Japanese invent scheme that may revolutionize quantum computing

September 24, 2017

TOKYO- Japanese scientists have announced that they invented a quantum computing scheme to carry out a far larger number of calculations efficiently than existing quantum computers.

Under the scheme, many pulses of light, each carrying information, are let to go around in a loop circuit indefinitely. The circuit performs multiple tasks, switching from one task to another rapidly through instant manipulations of the pulses.

The invention was announced in an article by University of Tokyo Prof. Akira Furusawa and Assistant Prof. Shuntaro Takeda, posted on an electronic version of the US journal Physical Review Letters.

"We'll start work to develop the hardware, now that we've resolved all problems except how to make a scheme that automatically corrects a calculation error," Furusawa said.

In 2013, Furusawa's team developed a basic system for optical quantum computing. The system requires more than 500 mirrors and lenses and occupies space 4.2 meters long and 1.5 meters wide, while it can handle only one pulse. Jiji Press