Creating an Error Correcting Cat

I am well aware of the Schrödinger’s cat idea, were taught the concept in physics, but don't fully understand how this directly effects quantum physics's use in computing.

Yale quantum researchers create an error-correcting cat   By Jim Shelton, Yale
 
Yale physicists have developed an error-correcting cat — a new device that combines the Schrödinger’s cat concept of superposition (a physical system existing in two states at once) with the ability to fix some of the trickiest errors in a quantum computation.

It is Yale’s latest breakthrough in the effort to master and manipulate the physics necessary for a useful quantum computer: correcting the stream of errors that crop up among fragile bits of quantum information, called qubits, while performing a task.

A new study reporting on the discovery appears in the journal Nature. The senior author is Michel Devoret, Yale’s F.W. Beinecke Professor of Applied Physics and Physics. The study’s co-first authors are Alexander Grimm, a former postdoctoral associate in Devoret’s lab who is now a tenure-track scientist at the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland, and Nicholas Frattini, a graduate student in Devoret’s lab.

Quantum computers have the potential to transform an array of industries, from pharmaceuticals to financial services, by enabling calculations that are orders of magnitude faster than today’s supercomputers.

Yale — led by Devoret, Robert Schoelkopf, and Steven Girvin — continues to build upon two decades of groundbreaking quantum research. Yale’s approach to building a quantum computer is called “circuit QED” and employs particles of microwave light (photons) in a superconducting microwave resonator.

In a traditional computer, information is encoded as either 0 or 1. The only errors that crop up during calculations are “bit-flips,” when a bit of information accidentally flips from 0 to 1 or vice versa. The way to correct it is by building in redundancy: using three “physical” bits of information to ensure one “effective” — or accurate — bit.

In contrast, quantum information bits — qubits — are subject to both bit-flips and “phase-flips,” in which a qubit randomly flips between quantum superpositions (when two opposite states exist simultaneously).

Quantum Physics and Decision Making

A very broad metaphor based on famous quantum thought experiments.  But still an intriguing idea.   Pointers to some related work by Kahneman and others.  " ... This new theory is still in its infancy, but this type of thinking may lead to better understanding of how we make decisions. It provides a new framework in which previous, sometimes contradictory, theories can live (in superposition?) simultaneously. .... "  

Building Google's Quantum Computer.

Google has been working on the idea for some time, including testing the D-Wave computer mentioned here a number of times.  Now some interesting details about the quest in Wired.   This could result in new advances in analytics.  " ... Google launched its Quantum A.I. Lab last year to test a machine called the D-Wave Two, an intriguing but controversial system that its makers bill as a quantum computer, and it believes quantum computing could play a key role in so many of its future ambitions, from self-driving cars and other robots to better predictive analytics systems for products like Google Now to things we haven’t even dreamed up yet. Thanks to what’s called the superposition principle of quantum mechanics, it could process data for such projects at speeds that are exponentially faster than what you get from today’s machines. ... " 

Google Supports Quantum AI

Again a favorite topic.  Quantum Computing.  The interaction between modern physics and computing.  So what it all about?  How about an example of instructional games?  In the Guardian:

" ... Google is hoping to inspire children's interest in quantum computing by using one of their favourite digital pastimes: Minecraft.

The company's Quantum A.I. Lab Team has collaborated with MinecraftEdu and Caltech's Institute for Quantum Information and Matter to launch a modpack for the popular game called qCraft.

"It lets players experiment with quantum behaviors inside Minecraft's world, with new blocks that exhibit quantum entanglement, superposition, and observer dependency," explained a Google+ post from the team.... "