Spin audit of SQD/QSCI quantum-chemistry benchmarks on iron–sulfur clusters

A detailed audit posted to Hacker News challenges IBM's flagship quantum chemistry benchmark results. The calculations, presented as proof that quantum computers are now useful for chemistry, converge to the wrong electronic spin state — producing values between four point seven and seven point zero instead of the target zero. IBM's built-in mitigation for the problem fails to produce the correct result. Running IBM's own published raw data through IBM's own pipeline, the audit found the largest systems either missed their reference energies by hundreds of milliohartrees or converged to an entirely different quantum state. The audit questions whether quantum computers have actually reached practical utility for chemistry simulation.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton