"Undergraduate Achieves 100-Qubit Quantum Simulation"... Yonsei University Publishes First International Paper [Reading Science]

Utilizing IBM Quantum Computer
Overcoming the "Noise Barrier" with Error Mitigation

An undergraduate student at Yonsei University has published an international academic paper using a quantum computer, demonstrating the practical potential of current-generation quantum computers. The key achievement is the experimental verification that large-scale quantum system simulations are possible even in noisy environments.

Yonsei University announced on April 23 that Seokwon Choi, a senior in the Department of Physics, published his research results using the university’s IBM quantum computer in the international journal Physica Scripta. The research was first released as a preprint (arXiv) in June 2025 and, after peer review, was officially published in January of this year. This study was an international collaboration with Dr. Kwangmin Yoo of Brookhaven National Laboratory in the United States and Dr. Talal Ahmed Chaudhry of the University of Kansas.

Schematic of Quantum Quench Dynamics. When a change (quench) is applied to a quantum system at the initial state (t=0), the state evolves over time, and entanglement between particles increases during this process. The graph below shows the entanglement entropy increasing over time until it reaches a certain level. Provided by the research team

This research is particularly notable because it was conducted using the 127-qubit IBM quantum computing system installed at Yonsei University, and because it represents a rare case of an undergraduate student publishing an international paper in collaboration with overseas researchers.

"Overcoming Noise"... Demonstrating the Potential for 100-Qubit Level Simulations

The research team combined various quantum error mitigation techniques to address the “noise problem,” which is considered the biggest limitation of quantum computers. By doing so, they successfully implemented the complex quantum many-body model known as the “Heisenberg XXZ spin chain” on an actual quantum computer and simulated the evolution of its state over time.

As a result, they confirmed the effectiveness of the “self-mitigation” technique, which maintains more stable accuracy than conventional methods. The team secured computational accuracy even in large-scale circuits containing more than 3,000 quantum gates, and demonstrated that their simulation could be expanded to as many as 84 to 104 qubits.

If implemented on a classical computer, computations at this scale would be virtually impossible, making this study a significant case that demonstrates the potential of quantum computers for use in real scientific research.

Research team photo. From the left: Choi Seokwon, undergraduate student, Department of Physics, Yonsei University; Professor Yoo Hwidong; Dr. Talal Ahmed Choudhury, University of Kansas; Dr. Kwangmin Yoo, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Courtesy of Yonsei University

Additionally, the research team developed a method to measure “entanglement entropy,” an indicator of the complexity of quantum systems, on an actual quantum computer, and confirmed that the experimental results matched theoretical values.

This study is significant as it demonstrates that, even in the current NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) environment without fully developed error correction technologies, practical physical problems can be addressed by applying appropriate error mitigation techniques.

Seokwon Choi stated, “Even with noise present in today’s quantum computers, large-scale quantum system research is possible if suitable techniques are applied,” adding, “Quantum computers will play an important role in solving complex physical problems in the future.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.