Computing units of quantum computers - qubits - are very unstable and subject to errors, which hinders the development of new type computers. Recently, Australian scientists have discovered that the modification of "surface codes," or, more simply, breaking a quantum coding, allows several times to improve the system of correction of quantum errors, writes Science Daily. Scientists from IBM, Google, Microsoft and universities around the world are keen to create a quantum computer ready for practical use, but instability of qubits is a big technological problem. Qubits are affected by the environment, which causes interference and loss of computational blocks of its properties. That's why the developers joined the quantum race, increasing the number of qubits in order to create a full-fledged quantum computer, the operation of which will not be affected by errors. But the increase in the number of qubits has not yet led to the desired result. The solution of the qubit instability problem is of vital importance for the successful development of quantum technologies. Scientists from the University of Sydney - David Taket, Stephen Bartlet and Stephen Flamia - found a way to improve the system of correction of quantum errors several times. "This is achieved by adapting our quantum decoder to the properties of interference that affect the qubits," says Floya. "In this sense, we crack common coding to correct errors," explains Professor Bartlett. In practice, it is necessary not to correct the errors of qubits, which stem from their very nature, but to create an architecture of a quantum computer that will allow it to work effectively with any number of errors.

In theory, the architecture of quantum computers can allow only 1% of errors to produce more or less useful calculations. In the real world, such a computer can operate at a maximum of 10.9% of errors. Assuming ideal equipment, the work of Sydney scientists provides an acceptable error threshold of 43.7% - a fourfold improvement over the current level of the theoretical model of the architecture of a quantum computing device.

Original article: Scientists quadrupled the permissible error threshold of a quantum computer.