.. _index: =========================== |dwave_short| Documentation =========================== .. meta:: :description: D-Wave documentation :keywords: D-Wave, d-wave documentation, d-wave manuals, quantum computing, quantum annealing, optimization, machine learning, sampling, ising model, qubo, hamiltonian, hybrid, leap, quantum applications, qubits, quantum computing manuals, d-wave user guides, quantum computing howto .. toctree:: :hidden: :maxdepth: 2 industrial_optimization/index quantum_research/index ocean/index leap_sapi/index concepts/index licenses bibliography .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: Industrial Optimization :name: tab_industrial_optimization :selected: .. include:: industrial_optimization/index.rst :start-after: sections-start-marker :end-before: sections-end-marker .. tab-item:: Quantum Research :name: tab_quantum_research .. include:: quantum_research/index.rst :start-after: sections-start-marker :end-before: sections-end-marker .. tab-item:: ML/AI :name: tab_ml_ai D-Wave's `PyTorch Plugin `_ provides an interface between D-Wave's quantum-classical :term:`hybrid` :term:`solvers ` and the `PyTorch `_ framework. Also see the :ref:`qpu_stating_problems_machine_learning` section. Additional content for this topic is currently under development. Welcome to |dwave_short| ======================== .. dropdown:: First time here? Click to learn how to navigate the documentation :icon: info Pages have three navigation bars: top, left, and right. * **Left** navigation bar lets you select a subtopic; for example, how to get started, properties, best practices. * **Right** navigation bar displays the topics on your current page. * **Top** navigation bar lets you select the following sections: .. list-table:: * - :ref:`Industrial Optimization ` - Solving hard commercial optimization problems using :term:`hybrid` :term:`solvers `. * - :ref:`Quantum Research ` - Using the quantum processing unit (QPU) directly on :term:`Ising` problems and :term:`QUBO` models. * - :ref:`Ocean SDK ` - Reference documentation for the software development kit (SDK) used with quantum computers. * - :ref:`index_leap_sapi` - Quantum cloud service's account management, release notes, IDE support, etc. * - :ref:`Concepts ` - Learn the relevant terminology and the fundamental concepts. **Search for terms here.** * - **More** > :ref:`Licenses ` - Licensing information for the documentation and SDK. * - **More** > :ref:`Bibliography ` - Cited content. *It's not a Turing machine, but a machine of a different kind.* --- Richard Feynman, 1981 .. tab-set:: .. tab-item:: What D-Wave Does :name: tab_what_dwave_does :selected: Despite the incredible power of today's supercomputers, many complex computing problems cannot be addressed by conventional systems. The huge growth of data and our need to better understand everything from the universe to our own DNA leads us to seek new tools that can help provide answers. :term:`Quantum computing ` is the next frontier in computing, providing an entirely new approach to solving the world's most difficult problems. While certainly not easy, much progress has been made in the field of quantum computing since 1981, when Feynman gave his famous lecture at the California Institute of Technology. Still a relatively young field, quantum computing is complex and different approaches are being pursued around the world. Today, there are two leading candidate architectures for quantum computers: gate model (also known as circuit model) and quantum annealing. :ref:`Gate-model quantum computing ` implements compute algorithms with quantum gates, analogously to the use of Boolean gates in classical computers. With :term:`quantum annealers ` you initialize the system in a low-energy state and gradually introduce the parameters of a problem you wish to solve. The slow change makes it likely that the system ends in a low-energy state of the problem, which corresponds to an optimal solution. This technique is explained in more detail in the :ref:`qpu_quantum_annealing_intro` section. Quantum annealing is implemented in |dwave_short|'s generally available quantum computers, such as the |dwave_5kq_tm| system, as a single quantum algorithm, and this scalable approach to quantum computing has enabled us to create quantum processing units (:term:`QPUs `) with more than 5000 quantum bits (:term:`qubits `)---far beyond the state of the art for gate-model quantum computing. |dwave_short| has been developing various generations of our "machine of a different kind," to use Feynman's words, since 1999. We are the world's first commercial quantum computer company. .. tab-item:: D-Wave's QPUs :name: tab_quantum_computers A |dwave_short| quantum computer contains a :term:`QPU` that must be kept at a temperature near absolute zero and isolated from the surrounding environment in order to behave quantum mechanically. The system achieves these requirements as follows: * Cryogenic temperatures, achieved using a closed-loop cryogenic dilution refrigerator system. The QPU operates at temperatures below 20 mK. * Shielding from electromagnetic interference, achieved using a radio frequency (RF)-shielded enclosure and a magnetic shielding subsystem. .. figure:: ./_images/advantage_system.png :name: dwave-components :height: 400 pt :width: 400 pt |dwave_5kq| system. The |dwave_short| QPU (:numref:`Figure %s `) is a lattice of tiny metal loops, each of which is a qubit or a coupler. Below temperatures of 9.2 kelvin, these loops become superconductors and exhibit quantum-mechanical effects. The QPU in |dwave_short|'s |dwave_5kq| system has more than 5,000 qubits and 35,000 couplers. To reach this scale, it uses over |max_j_junctions| Josephson junctions, which makes the |dwave_5kq| QPU by far the most complex superconducting integrated circuit ever built. For details on the topology of the QPU, see the :ref:`qpu_topologies` section. .. figure:: ./_images/qpu.png :name: qpu1 :scale: 30 % |dwave_short| QPU. .. note:: For more details on the physical system, including specifications and essential safety information required for anyone who accesses the hardware directly, see the |doc_operations| manual, available from |dwave_short|. .. tab-item:: Software Environment :name: tab_dwave_software_environment Users interact with |dwave_short| quantum computers through a web user interface (UI), and through open-source tools that communicate with the :term:`Solver ` API (SAPI). The SAPI components are responsible for user interaction, user authentication, and work scheduling. In turn, SAPI connects to back-end servers that send problems to and return results from QPUs and additional solvers, which are located in different geographical regions (for example, North America or Europe).\ [#]_ See :numref:`Figure %s ` for a simplified view of the |dwave_short| software environment. .. [#] Solvers are available by region. To view the supported regions and solvers that are available in each one, go to your dashboard in the `Leap service `_. .. figure:: ./_images/network-gs.png :name: network-gs |dwave_short| software environment. .. tab-item:: Leap Service :name: tab_leap_quantum_cloud_service The Leap service is the quantum cloud service from |dwave_short|. Learn about the types of problems that the |dwave_short| quantum computer can solve, run interactive demos and coding examples on the system, contribute your coding ideas, and join the growing conversation in our community of like-minded users. For more information, see the :ref:`index_leap_sapi` section. Sign up for the Leap service here: `Leap service signup `_. .. tab-item:: Ocean SDK :name: tab_ocean_sdk |dwave_short|'s Python-based open-source software development kit (SDK), Ocean SDK, makes application development for quantum computers rapid and efficient and facilitates collaborative projects. See the :ref:`index_ocean_sdk` section for the SDK and its reference documentation.