Large-Scale Simulation of Shor’s Quantum Factoring Algorithm

Shor’s factoring algorithm is one of the most anticipated applications of quantum computing. However, the limited capabilities of today’s quantum computers only permit a study of Shor’s algorithm for very small numbers. Here, we show how large GPU-based supercomputers can be used to assess the performance of Shor’s algorithm for numbers that are out of reach for current and near-term quantum hardware. First, we study Shor’s original factoring algorithm. While theoretical bounds suggest success probabilities of only 3–4%, we find average success probabilities above 50%, due to a high frequency of “lucky” cases, defined as successful factorizations despite unmet sufficient conditions. Second, we investigate a powerful post-processing procedure, by which the success probability can be brought arbitrarily close to one, with only a single run of Shor’s quantum algorithm. Finally, we study the effectiveness of this post-processing procedure in the presence of typical errors in quantum processing hardware. We find that the quantum factoring algorithm exhibits a particular form of universality and resilience against the different types of errors. The largest semiprime that we have factored by executing Shor’s algorithm on a GPU-based supercomputer, without exploiting prior knowledge of the solution, is 549,755,813,701 = 712,321 × 771,781. We put forward the challenge of factoring, without oversimplification, a non-trivial semiprime larger than this number on any quantum computing device.