Development of the first operating system for quantum networks.

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A European research team led by experts from TU Delft and the University of Innsbruck has developed the first operating system for quantum networks. It is designed to network different quantum computers with each other, regardless of the underlying architecture of the qubits. In the long term, such a system will enable the development of a quantum internet. The results were recently published in the journal Nature.

Interface between software and hardware

Anyone using a computer today does not need to understand how semiconductors store and process information. Operating systems such as Windows, Linux or Android act as an interface between software and hardware. They make it possible to develop programs without knowing the exact specifications of the processors and circuits. Only this step made computers accessible to the general public.

Quantum computers previously lacked such an interface. To control quantum computers, developers program specific software for the problem under consideration and the qubit architecture used. In order to perform operations, users therefore need a deep physical understanding of the underlying hardware: superconducting qubits, for example, require different control mechanisms than trapped ions.

An operating system for quantum networks

For the first time, a research team led by Carlo Delle Donne, Mariagrazia Iuliano and Bart van der Vecht has now developed a kind of quantum operating system for quantum networks that is intended to bridge the barrier between hardware and software. "The system is like the software on your computer at home: you don't need to know how the hardware works to use it," says Mariagrazia Iuliano, PhD student at the QuTech research institute at TU Delft, who played a leading role in the study.

In a quantum network, quantum computers are connected to each other in a similar way to a classical network. In contrast to quantum computers that run individual programs, applications for quantum networks require different programs to run independently of each other on different network nodes –, such as a client app on a cell phone and a server in the cloud. These programs must coordinate with each other via messages and quantum entanglement.

Independent of the hardware

The operating system, called QNodeOS, is a combination of software and hardware and supports various types of quantum processors. The team demonstrates the capabilities of QNodeOS by connecting two different types of quantum computers: two processors based on trapped ions and two others based on color centers in diamonds. Co-author Tracy Northup from the University of Innsbruck says: "Our trapped ion processors work fundamentally differently from those that use color centers in diamonds. We have shown that QNodeOS works with both."

The future of quantum networks

QNodeOS could therefore provide an important building block for the further development and commercialization of quantum networks. "No one can say for sure whether QNodeOS will become 'the new Unix'," writes researcher Claudio Cicconetti, who was not involved in the study, in an accompanying commentary in Nature. "However, QNodeOS is a step in the right direction and can lead quantum computing and quantum networks into a new phase of maturity."

The project took place as part of the European research initiative Quantum Internet Alliance (QIA), which aims to develop the world's first prototype quantum internet. The more than 40 participating organizations are working towards the goal of realizing a functioning quantum internet by 2030.

As a next step, the QIA wants to give the public access to its software and hardware components. To this end, it plans to integrate QNodesOS into the Quantum Network Explorer, a quantum internet demonstrator from the QuTech Institute. In this way, the team aims to reduce barriers and accelerate the development of software for quantum networks.

(spa)