Error-mitigated quantum computation with noisy superconducting qubits

In the absence of fault tolerant hardware architectures, the development of hybrid algorithms has led to interest in approximate computing with noisy intermediate scale quantum computers. However, recent demonstrations [1] have been severely limited by decoherence, highlighting the need for error mitigation techniques to extract accurate computations from noisy quantum hardware. In this context, I shall introduce a zero-noise extrapolation technique [2,3] that enables access to noise-free estimates of expectation values, after the application of a short depth circuit, without requiring any additional quantum resources. I shall discuss challenges for its implementation with superconducting qubits [4], and highlight its broad applicability with experimental demonstrations of quantum simulation [4] and machine learning [5]. [1] A. Kandala, A. Mezzacapo et al, Nature 549, 242 (2017) [2] K. Temme et al, PRL 119, 180509 (2017) [3] Li et al, PRX 7, 021050 (2017) [4] A. Kandala et al, arXiv:1805.04492 [5] V. Havelick et al, arXiv:1804.11326