Japan now hosts the world\u2019s most advanced quantum\u2013classical hybrid setup, pairing IBM\u2019s cutting-edge quantum system with one of Earth\u2019s fastest supercomputers.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, IBM and Japan\u2019s national research lab RIKEN unveiled the first IBM Quantum System Two installed outside the U.S., integrated directly with Fugaku \u2014 the country\u2019s flagship supercomputer.<\/p>\n
This marks a major step toward \u201cquantum-centric supercomputing,\u201d where quantum and classical systems work together to solve problems neither could tackle alone.<\/p>\n
Fusion of computing power<\/p>\n
The system, launched in Kobe, features IBM\u2019s 156-qubit Heron processor, dubbed as the company\u2019s best-performing quantum chip to date. It\u2019s quality and speed is 10 times better than the previous generation 127-qubit IBM Quantum Eagle.<\/p>\n
With significantly lower error rates and 10x more circuit speed than its predecessor, Heron is now capable of running circuits beyond brute-force simulation on classical machines.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future of computing is quantum-centric and with our partners at RIKEN we are taking a big step forward to make this vision a reality,\u201d said\u00a0Jay Gambetta, VP, IBM Quantum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe new IBM Quantum System Two powered by our latest Heron processor and connected to Fugaku, will allow scientists and engineers to push the limits of what is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Algorithms at new scale<\/p>\n
Researchers at RIKEN will use the system to advance quantum-classical hybrid algorithms, starting with challenges in chemistry and materials science. The direct link between Heron and Fugaku will enable low-latency, instruction-level coordination between the two machines \u2014 a crucial step in developing practical applications for near-term quantum hardware.<\/p>\n
\u201cBy combining Fugaku and the IBM Quantum System Two, RIKEN aims to lead\u00a0Japan\u00a0into a new era of high-performance computing,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Mitsuhisa Sato, Division Director of the Quantum-HPC Hybrid Platform Division, RIKEN Center for Computational Science.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur mission is to develop and demonstrate practical quantum-HPC hybrid workflows that can be explored by both the scientific community and industry. The connection of these two systems enables us to take critical steps toward realizing this vision.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two systems are connected via a high-speed network at the instruction level, creating a testbed for quantum-centric supercomputing.<\/p>\n
This deep integration allows engineers to build parallelized workloads, develop low-latency quantum\u2013classical communication protocols, and optimize software stacks. By letting each system handle the parts of a task it\u2019s best suited for, the setup plays to the strengths of both paradigms.<\/p>\n
The installation of IBM Quantum System Two at RIKEN builds on earlier collaborative work between IBM and RIKEN researchers aimed at achieving quantum advantage \u2014 the point where quantum systems<\/a> outperform classical ones in speed, cost, or accuracy.<\/p>\n One such effort, recently featured on the cover of Science Advances, used sample-based quantum diagonalization (SQD) to model the electronic structure of iron sulfides \u2014 a complex compound found widely in natural and organic systems. <\/p>\n Accurately simulating such materials was once thought to require fault-tolerant quantum computers<\/a>, but SQD offers a glimpse of what near-term qua<\/a>n<\/a>tum <\/a>machines can already achieve when tightly integrated with powerful classical infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Japan now hosts the world\u2019s most advanced quantum\u2013classical hybrid setup, pairing IBM\u2019s cutting-edge quantum system with one of…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":14037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[14473,14474,14475,14476,492,12142,918,14477,14478,14479,14480,159,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-14036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-physics","8":"tag-fugaku-supercomputer","9":"tag-heron-processor","10":"tag-ibm-quantum-system-two","11":"tag-japan-tech","12":"tag-physics","13":"tag-quantum-advantage","14":"tag-quantum-computing","15":"tag-quantum-supercomputing","16":"tag-quantum-classical-hybrid","17":"tag-riken","18":"tag-sample-based-diagonalization","19":"tag-science","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-unitedstates","22":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114745124248562607","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}