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Quantum annealing can be used to factor integers [1] (if those guys are correct) but the current D-Wave machines are probably unable to factor any interesting n
by danbruc 14y ago
Quantum annealing can be used to factor integers [1] (if those guys are correct) but the current D-Wave machines are probably unable to factor any interesting number. Here are some more hints [2] what is possible or not.
[1] http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/11063/can-quantum-annealing-be-used-for-factorization http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/11063/can-quantum...
[2] http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/10496/what-can-the-d-wave-quantum-computer-do http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/10496/what-can-th...
- 8080 14y agoQuantum annealing can be used to factor integers in the same way simulated annealing or genetic algorithms can: yes, you can reduce factoring to a SAT problem and then give it to a genetic algorithm for SAT but it will probably take a geological era to factor even relatively small numbers. Quantum computers can factor N digit numbers with N^3 operations with Shor's algorithm, but no one has found a way to factor a number in polynomial time (in theory) with a quantum annealing scheme like the one allegedly implemented by the DWave. And I'm pretty confident that is neither possible.