Hybrid scheme for factorization: Factoring 551 using a 3-qubit NMR quantum adiabatic processor

TL;DR

This paper introduces a hybrid classical-quantum approach to factorization that reduces qubit requirements, demonstrated by factoring 551 with a 3-qubit NMR quantum processor, advancing quantum factoring methods.

Contribution

It presents a novel hybrid scheme combining classical and quantum computations to enable factorization with fewer qubits than traditional quantum methods.

Findings

Successfully factored 551 using a 3-qubit NMR quantum processor.

Reduced qubit requirements for quantum factorization.

Demonstrated practical implementation of hybrid quantum-classical scheme.

Abstract

Quantum processors are potentially superior to their classical counterparts for many computational tasks including factorization. Circuit methods as well as adiabatic methods have already been proposed and implemented for finding the factors of a given composite number. The main challenge in scaling it to larger numbers is the unavailability of large number of qubits. Here we propose a hybrid scheme that involves both classical and quantum computation, which reduces the number of qubits required for factorization. The classical part involves setting up and partially simplifying a set of bit-wise factoring equations and the quantum part involves solving these coupled equations using a quantum adiabatic process. We demonstrate the hybrid scheme by factoring 551 using a three qubit NMR quantum register.