Characterizing the D-wave processor with Quantum Monte Carlo simulations

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This NSERC Engage proposal aims to facilitate a new partnership between D-wave Systems, Inc. and the group of Professor Roger Melko at the University of Waterloo. D-wave is the world leader in the development of hardware for "quantum annealing" (QA), which aims to perform certain types of computations with an efficiency heightened by quantum mechanical bits or "qubits". Over the last decade, D-wave's production process has successfully manufactured several generations of QA chip with increasing numbers of qubits. With their latest generation, qubit numbers are large enough to require highly advanced (conventional) computer simulations for characterization. Professor Melko, the Canada Research Chair in Computational Quantum Many-Body Physics, is an international leader in such simulation technology. His group specializes in state-of-the-art quantum Monte Carlo (QMC) simulations, which are capable of direct characterization of many of the properties of the D-wave chip. In their partnership, they plan to compare the experimental hardware outputs of the D-wave chip under various conditions, to direct simulations using Melko's QMC. Measurements will focus on characterizing the thermal distributions of chip outputs, to determine whether they correspond to quantum or classical distributions. Such benchmarks provide important information about D-Wave quantum annealing evolution and freeze-out processes and the quality of its final distribution. The experience will also develop Prof. Melko's in-house capabilities for simulation of the QA architecture. This partnership will bring the industry-simulation cooperation for QA development entirely within Canada, which will benefit the country's larger effort in quantum computing and information technology.