DETAILED ACTION
Notice of Pre-AIA or AIA Status
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA .
Priority
The present application, 18078234, filed 12/09/2022 is a Continuation of PCT/CN2021/134932, filed 12/02/2021 claims foreign priority to CN 202111130173.1, filed 09/26/2021.
Information Disclosure Statement
The information disclosure statement (IDS) submitted on 12/09/2022 is in compliance with the provisions of 37 CFR 1.97. Accordingly, the information disclosure statement is being considered by the examiner.
Claim Objections
Claims 2-3, 5-7, 9-10, 13-14, 16-17 and 19-20 are objected to under 37 C.F.R. 1.71(a) which requires “full, clear, concise, and exact terms” as to enable any person skilled in the art or science to which the invention or discovery appertains, or with which it is most nearly connected, to make and use the same. The following should be corrected.
A. In claim 2 line 4, “a set of basis vectors” should read “the set of basis vectors” instead because a set of basis vectors is already introduced in claim 1 from which the claim depends. Claims 3, 6, 9, 10, 13, 16, 17 and 20 recite a similar limitation and are objected to for the same reason. Claim 3 inherit the same deficiency as claim 2 by reason of dependence. Claim 10 inherit the same deficiency as claim 9 by reason of dependence. Claim 17 inherit the same deficiency as claim 16 by reason of dependence.
B. In claim 5 line 1, recites “a reduced Hamiltonian” should read “the reduced Hamiltonian” instead because a reduced Hamiltonian is already introduced in claim 4 from which the claim depends. Claim 19 recites a similar limitation and is objected to for the same reason.
C. In claim 6 line 5, “a set of direct product states” should read “the set of direct product states” instead because a set of direct product states is already introduced in claim 1 from which the claim depends. Claim 20 recites a similar limitation and is objected to for the same reason.
D. In claim 6 line 6, “a compressed Hilbert space” should read “the compressed Hilbert space” instead because a compressed Hilbert space is already introduced in claim 1 from which the claim depends. Claim 20 recites a similar limitation and is objected to for the same reason.
E. In claim 7 line 2, “an eigenstate” should read “the eigenstate” instead because an eigenstate is already introduced in claim 1 from which the claim depends.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112(b):
(b) CONCLUSION.—The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor regards as the invention.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph:
The specification shall conclude with one or more claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention.
Claims 7, 9-10 and 14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as being indefinite for failing to particularly point out and distinctly claim the subject matter which the inventor or a joint inventor (or for applications subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 112, the applicant), regards as the invention.
Claim 7 recites “wherein the diagonalization algorithm comprises at least one of the following: a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on a variational method, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic approximation, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic shortcut, or a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm that combines the adiabatic approximation and the adiabatic shortcut”. This limitation recites a list of alternative, however, the list is an open list of alternatives which creates confusion as to what other alternatives are intended to be encompassed by the claim. For purposes of examination, this is interpreted as “wherein the diagonalization algorithm is at least one of the following: a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on a variational method, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic approximation, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic shortcut, or a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm that combines the adiabatic approximation and the adiabatic shortcut”. Claim 14 recites a similar limitation and is rejected for the same reason. See MPEP 2173.05(h) I for more information.
Claim 9 recites “the selection module” in line 1. There is insufficient antecedent basis for this limitation in the claim. For purposes of examination, this is interpreted as “the selection code” instead. Claim 10 inherit the same deficiency as claim 9 by reason of dependence.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 101
35 U.S.C. 101 reads as follows:
Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title.
Claims 1-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 101 because the claimed invention is directed to an abstract idea without significantly more.
Under Step 1, claims 1-7 recite a series of steps and, therefore, is a process. Claims 8-14 recite an apparatus and, therefore, is a machine. Claims 15-20 recite a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium and, therefore, is an article of manufacture.
