Squeezing the last bit of quantumness out of NISQ hardware

8 December 2025

Title: Squeezing the last bit of quantumness out of NISQ hardware

Speaker: Dr. Xavier Bonet-Monroig, Honda Research Institute Europe

Abstract of Talk : In this talk, I will present some of our recent efforts to squeeze the last bit of quantum juice out of near-term devices. First, I will discuss data-induced randomness in parameterized quantum circuits, a phenomenon closely linked to the challenges of implementing variational quantum machine learning. Then, I will turn to the study of variational quantum landscapes through the lens of Information Content, highlighting our recent results showing that non-unital noise can suppress noise-induced barren plateaus; contradicting previously established theoretical predictions.

Profile of Speaker: Xavier Bonet-Monroig is a Senior Scientist at Honda Research Institute Europe, with the goal of finding novel applications of quantum computing from near-term to fault-tolerant quantum hardware. His scientific interest lay at the intersection of quantum physics and computer science, using tools from both fields to search for quantum advantage with existing quantum computers. Prior to joining HRI, he was awarded a research grant by the NWO to continue as research scientist at the Applied Quantum Algorithms group at Leiden University (the Netherlands). Xavi's academic background includes a MSc in Physics, a PhD in theoretical physics from the Instituut-Lorentz also from Leiden University.