Factoring an integer with three oscillators and a qubit.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41453897.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1038/s41467-025-67694-5 and PMC identifier 12780048.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
A common starting point of traditional quantum algorithm design is the notion of a universal quantum computer with a scalable number of qubits. This convenient abstraction mirrors classical computations manipulating bits. It allows for a device-independent development of algorithmic primitives. Here we argue that an alternative approach centered on the physical setup can yield great benefits. As an example, we consider hybrid qubit-oscillator systems with linear optics operations augmented by certain qubit-controlled Gaussian unitaries. The continuous variable Fourier transform and certain arithmetic operations have native realizations in such systems. We put this to algorithmic use and give a polynomial-time quantum factoring algorithm which uses only one qubit and three oscillators, independent of the number being factored.