Suffolk Reporter

Researchers from 14 institutions have collaborated through the Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA) to address the challenges of scaling quantum computing. This effort resulted in the creation of the ARQUIN framework, a system designed to simulate large-scale distributed quantum computers as distinct layers. Their findings were published in ACM Transactions on Quantum Computing.

Michael DeMarco, leading the research at Brookhaven National Laboratory and MIT, explains that connecting multiple computing nodes into a unified framework is essential. However, scaling a quantum computing chip within a single dilution refrigerator presents significant challenges due to the need for superconducting qubits to remain extremely cold.

The ARQUIN team included researchers from various institutions such as Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Yale University, Princeton University, Virginia Tech, and IBM. "A lot of quantum research is being done in isolation," said Samuel Stein from PNNL. He emphasized the importance of integrating different aspects of research to see how they affect each other.

Mark Ritter from IBM described it as "a huge optimization problem" requiring an assessment of technology and algorithms followed by simulations to identify bottlenecks. The focus was on superconducting quantum devices linked by microwave-to-optical connections.

MIT's Professor Isaac Chuang noted that cross-domain systems research is crucial for advancing quantum information processing applications and benefits from national quantum initiatives by the DOE.

PNNL researchers including Stein, Ang Li, and James Ang developed a simulation pipeline and created the Quantum Roofline Model that connects all elements together—allowing different approaches for future quantum computers to be tested.

Chenxu Liu from PNNL highlighted the necessity for multi-institutional collaborations despite groups not fully understanding each other's work but needing integration into a comprehensive pipeline view.

The ARQUIN framework represents an initial step towards efficient scalable quantum communication by integrating modular systems. Though an operational multi-node quantum computer hasn't been built yet, this research outlines future hardware/software co-design paths.

Li stated that creating a layer-based hierarchical simulation environment allowed evaluation of design factors against performance metrics within complex distributed quantum computing stacks. Some software products developed are already used in other projects like HetArch, which further explores superconducting architectures.

"This is an example of applying co-design principles from exascale computing," said Ang regarding their design explorations with HetArch.

The study received support from several organizations including C2QA under DOE's Office of Science and was partly funded by NSF projects focused on enabling practical-scale computation and hybrid architectures networks exploration.