Researchers Approach New Speed Limit for Seminal Problem
The traveling salesperson problem is one of the oldest known computational questions. It asks for the ideal route through a certain list of cities, minimizing mileage. Despite seeming simple, the...
View ArticlePhysicists Finally Find a Problem That Only Quantum Computers Can Do
Quantum computers are poised to become computational superpowers, but researchers have long sought a viable problem that confers a quantum advantage — something only a quantum computer can solve. Only...
View ArticleScientists Find a Fast Way to Describe Quantum Systems
Physicists have done a remarkable job explaining the chaos of the universe with well-behaved equations, but certain situations remain mysterious. Among these are collections of many tiny particles —...
View ArticleThe Question of What’s Fair Illuminates the Question of What’s Hard
Theoretical computer scientists deal with complicated ideas. But whenever possible, they’d prefer to work with simpler ones. A 2009 tool known as the regularity lemma gives them a great way to do this....
View Article‘Quantum Memory’ Proves Exponentially Powerful
It’s not easy to study quantum systems — collections of particles that follow the counterintuitive rules of quantum mechanics. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, a cornerstone of quantum theory, says...
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