In a major breakthrough, researchers at USC have shown that quantum computers can outperform even the fastest supercomputers at solving certain complex problems.
This leap forward, known as quantum advantage, was demonstrated using a specialized technique called quantum annealing. Think of it as a smarter way to search for great (not necessarily perfect) solutions to tricky puzzles that traditional computers struggle with. The results were recently published in Physical Review Letters.
“The way quantum annealing works is by finding low-energy states in quantum systems, which correspond to optimal or near-optimal solutions to the problems being solved,” said Daniel Lidar, corresponding author of the study and professor of electrical and computer engineering, chemistry, and physics and astronomy at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
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