D-Wave Claims 'Quantum Supremacy,' Beating Traditional Computers

D-Wave researchers have published findings in Science demonstrating what they call 'quantum supremacy' by showing their quantum annealers can solve problems beyond the reach of classical computers. The team, led by Andrew D. King, demonstrated area-law scaling of entanglement in model quench dynamics of two-, three- and infinite-dimensional spin glasses.

The research shows quantum annealers rapidly generating samples that closely match solutions to the Schrodinger equation, supporting observed stretched-exponential scaling in matrix-product-state approaches. According to the paper, D-Wave's processors completed these magnetic materials simulations in under 20 minutes, while the same calculations would require nearly a million years on Oak Ridge National Laboratory's supercomputers.

The claim hasn't gone unchallenged. Miles Stoudenmire from the Flatiron Institute's Center for Computational Quantum Physics argues that classical computers can achieve comparable results using methods developed since D-Wave's initial findings. 'We're just saying, 'Look, this one problem at this one time didn't beat classical computers. Try again,'' Stoudenmire noted. The quantum computing community has increasingly shifted terminology from 'supremacy' to 'advantage' or 'utility,' focusing on solving practical business or scientific problems faster, more accurately, or more economically than classical alternatives.

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