Azure Quantum is the first cloud platform to enable access to IonQ Aria, a new trapped ion system that can perform hundreds of quantum gates in a single algorithm.
IonQ Aria boasts a record of 23 algorithmic qubits (#AQ),1 based on benchmarks measured by IonQ2. In IonQ tests, Aria successfully executed quantum circuits containing more than 550 gates, enabling testing of increasingly complex quantum algorithms.
This allows researchers to better assess how the runtime and performance of quantum algorithms will scale as quantum hardware improves. Select early customers have already begun using IonQ Aria to explore algorithms with potential to mitigate risk in finance, model chemical reactions within electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and improve image classification for future automated vehicles.
Aria is the latest IonQ system on the Azure Quantum platform, joining the IonQ Harmony system. IonQ’s dynamically reconfigurable systems, ranging from 11 to 23 fully connected qubits, enable you to run a two-qubit gate between any pair.
“The availability of both IonQ Aria and IonQ Harmony on the Azure Quantum platform ensures that enterprise customers and research institutions have a choice when it comes to selecting which quantum system is best suited for their specific needs,” says Peter Chapman, President and CEO, IonQ. “Using our systems to entangle any pair of qubits is a capability that is unique at this scale and which enables faster and more accurate execution of quantum algorithms.”
Anyone with access to the Azure Quantum platform can process jobs on Aria; it takes only a few minutes to set up an Azure account and start programming on either or both IonQ Aria and Harmony.
“Our goal is to enable quantum algorithm innovation, and access to a diversity of quantum hardware for that innovation through Azure Quantum,” notes Dr. Krysta Svore, Azure Quantum Distinguished Engineer. “Along with continuing to offer IonQ Harmony—a popular system which IonQ has run hundreds of thousands of jobs against—Azure Quantum is now the only cloud platform to offer Aria, a QPU (quantum processing unit) featuring more qubits and a reduction in errors in quantum gates. Whether you’re a researcher, learner, or practitioner, you truly get to choose your own adventure on Azure Quantum.”
How to run your first job on IonQ Aria
To get started, just set up an Azure account (check out free Azure accounts for students), and create an Azure Quantum workspace in the Azure Portal. If you’re hoping to start with no installation required, we recommend using our free hosted notebooks experience in the Azure Portal. It enables using a variety of languages and Quantum SDKs.
First, clone one of the Hello World samples matching your preferred Quantum SDK.
You can then adjust the target to ionq.qpu.aria-1, as illustrated below:
Using Python + Q#
import qsharp.azure
# Enter your Azure Quantum workspace details here
qsharp.azure.connect(resourceId="", location="")
# Set the target to IonQ Aria and submit job
qsharp.azure.target("ionq.qpu.aria-1")
result = qsharp.azure.execute(your_qsharp_operation, shots=100, jobName="My job", timeout=240)
Using Qiskit
from azure.quantum.qiskit import AzureQuantumProvider
# Enter your Azure Quantum workspace details here
provider = AzureQuantumProvider (resource_id = "", location = "")
# Set the target to IonQ Aria and submit job
backend = provider.get_backend("ionq.qpu.aria-1")
job = backend.run(your_quiskit_circuit, shots=100)
# Await job results.
job_monitor(job)
result = job.result()
Using Cirq
from azure.quantum.cirq import AzureQuantumService
# Enter your Azure Quantum workspace details here
service = AzureQuantumService (resource_id = "", location = "")
# Set the target to IonQ Aria and submit job
target = service.targets("ionq.qpu.aria-1")
job = target.submit(your_cirq_circuit, shots=100)
# Await job results.
print("Awaiting job results...")
result = job.results()
Get started for free, and expand research with up to $10K in research credits
You can try the IonQ systems on Azure Quantum for free, with an automatic $500 credit to explore and experiment with any IonQ QPU available on the platform through the Azure Quantum Credit program. You can also apply for up to $10,000 in credits through Azure Quantum for your research and innovation.
1#AQ is a metric that IonQ proposed in 2020 to assist in evaluating a quantum computer’s utility in real-world settings, with the goal of focusing on practical applicability.
2T. Lubinski, S.Johri, P. Varosy, et al., “Application-Oriented Performance Benchmarks for Quantum Computing”, arXiv:2110.03137, (2021).