Quantum devices might be used to solve to solve hard optimization problems. A first step toward this goal has being achieved at University of Maryland, where a joint theory and experimental collaboration led to the experimental realization of the quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA). By using a cryogenic trapped-ion quantum simulator we run the QAOA with up to 40 qubits, the largest realization to date. Check out our paper on  PNAS!

• Quantum Approximate Optimization with a Trapped-Ion Quantum Simulator, G. Pagano, A. Bapat, P. Becker, K. S. Collins, A. De, P. W. Hess, H. B. Kaplan, A. Kyprianidis, W. L. Tan, C. Baldwin, L. T. Brady, A. Deshpande, F. Liu, S. Jordan, A. V. Gorshkov, C. Monroe, Proc. Natl. Ac. Sci., 2006, 373117 (2020)