【Date and Time】10-February-2026 14:00 (Beijing time)

【Venue】Room 320

【Host】Shijie Wei (BAQIS)

【Title】 Quantum Foundations and Benchmarking of Quantum Computers

【Speaker】 

Roberto Giuntini is Professor of Logic at the University of Cagliari (Italy). His research is situated at the intersection of logic, foundations of quantum theory, and quantum information, with particular attention to formal and conceptual tools for reasoning about contextuality, nonclassical correlations, and the validation of quantum devices and protocols.

He is an Alumnus of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), Technical University of Munich (TUM), where he has been engaged in research stays and international collaborations across logic, philosophy of science, and computational science. He is a member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA) and a Corresponding Member of the Académie Internationale de Philosophie des Sciences (AIPS).

Giuntini has coordinated and contributed to multi-institutional research activities and proposals in quantum foundations and emerging quantum technologies, working with interdisciplinary teams that connect logic, mathematical physics, and computer science. A significant part of his recent agenda concerns quantum-inspired machine learning and artificial intelligence, where quantum-theoretic structures (states, effects, contextuality, and nonclassical probability) are transferred to learning and decision models. Current lines of application include bioimaging and the classification of correlations via multipartite entanglement, with particular emphasis on large ensembles of random mixed quantum states.

His recent work proposes benchmarking strategies for quantum computers that quantify robustness via the violation of multipartite Bell-like inequalities in the presence of noise. He is regularly invited to deliver lectures at international conferences, workshops, and graduate schools, and he has contributed to academic organization and public outreach on the scientific and societal significance of quantum technologies. In addition to research leadership, he is active in scholarly service, including editorial and refereeing work for international journals and collective volumes in logic, philosophy of physics, and quantum theory.

【Abstract】

Recent claims of quantum advantage invite rigorous methodologies for evaluating the nonclassical resources exploited by quantum computers. While entanglement is undeniably a hallmark of quantum mechanics, results such as the Gottesman-Knill Theorem suggest that it may not fully account for the computational power of quantum computers, leaving open the possibility that entanglement is only part of the quantumness game. In this talk, we propose a benchmarking strategy for near-term quantum devices based on Svetlichny inequalities, which are capable of detecting genuine multipartite nonlocality, a stronger quantum resource than bipartite entanglement. Starting from the metatheoretical assumption that foundational notions like locality and separability have operational relevance, we reinterpret these inequalities as resource witnesses and experimentally test them on actual quantum hardware, including IQM superconducting and AQT ion-trap devices. By comparing theoretical and experimental violations of Svetlichny inequalities on large samples of randomly generated states, we assess the capacity of quantum platforms to preserve nonlocal correlations. This method offers a scalable, device-independent, and algorithm-free benchmarking framework rooted in the logical and physical structure of quantum theory. The talk concludes with open questions on contextuality and the metaphysical implications of resource-based benchmarks.