Evidence for the utility of quantum computing before fault tolerance

This paper presents experimental evidence supporting the practical utility of current, noisy quantum computers, even before the development of fault-tolerant quantum circuits. Using a 127-qubit superconducting processor, the researchers accurately measured expectation values for quantum circuits exceeding the capabilities of classical brute-force computation. This success is attributed to advancements in qubit coherence, calibration, and noise control. The accuracy is validated by comparison with exactly verifiable circuits, demonstrating the quantum computer's superiority in regimes of strong entanglement where classical approximation methods fail.

Youngseok Kim, Andrew Eddins, Sajant Anand, Ken Xuan Wei, Ewout van den Berg, Sami Rosenblatt, Hasan Nayfeh, Yantao Wu, Michael Zaletel, Kristan Temme, Abhinav Kandala