On the impact of quantum computing technology on future developments in high-performance scientific computing
It provides a forward-looking perspective for researchers and policymakers on the potential of quantum computing to transform high-performance scientific computing.
The paper envisions how software-programmable quantum computers, as part of hybrid accelerated computing platforms, could revolutionize scientific computing by enabling breakthroughs in applied mathematics and its applications, with examples of societal impact.
Quantum computing technologies have become a hot topic in academia and industry receiving much attention and financial support from all sides. Building a quantum computer that can be used practically is in itself an outstanding challenge that has become the 'new race to the moon'. Next to researchers and vendors of future computing technologies, national authorities are showing strong interest in maturing this technology due to its known potential to break many of today's encryption techniques, which would have significant impact on our society. It is however quite likely that quantum computing has beneficial impact on many computational disciplines. In this article we describe our vision of future developments in scientific computing that would be enabled by the advent of software-programmable quantum computers. We thereby assume that quantum computers will form part of a hybrid accelerated computing platform like GPUs and co-processor cards do today. In particular, we address the potential of quantum algorithms to bring major breakthroughs in applied mathematics and its applications. Finally, we give several examples that demonstrate the possible impact of quantum-accelerated scientific computing on society.