{"atlas":{"title":"Quantum Computing Atlas","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing","version":"0.1.0","evidenceCutoff":"2026-07-28","lastReviewed":"2026-07-28","methodology":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/methodology"},"count":12,"claims":[{"id":"qc-001","slug":"qubits-are-not-classical-bits","status":"established","claim":"A qubit is a quantum information carrier whose state can be prepared, transformed, and measured; it is not simply a classical bit with two labels.","explanation":"Quantum states can be put into superpositions and correlated through entangling operations, but measurement yields classical outcomes.","limitations":"This statement does not imply that every quantum task is faster than a classical one.","conceptIds":["qubit","quantum-circuit"],"sourceIds":["nasa-qis"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-001"},{"id":"qc-002","slug":"hardware-platforms-have-different-tradeoffs","status":"established","claim":"Superconducting circuits, trapped ions, neutral atoms, photonics, and semiconductor spins are distinct hardware approaches with different engineering trade-offs.","explanation":"They differ in how qubits are made, controlled, connected, and measured, so raw qubit counts alone are not comparable performance measures.","limitations":"This Atlas does not rank platforms or treat the list as exhaustive.","conceptIds":["hardware-modality","qubit"],"sourceIds":["bruzewicz-2019","doe-roadmap-2024"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-002"},{"id":"qc-003","slug":"noise-limits-unprotected-circuits","status":"established","claim":"Noise and imperfect operations limit the depth and reliability of computations performed directly on physical qubits.","explanation":"Errors accumulate as circuits execute, which is why device performance requires more context than a qubit count.","limitations":"Error behaviour is hardware-, operation-, and workload-dependent; this is not a single universal error-rate claim.","conceptIds":["noise","nisq"],"sourceIds":["preskill-2018"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-003"},{"id":"qc-004","slug":"qec-encodes-logical-information","status":"established","claim":"Quantum error correction protects logical quantum information by distributing it across multiple physical qubits and repeatedly extracting error information.","explanation":"The goal is to make logical failure less likely than failure of the underlying components, while preserving the computation.","limitations":"Encoding introduces substantial qubit, control, decoding, and time overhead.","conceptIds":["error-correction","fault-tolerance"],"sourceIds":["fowler-2012","google-qec-2025"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-004"},{"id":"qc-005","slug":"below-threshold-is-a-milestone-not-the-endpoint","status":"established","claim":"Below-threshold surface-code memory performance has been experimentally reported, but it is not yet a demonstration of general-purpose fault-tolerant quantum computing.","explanation":"The reported experiments show logical-memory error suppression as code distance grows under defined conditions; scalable logical computation remains further work.","limitations":"This claim describes a particular experimental result and must not be generalized to all platforms or complete algorithms.","conceptIds":["surface-code","error-correction","fault-tolerance"],"sourceIds":["google-qec-2025"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-005"},{"id":"qc-006","slug":"shor-algorithm-is-conditional-on-capable-hardware","status":"established","claim":"Shor’s algorithm gives polynomial-time quantum algorithms for integer factorization and discrete logarithms on a suitable quantum computer.","explanation":"This is why large-scale fault-tolerant quantum computing matters for some public-key cryptography.","limitations":"The algorithm does not establish that a current device can break deployed cryptographic systems, nor does it apply to all cryptography.","conceptIds":["algorithm","fault-tolerance"],"sourceIds":["shor-1995"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-006"},{"id":"qc-007","slug":"grover-search-is-quadratic","status":"established","claim":"Grover’s search algorithm provides a quadratic query-speedup for unstructured search in its oracle model.","explanation":"It is often described as reducing a search from order N queries to order square-root N queries.","limitations":"The oracle model, data loading, error correction, and classical alternatives matter in any real application.","conceptIds":["algorithm","resource-estimation"],"sourceIds":["grover-1996"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-007"},{"id":"qc-008","slug":"simulation-is-a-core-motivation","status":"established","claim":"Simulating quantum physical systems is a foundational motivation for quantum computers.","explanation":"Quantum devices may represent some quantum dynamics more naturally than classical digital simulation.","limitations":"A motivation is not a blanket claim of practical advantage for every chemistry or materials task.","conceptIds":["quantum-simulation","near-term-applications"],"sourceIds":["feynman-1982","doe-roadmap-2024"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-008"},{"id":"qc-009","slug":"random-circuit-sampling-is-narrow","status":"established","claim":"Random-circuit sampling experiments demonstrate control over specific computational tasks, not a general-purpose application advantage.","explanation":"The 2019 superconducting experiment benchmarked a prescribed sampling task against then-available classical methods.","limitations":"Classical simulation methods and comparisons evolve; this claim does not use the experiment as evidence for broad commercial utility.","conceptIds":["quantum-circuit","nisq"],"sourceIds":["arute-2019"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-009"},{"id":"qc-010","slug":"near-term-advantage-is-unsettled","status":"active-research","claim":"Whether a NISQ device delivers a durable, practically relevant advantage for a specific real-world workload remains an active research question.","explanation":"Evidence must compare an end-to-end quantum workflow with the best relevant classical methods under stated accuracy and cost constraints.","limitations":"This is not a claim that no near-term advantage will occur; it records an unresolved evidential and engineering question.","conceptIds":["nisq","near-term-applications"],"sourceIds":["preskill-2018","doe-roadmap-2024"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Active research","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-010"},{"id":"qc-011","slug":"fault-tolerant-scale-is-active-research","status":"active-research","claim":"The physical resources, decoding, control, and integration needed for useful large-scale fault-tolerant computation remain active engineering and research problems.","explanation":"Surface codes supply a framework, but complete systems must coordinate many layers and achieve application-specific logical performance.","limitations":"Resource estimates depend on target algorithms, code choices, hardware error models, and architectural assumptions.","conceptIds":["fault-tolerance","resource-estimation","surface-code"],"sourceIds":["fowler-2012","doe-roadmap-2024"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Active research","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-011"},{"id":"qc-012","slug":"applications-need-classical-comparisons","status":"established","claim":"Claims about quantum applications require task-specific comparisons to credible classical baselines.","explanation":"An algorithmic speedup, a hardware demonstration, and a useful end-to-end application are different evidence categories.","limitations":"This Atlas does not publish performance leaderboards or commercial forecasts.","conceptIds":["near-term-applications","algorithm","resource-estimation"],"sourceIds":["preskill-2018","doe-roadmap-2024"],"reviewDate":"2026-07-28","statusLabel":"Established result","canonicalUrl":"https://research.mahastrategies.com/atlas/quantum-computing/claims/qc-012"}]}