
The Long-Awaited Promise of a Programmable Quantum Computer - jedwhite
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601099/the-long-awaited-promise-of-a-programmable-quantum-computer/
======
jcr
related to the 5 qubit quantum machine mentioned.

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11241194](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11241194)

[http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6277/1068](http://science.sciencemag.org/content/351/6277/1068)

[http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.08852](http://arxiv.org/abs/1507.08852)

[http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06819](http://arxiv.org/abs/1601.06819)

[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11235186](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11235186)

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cat-dev-null
Has anyone worked out an estimate for when prime factorization of 4096-bit RSA
pks will be viable, either by govts or corporations with substantial
resources?

~~~
matheweis
According to NIST, researchers are suggesting that a quantum computer capable
of breaking 2048 will be available for less than a billion dollars within the
next 15 years:

[http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/nistir-8105/nistir_...](http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/drafts/nistir-8105/nistir_8105_draft.pdf)

Also relevant is Frederic Jacob's analysis of the NSA's relatively sudden
shift towards post-quantum cryptography:

"[It] says that it takes up to 20 years for algorithms to be fully deployed on
NSS, and the equipment is often used for 30 years or more. NSA refers to “many
experts” that predict a quantum computer capable of effectively breaking
public key crypto within that timeframe and that it is important to address
that concern."

[https://www.fredericjacobs.com/blog/2016/01/27/NSA-
QC/](https://www.fredericjacobs.com/blog/2016/01/27/NSA-QC/)

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Nelkins
Does anybody know if any decent resources exist on how to program for a
quantum computer?

~~~
jcr
The paper is linked at the bottom of the artice:

[http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.04512](http://arxiv.org/abs/1603.04512)

" _Demonstration of a Programmable Quantum Computer Module_ "

Abstract:

>" _Quantum computers can solve certain problems more efficiently than any
possible conventional computer. Small quantum algorithms have been
demonstrated in multiple quantum computing platforms, many specifically
tailored in hardware to implement a particular algorithm or execute a limited
number of computational paths. Here, we demonstrate a trapped-ion quantum
computer module that can be programmed in software to implement arbitrary
quantum algorithms by executing any sequence of universal quantum logic gates.
We compile algorithms into a fully-connected set of gate operations native to
the hardware. Reconfiguring these gate sequences provides the flexibility to
implement a variety of algorithms without altering the hardware. As examples,
we implement the Deutsch- Jozsa (DJ), Bernstein-Vazirani (BV), and quantum
Fourier transform (QFT) algorithms on five trapped-ion qubits. This small
quantum computer can be scaled to larger numbers of qubits within a single
module, and can be further expanded by connecting many modules through ion
shuttling or photonic quantum channels._ "

ADMISSION_OF_IGNORANCE: I haven't read the paper yet, but it looks fascinating
and it's definitely on my must-read-quickly list. At present, I don't know if
any of their code is available publicly.

