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arXiv:1404.6499

Comment on "Distinguishing Classical and Quantum Models for the D-Wave Device"

Seung Woo Shin, Graeme Smith, John A. Smolin, Umesh V. Vazirani

Published Apr 25, 2014• 16 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The SSSV model is a simple classical model that achieves excellent correlation with published experimental data on the D-Wave machine's behavior on random instances of its native problem, thus raising questions about how "quantum" the D-Wave machine is at large scales. In response, a recent preprint by Vinci et al. proposes a particular set of instances on which the D-Wave machine behaves differently from the SSSV model. In this short note, we explain how a simple modeling of systematic errors in the machine allows the SSSV model to reproduce the behavior reported in the experiments of Vinci et al.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.1404.6499

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The SSSV model is a simple classical model that achieves excellent correlation with published experimental data on the D-Wave machine's behavior on random instances of its native problem, thus raising questions about how "quantum" the D-Wave machine is at large scales. In response, a recent preprint by Vinci et al. proposes a particular set of instances on which the D-Wave machine behaves differently from the SSSV model. In this short note, we explain how a simple modeling of systematic errors in the machine allows the SSSV model to reproduce the behavior reported in the experiments of Vinci et al.
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The development of small-scale quantum devices raises the question of how to fairly assess and detect quantum speedup. Here, we show how to define and measure quantum speedup and how to avoid pitfalls that might mask or fake such a speedup. We illustrate our discussion with data from tests run on a D-Wave Two device with up to 503 qubits. By using random spin glass instances as a benchmark, we found no evidence of quantum speedup when the entire data set is considered and obtained inconclusive results when comparing subsets of instances on an instance-by-instance basis. Our results do not rule out the possibility of speedup for other classes of problems and illustrate the subtle nature of the quantum speedup question.
Testing the predictions of quantum mechanics has been one of the main experimental endeavors for decades. Recent advancements in technology led to a number of demonstrations which test non-classicality via specific computational tasks. Limitations of these experiments include dependence on complexity theory assumptions, susceptibility to hardware noise and inefficient verification, raising questions about their scalability. We propose to test non-classicality using a game based on complement sampling, an efficiently verifiable problem that achieves the largest possible separation between quantum and classical computation when both input and output represent samples from probability distributions. When restricting the input to instances inspired by the Bernstein-Vazirani problem, our game admits an exponentially large violation of classicality unconditionally, i.e. without relying on computational hardness assumptions. We demonstrate the game on Quantinuum System Model H2 trapped-ion quantum computers, with experiments consisting of thousands of different circuits on up to 55 qubits. The observed scores can be explained by a systematic adoption of a quantum strategy, further corroborating the quantum nature of the hardware in an efficient and scalable way.