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arxiv: 2604.19814 · v1 · submitted 2026-04-17 · 🪐 quant-ph · cs.ET

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Quantum Integrated High-Performance Computing: Foundations, Architectural Elements and Future Directions

Suman Raj , Siva Sai , Yogesh Simmhan , Kyle Chard , Rajkumar Buyya
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Pith reviewed 2026-05-10 08:46 UTC · model grok-4.3

classification 🪐 quant-ph cs.ET
keywords quantumcomputingarchitecturalheterogeneoushigh-performanceresourcesabstractionclassical
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The pith

The authors describe a visionary layered architecture for unifying classical and quantum compute resources under a single job submission and scheduling interface.

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

High-performance computers have grown by adding new kinds of processors over time. Now quantum chips are emerging that can solve certain hard problems faster than regular computers. This paper sketches how to plug those quantum chips into existing supercomputer setups so that a single program can send parts of its work to whichever processor type is best suited. The design includes a common way for users to submit jobs, schedulers that know about quantum hardware, and layers that handle moving data between classical and quantum parts. It draws lessons from how GPUs were added to supercomputers years ago and points to applications like simulating molecules or solving optimization puzzles.

Core claim

We propose a layered system design comprising unified resource management, quantum-aware scheduling, hybrid workflow orchestration, middleware and programming abstraction, interconnect technologies, and a tiered execution model enabling seamless workload partitioning across classical and quantum backends.

Load-bearing premise

That practical, reliable QPUs will soon exist at scales that can be treated as interchangeable accelerators within existing HPC resource managers and interconnect fabrics.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2604.19814 by Kyle Chard, Rajkumar Buyya, Siva Sai, Suman Raj, Yogesh Simmhan.

Figure 1
Figure 1. Figure 1: Timeline of the emergence of hybrid HPC and Quantum era [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p003_1.png] view at source ↗
Figure 2
Figure 2. Figure 2: Representative anatomy of a Quantum Computer showcasing a quantum computer, a quantum processing [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p006_2.png] view at source ↗
Figure 3
Figure 3. Figure 3: Abstraction vs Expertise for QHPC Systems [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p011_3.png] view at source ↗
Figure 4
Figure 4. Figure 4: Quantum-Integrated HPC Architecture Layers [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p012_4.png] view at source ↗
read the original abstract

High-performance computing (HPC) has evolved over decades through multiple architectural transitions, from vector supercomputers to massively parallel CPU clusters and GPU-accelerated systems, continuously expanding the frontier of scientific discovery. With the emergence of quantum processing units (QPUs) as practical computational accelerators, a new opportunity arises to further extend this trajectory by integrating quantum and classical computing paradigms. This paper presents Quantum Integrated High-Performance Computing (QHPC), a visionary architectural framework that unifies CPUs, GPUs, FPGAs, and QPUs as first-class heterogeneous resources. We propose a layered system design comprising unified resource management, quantum-aware scheduling, hybrid workflow orchestration, middleware and programming abstraction, interconnect technologies, and a tiered execution model enabling seamless workload partitioning across classical and quantum backends. A central aspect of our vision is a strong user requests abstraction layer that exposes heterogeneous resources through a unified job submission interface, similar in spirit to existing schedulers such as Slurm, allowing users to describe workloads in a consistent template independent of underlying compute type or location. Drawing insights from prior accelerator integration eras, we outline how QHPC can support emerging workloads in quantum chemistry, materials discovery, combinatorial optimization, and climate modeling. We conclude by highlighting open challenges in building scalable, reliable, and programmable quantum-classical infrastructures that seamlessly connect global users to heterogeneous compute resources for future quantum-classical HPC ecosystems.

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, simulated authors' rebuttal, and a circularity audit. Tearing a paper down is the easy half of reading it; the pith above is the substance, this is the friction.

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged

No circularity: forward-looking architectural proposal with no derivations or self-referential reductions

full rationale

The paper proposes a layered QHPC framework (unified resource management, quantum-aware scheduling, tiered execution model, unified job submission interface) as a visionary design drawing from prior accelerator eras. No equations, fitted parameters, or derivation chains exist. Central claims are design elements presented as forward-looking rather than results derived from the paper's own inputs or self-citations. No load-bearing steps reduce by construction to definitions, fits, or author-overlapping citations. This matches the default expectation of non-circularity for conceptual HPC architecture papers.

Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger

0 free parameters · 1 axioms · 0 invented entities

The central claim rests on the assumption that quantum hardware will mature into reliable, schedulable accelerators and that existing HPC abstractions can be extended without fundamental redesign. No free parameters, invented physical entities, or ad-hoc mathematical axioms are introduced.

axioms (1)
  • domain assumption Quantum processing units can be integrated as first-class heterogeneous resources in HPC systems with manageable overhead.
    Invoked throughout the layered design description as the premise enabling unified scheduling and workflow orchestration.

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