"When is a Quantum Computer Really Quantum?"
Wednesday Coffee Talk
- Datum: 29.04.2026
- Uhrzeit: 13:00 - 14:00
- Vortragende(r): Roberto Giuntini (Università di Cagliari)
- Department of Education, Psychology, and Philosophy, Università di Cagliari
- Raum: Online (Zoom)
- Gastgeber: TUM Institute for Advanced Study (TUM-IAS)
- Kontakt: events@ias.tum.de
Roberto Giuntini examines how Bell- and Mermin-type inequalities from the foundations of physics can serve as practical benchmarking tools to detect genuinely quantum correlations in today's Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. The talk takes place online via Microsoft Teams.
Abstract:
If we build a machine with qubits and run quantum circuits on it, does that automatically make it genuinely quantum? Or how do we distinguish real quantum resources from classical simulation and noise?
In this talk, I approach this question through the lens of nonlocality. Bell- and Mermin-type inequalities, originally developed in the foundations of physics, provide operational criteria to detect genuinely quantum correlations. I will show how such tests can be transformed into practical benchmarking tools for today’s Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices.
In particular, I will discuss recent experiments on the IQM superconducting processor and the AQT trapped-ion system at the Leibniz Rechenzentrum (LRZ). These platforms allow us to explore where classical correlations end and genuinely nonlocal quantum behaviour begins.
Benchmarking a quantum computer, I argue, is not just about performance metrics. It is about identifying which structural features of quantum theory — entanglement and nonlocality — are truly realized in hardware.
If we build a machine with qubits and run quantum circuits on it, does that automatically make it genuinely quantum? Or how do we distinguish real quantum resources from classical simulation and noise?
In this talk, I approach this question through the lens of nonlocality. Bell- and Mermin-type inequalities, originally developed in the foundations of physics, provide operational criteria to detect genuinely quantum correlations. I will show how such tests can be transformed into practical benchmarking tools for today’s Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices.
In particular, I will discuss recent experiments on the IQM superconducting processor and the AQT trapped-ion system at the Leibniz Rechenzentrum (LRZ). These platforms allow us to explore where classical correlations end and genuinely nonlocal quantum behaviour begins.
Benchmarking a quantum computer, I argue, is not just about performance metrics. It is about identifying which structural features of quantum theory — entanglement and nonlocality — are truly realized in hardware.