High performance and quantum computing
The integration of High Performance Computing (HPC) and Quantum Computing (QC) represents a strategic breakthrough for advanced scientific research. HPC systems provide massive and well-established computational power, while quantum computers offer unique capabilities in handling optimization problems, quantum simulations, and combinatorial computations. By combining these two paradigms, it becomes possible to tackle computational challenges that were previously inaccessible.
In particular, the hybrid approach allows quantum computers to handle the subproblems best suited to their architecture, while HPC systems manage large-scale data processing. This is especially valuable in fields such as computational chemistry, particle physics, and artificial intelligence. HPC platforms also act as “orchestrators” of quantum processing, integrating quantum data into traditional workflows. This paradigm accelerates scientific discovery and fosters the development of new hybrid algorithms.
Researchers at ICAR-CNR, active in High-Performance and Quantum Computing, analyze, design, and develop methods, algorithms, and software for high-performance systems, and contribute to the theory, development, and implementation of quantum-computing algorithms and models. They tackle problems such as complex simulations, multidimensional image processing, and scientific computing, providing tools to model and analyze complex systems across numerous domains, including the environment, biology, precision medicine and drug discovery, cultural heritage, advanced materials, finance, robotics, optimization, and energy efficiency, as well as Earth observation.