Quantum computing by quantum annealing

The 19th iTHES Theoretical Science Colloquium

Quantum annealing is a generic platform to solve a class of computational problems using quantum mechanical effects. D-Wave Systems in Canada has built hardware to realize quantum annealing and has sold several of their machine to Google, NASA, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Lockheed-Martin, which raised a good amount of interest not just from scientific communities but also from a wider public. In this talk, I will explain the basic theoretical framework of quantum annealing, overview the current status of hardware and theoretical developments, and discuss its impact on the society in general.