A new quantity algorithm speeds up a large group of problems

The original version to This story Appear Quanta magazine.

For computer scientists, solving problems is somewhat similar to mountain climbing. First, they must choose a problem in solving it – with the climbing peak – then they must develop a strategy to solve it. Classic and kmomonian researchers compete with different strategies, with health rivalry between the two. Researchers report a quick way to solve a problem – often by expanding a peak that no one believes to be worth climbing – then classic teams race to see if they can find a better way.

This competition always ends as a virtual equalizer: When researchers believe they have invented the quantum algorithm that works faster or better than anything else, classical researchers usually reach an equal plane. Only last week, the alleged quantity accelerated, published in the magazine sciencesI was immediately suspicious of two separate groups who showed how to perform the performance similar the accounts On classic machines.

But in a paper published on the scientific website arxiv.org last year, the researchers described what it appears Speeding the quantity that is convincing and useful. The researchers described a new quantity algorithm that works faster than all of the classic known in finding good solutions to a wide category of improvement problems (looking for the best possible solution between a huge number of options).

To date, no classic algorithm is a new algorithm, known as the Separate quantitative interference measurement (DQI). It is “a penetration in quantum algorithms,” he said Calay generationMathematics scientist at Rishman University and A prominent skeptical of quantum computing. The reports of the quantum algorithms of researchers stimulate, partly because they can shed light on new ideas about difficult problems, partly due to the fact that the problems that they will already benefit from. The quantum algorithm that surpasses all the classic performance known in improvement tasks is a big step forward in harnessing the capabilities of quantum computers.

“I’m excited about that,” he said Ronald de WolfCWI theoretical world, the National Institute of Research for Mathematics and Computer Science in the Netherlands, which did not participate in the new algorithm. But at the same time, he warned that researchers could still find a classic algorithm that also works. Because there are no quantitative devices, there is still some time before they can test the new algorithm experimentally.

The algorithm may inspire a new work on the classic side, according to Iwine TangComputer scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, who came to the lead in adolescence Create classic algorithms that match quantum events. She said that the new allegations “are so interesting enough that I will tell classic people,” hey, you should look at this paper and work on this problem. “

The best way to go ahead?

When classic and quantitative algorithms compete, they often do this in the battlefield in improvement, focusing on finding the best options to solve a thorny problem. Researchers usually focus on problems where the number of possible solutions explode with an increase in the size of the problem. What is the best way to connect a truck to visit 10 cities in three days? How should you pack parcels in the back? Classic methods to solve these problems, which often involve overcoming possible solutions in smart ways, that they quickly cannot be defended.

The specific improvement problem that DQI treats is almost: I have been given a set of points on a sheet. You need to reach a sports job that passes through these points. Specifically, your function should be multiple-border-a mixture of variables that are raised to the number of full numbers and beaten by transactions. But it cannot be very complicated, which means that the forces cannot rise very. This gives you a curved line writhing up and down while moving on the page. Your job is to find a wiggly line that touches most points.

The forms of this problem appear in various forms through computer science, especially in coding error and encryption – the fields focus on the data coding safely and accurately when sent. The researchers DQI realized, mainly, that conspiracy is a better line that resembles a loud encrypted message closer to its exact meaning.