Small-world structure of quantum computer hardware

Abstract

We show that the network of quantum register states of a quantum computer (QC), coupled through residual two-body interactions between qubits, exhibits small-world properties analogous to those of complex networks found in human society. The most probable Erdős number between any two states is about 9, comparable to the six degrees of separation reported by Milgram for social networks. Using the $\mathring{A}$berg criterion, which retains only interactions exceeding the local energy spacing, we construct an effective ($\mathring{A}$berg) network and show that, above a critical coupling strength, this network percolates into a giant component spanning nearly the whole quantum register space. This percolation transition closely matches the onset of quantum chaos and dynamical thermalization established previously via costly exact diagonalization, while our approach extends the accessible system size up to $n_q=30$ qubits.