by Stephanie Wehner and Leo Kouwenhoven

Writing a blog post about quantum information and taking a picture of a rapidly approaching wave are almost equally ephemeral – a fleeting impression of an exciting development that has long moved onwards once the ink is dry. In the past two years, QuTech has grown to over 140 people working towards a quantum computer and quantum internet – or if you put the two together, a quantum cloud. We have celebrated scientific successes such as the first loophole free Bell test, and seen significant developments when Intel decided to enter the quantum domain, joining Microsoft as an industrial partner of QuTech.

Stephanie Wehner

More interesting, however, is undoubtedly the road ahead. Evidently, it is an intriguing prospect that already relatively few qubit quantum computing devices may solve useful problems faster than any classical machine. For us in the field, however, they would also invariably transform the landscape of quantum technology research we are accustomed to – both for theoretical and experimental research. An availability of few qubit devices promises the novel opportunity to develop new applications and algorithms by a heuristic approach often taken in classical computing – simply because we all have a classical computer on our desk to try them out. From an experimental perspective, we may see a divergence of experiments that aim to probe physics but work with only a handful of qubits, and the more engineering oriented aspect of designing larger scale computing technology. All the while, quantum information has made a sweeping entrance into many other areas of physics – offering the perspective of information as a powerful new way to decipher nature.

To advance quantum technologies, the European commission has recently established a 1bn euro flagship. Whether intentionally or not, the video provided for the flagship highlights the situation our field may find itself in. Feeling the rapidly approaching wave the question will be whether we do – as the surfer – fully commit to these possibilities by taking the chance to pop up on the surfboard. Or, whether we will keep hanging onto the well accustomed board and thus invariably wipe out. Success in quantum technologies does indeed require all the commitment we can muster, since realizing a quantum computer is incredibly challenging. Only time will tell whether we will be able to overcome all obstacles, but as with all great endeavours the only path lies forward.

Leo Kouwenhoven

Initiated by our excellent blog editorial team, we hope this blog may allow you to take part in some of these exciting developments. Written by all members of QuTech, it will feature a diverse set of posts ranging from ongoing research, people at QuTech, to – hopefully – easier explanations of what all this quantum stuff is actually about.

Sometimes, the blog may also give you a glimpse into what these scientists – like the theorist and experimentalist pictured here – are up to all day.

See you soon at the QuTech Blog. Enjoy!