Distributed Quantum Computing: Applications and Challenges

Abstract

Quantum computing is presently undergoing rapid development to achieve a significant speedup promised in certain applications. Nonetheless, scaling quantum computers remains a formidable engineering challenge, prompting exploration of alternative methods to achieve the promised quantum advantage. An example is given by the concept of distributed quantum computing, which aims to scale quantum computers through the linking of different individual quantum computers. Additionally, distributed quantum computing opens the way to new applications on the longer term. This study seeks to give an overview of this technology on an application-level, considering both use cases and implementation considerations. In this way, this work aims to push forward the field of distributed quantum computing, aiming for real-world distributed quantum systems in the near future.