Under Step 2A prong 1, claim 8 recites
An apparatus for acquiring an eigenstate of a quantum system, comprising:
at least one memory configured to store program code; and
at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code comprising:
division code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to perform cluster division on multiple particles comprised in a target quantum system to obtain multiple clusters, each of the multiple clusters comprising at least one particle;
obtaining code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to obtain multiple direct product states according to eigenstates respectively corresponding to the multiple clusters;
selection code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to select a set of direct product states from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent a compressed Hilbert space, a dimension number of the compressed Hilbert space being less than that of an original Hilbert space of the target quantum system;
first acquisition code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to acquire a Hamiltonian of the target quantum system and an equivalent Hamiltonian in the compressed Hilbert space; and
second acquisition code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to acquire an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system.
The above underlined limitations are related to acquiring an eigenstate and eigenenergy of a quantum system which amounts to processing mathematical relationships/calculations and falls within the “Mathematical Concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. See at least paragraphs [0041-0044, 0058-0063, 0068, 0103-0144]) including the mathematical equations that are solved to compute the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system. Accordingly, the claim is directed to recite an abstract idea.
Under step 2A prong 2, the claim recites the following additional elements: at least one memory configured to store program code; at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code comprising: division code; obtaining code; selection code; first acquisition code; and second acquisition code. However, the additional elements of “at least one memory”, “at least one processor”, “ division code”, “obtaining code”, “selection code”, “first acquisition code” and “second acquisition code” are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic computer component for storing program code; as a generic computer component for executing the program code; and as generic program codes for implementing mathematical calculations) such that they amount to no more than mere instructions using a generic computer component or merely as tools to implement the abstract idea. Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more. See MPEP 2106.05(f) for more information. The additional elements do not, individually or in combination, integrate the exception into a practical application. Accordingly, the claim is not integrated into a practical application.
Under step 2B, claim 8 does not include additional elements that, individually or in combination, are sufficient to amount to significantly more than the judicial exception. As discussed above with respect to integration of the abstract idea into a practical application, the additional elements of “at least one memory”, “at least one processor”, “ division code”, “obtaining code”, “selection code”, “first acquisition code” and “second acquisition code” are recited at a high-level of generality (i.e., as a generic computer component for storing program code; as a generic computer component for executing the program code; and as generic program codes for implementing mathematical calculations) such that they amount to no more than mere instructions using a generic computer component or merely as tools to implement the abstract idea. Use of a computer or other machinery in its ordinary capacity for economic or other tasks (e.g., to receive, store, or transmit data) or simply adding a general purpose computer or computer components after the fact to an abstract idea (e.g., a fundamental economic practice or mathematical equation) does not integrate a judicial exception into a practical application or provide significantly more. See MPEP 2106.05(f) for more information. The claim does not recite additional elements that alone or in combination amount to an inventive concept. Accordingly, the claim does not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Under step 2A prong 1, claims 9-14 recite the same abstract idea as claim 8 by reason of dependence. Further, claim 9 recites further details of the abstract idea of selecting the set of direct product states by acquire energy values respectively corresponding to the multiple direct product states; and select multiple direct product states with the energy values meeting a condition from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space”; claim 10 recites further details of the abstract idea of selecting the set of direct product states by “select n direct product states with the minimum energy value from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space, and n is a positive integer”; claim 11 recites further details of the abstract idea of obtaining the multiple direct product states by “for a target cluster in the multiple clusters, acquire a reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster; acquire at least one eigenstate corresponding to the target cluster according to the reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster; and perform a direct product operation on the eigenstates respectively corresponding to the multiple clusters to obtain the multiple direct product states”; claim 12 recites further details of the abstract idea of acquiring the reduced Hamiltonian by “use other clusters in the multiple clusters than the target cluster as an environment, and acquire a Hamiltonian of the target cluster in the environment to obtain the reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster”; claim 13 recites further details of the abstract idea of performing the cluster division and selecting the set of direct product states by “perform cluster division in multiple different manners on the multiple particles comprised in the target quantum system to obtain multiple different cluster division results, wherein each cluster division result comprises multiple clusters; and select the set of direct product states from direct product states respectively corresponding to the multiple different cluster division results as a set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space”; claim 14 recites further details of the abstract idea of determining the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system by “acquire the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian using a diagonalization algorithm, wherein the diagonalization algorithm comprises at least one of the following: a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on a variational method, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic approximation, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic shortcut, or a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm that combines the adiabatic approximation and the adiabatic shortcut; and determine the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system” which falls within the “Mathematical Concepts” grouping of abstract ideas. Accordingly, the claims are directed to recite an abstract idea.
