physics

USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center

USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center rather than just read about it. In short: The USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) is a joint scientific research effort between Lockheed Martin Corporation and the University of Southern California (USC). The QCC is housed at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a computer science and engineering research unit of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and is jointly operated by ISI and Lockheed Martin.

Key takeaways

USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center (QCC) is a joint scientific research effort between Lockheed Martin Corporation and the University of Southern California (USC). The QCC is housed at the Information Sciences Institute (ISI), a computer science and engineering research unit of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, and is jointly operated by ISI and Lockheed Martin. USC faculty, ISI researchers and students are performing basic and applied research into quantum computing, and are collaborating with researchers around the world. The QCC uses a D-Wave Two quantum annealing system, manufactured by D-Wave Systems, Inc. The QCC is the first organization outside of D-Wave to operate the system. The second system is installed at NASA Ames Research Center, and is operated jointly by NASA and Google. The systems must be kept extremely cold and electromagnetically shielded to operate with the longest possible coherence time.

Purpose Quantum information processing, also called quantum computing, theoretically is known to offer dramatic speed-ups and more complete answers for some combinatorial computing problems. Quantum annealing is a branch of quantum computing whose advantages over classical computing are being investigated. In quantum annealing, problems are encoded into the lowest energy state of a physical quantum system. Applications currently under study at the QCC include big data analysis, verification and validation of cyber-physical systems, pattern identification and classification, and optimization and machine learning, any of which may support breakthroughs in multiple industries and government. USC and ISI researchers, as well as Lockheed Martin engineers, seek to develop methods to benchmark quantum annealers, and perform tests of 'quantumness'. These include the study of quantum entanglement and, more generally, the performance of quantum annealing experiments. Researchers also are working to manage quantum decoherence, the phenomenon that degrades the performance of quantum information processors when quantum states are forced out of quantum superposition. Decoherence can reduce quantum functionality to that of a classical computer, and can be counteracted using quantum error correction. QCC researchers and their collaborators have developed methods to counteract decoherence in quantum annealers by combining quantum error correction with energy penalties that suppress decoherence into a single quantum annealing correction method.

History The QCC was launched in November, 2011 under the leadership of Scientific and Technical Director Daniel Lidar, a USC professor of electrical engineering, chemistry and physics; Operational Director Robert F. Lucas, director of ISI's Computational Systems and Technology division; and Ned Allen and Greg Tallant of Lockheed Martin. The QCC began with a 128-qubit D-Wave One, which was replaced in March 2013 with the 512-qubit D-Wave Two.

Research Research initially focused on testing whether the D-Wave is in fact a quantum system, and has expanded to benchmarking the D-Wave against classical algorithms, and various applications, including quantum machine learning. Lockheed Martin researchers have focused on the application of adiabatic quantum computing to the problem of verification and validation of control systems and other tasks with similar mathematical structure, such as the design of special wave forms for RF applications with minimal side-lobes.

People The team includes more than a dozen USC faculty members, ISI researchers, postdoctoral and graduate students, and more than 100 Lockheed Martin users.

Location USC is located in downtown Los Angeles. ISI is located in Marina del Rey, California. Lockheed Martin headquarters is located in Bethesda, Maryland. D-Wave is located in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

References

External links isi.edu usc.edu dwavesys.com

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center

In research: USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 establishments in California, Centers of the University of Southern California, Computer science institutes in the United States, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center in simple terms?

Why does USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on USC-Lockheed Martin Quantum Computing Center.