EurekAlert  August 3, 2021 A key open question in quantum computing is whether quantum algorithms can potentially offer a significant advantage over classical algorithms for tasks of practical interest. An international team of researchers (USA – Flatiron Institute, Columbia University, Switzerland) has introduced a method to simulate layered quantum circuits consisting of parametrized gates suitable for near-term quantum computers. They used a neural-network parametrization of the many-qubit wavefunction focusing on states relevant for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). For the largest circuits simulated, they reached 54 qubits at 4 QAOA layers without requiring large-scale computational resources. For larger systems, […]