancing the science and technology to manipulate and disseminate quantum information. Q-NEXT partners and institutions will create two national incubators for quantum materials and devices, develop sensor networks and secure communication systems, establish simulation and networking testbeds, and continue America’s scientific and economic leadership by training a next-generation quantum-ready workforce. In this rapidly advancing field.
About Argon
Argonne National Laboratory seeks solutions to national problems in science and technology. Argonne, the country’s first national laboratory, conducts cutting-edge and applied scientific research in all scientific disciplines. Argonne researchers work closely with researchers from hundreds of companies, universities, and federal, state, and municipal agencies to solve unique problems, advance American scientific leadership, and prepare the nation for a better future. With employees from 60 nations, Argonne is managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC for the US Department of Energy’s Office of Science.
About the science office
The US Department of Energy’s Office of Science is a major supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
Source: Leah Hesla, Argonne National Laboratory
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