D-Wave argues that its quantum computers can solve scientific relevance problems much faster than classical methods

A team of quantum computer researchers from D-Wave, a quantum computer maker working with an international team of physicists and engineers, claims that modern quantum processors are used to run quantum simulations faster than they do on classic computers.

In a paper published in the journal Science, the group describes how they performed a quantum version of a mathematical approximation of how matter behaves when changing states from state to state in a way that argued that it is nearly impossible to act on a traditional computer.

Over the past few years, D-Wave has been working on developing quantum anneals, a subtype of quantum computers created to solve very specific types of problems. In particular, landmark claims made by company researchers are sometimes skeptical of others in the field.

With this new initiative, the researchers built quantum computers using annealing processors. This is usually used to solve a single type of problem. They used processors to simulate the quantum dynamics properties of spin glasses (magnetized, disordered arrays of simulated objects). The result was a simulation solution that could be used to describe a particular magnetic material. Solving such problems in the past has helped design new metals. The team means their work is truly scientifically relevant.

The work by the team was originally posted on the ARXIV preprint server last year, giving others the opportunity to review their claims. This led to two teams that suggest that much of what the team accomplished could actually be done on a classic computer.

The first, led by Dries Sels at New York University, submitted a paper to an Arxiv Preprint server explaining how similar simulations were performed on a laptop in just two hours. The second team, led by Linda Mauron and Giuseppe Carleo in the Swiss EPFL, also submitted their papers to ARXIV.

In response, the D-Wave team reportedly will use more Qubits to run bigger simulations and submit results to future papers. They conclude by suggesting that their work would encourage other researchers to discover new quantum technologies to solve relevant problems.

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