Under step 2A prong 2 and step 2B, claims 9-14 do not recite any additional elements. Accordingly, the claims are not integrated into a practical application and do not amount to significantly more than the abstract idea.
Regarding claims 1-7, they are directed to a method practiced by the apparatus of claims 8-14 respectively. All steps performed by the method of claims 1-7 would be practiced by the apparatus of claims 8-14 respectively. Claims 8-14 analysis applies equally to claims 1-7 respectively.
Regarding claims 15-20, they are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer code that is executed by the at least one processor of the apparatus of claims 8-13 respectively. All steps included in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 15-20 would be practiced by the apparatus of claims 8-13 respectively. Claims 8-13 analysis applies equally to claims 15-20 respectively.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 102
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of the appropriate paragraphs of 35 U.S.C. 102 that form the basis for the rejections under this section made in this Office action:
A person shall be entitled to a patent unless –
(a)(1) the claimed invention was patented, described in a printed publication, or in public use, on sale, or otherwise available to the public before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
(a)(2) the claimed invention was described in a patent issued under section 151, or in an application for patent published or deemed published under section 122(b), in which the patent or application, as the case may be, names another inventor and was effectively filed before the effective filing date of the claimed invention.
Claims 1-7 and 15-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 102(a)(1) as being anticipated by Zhan et al. (NPL – “Experimental Determination of Multi-Qubit Ground State via a Cluster Mean-Field Algorithm”), hereinafter Zhan.
Regarding claim 1, Zhan teaches a method for acquiring an eigenstate of a quantum system, performed by a computer device, the method comprising:
performing cluster division on multiple particles comprised in a target quantum system to obtain multiple clusters, each of the multiple clusters comprising at least one particle (Zhan Fig. 1; page 2 abstract; page 3 bottom “For simplicity, we assume that an N-spin network is divided into two clusters”);
obtaining multiple direct product states according to eigenstates respectively corresponding to the multiple clusters (Zhan abstract “The products of eigenstates from different clusters construct a compressed Hilbert space”; page 3 bottom to page 4; page 9 middle; page 10 bottom “The products of eigenstates from different clusters are used to construct a compressed Hilbert space”);
selecting a set of direct product states from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent a compressed Hilbert space, a dimension number of the compressed Hilbert space being less than that of an original Hilbert space of the target quantum system (Zhan abstract “The products of eigenstates from different clusters construct a compressed Hilbert space”; page 4; page 5 top “the dimensionality of the compressed space is MJ, which can be significantly smaller than 2N”; page 9 middle “the total 8 product states are considered in the construction of the compressed Hilbert space. In the first stage of our experiment, we only consider the ground state of HA so that the total 4 product states arisen from its first excited state are excluded”);
acquiring a Hamiltonian of the target quantum system and an equivalent Hamiltonian in the compressed Hilbert space (Zhan abstract; page 3 equation (1); page 5 equations (2-5); and
acquiring an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system (Zhan page 5 top “The diagonalization of Heff provides a good estimation of certain eigenstates … and eigenenergies”; page 6 top “The ground state … and its eigenenergy … are then determined by the diagonalization of Heff in Eq. (2)”; page 10 bottom; page 3 bottom; Figs. 1-2).
Regarding claim 2, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches wherein the selecting comprises:
acquiring energy values respectively corresponding to the multiple direct product states (Zhan Fig. 2 and page 8); and
selecting multiple direct product states with the energy values meeting a condition from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space (Zhan page 9 middle; page 10 bottom).
Regarding claim 3, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches wherein the selecting multiple direct product states comprises: selecting n direct product states with the minimum energy value from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space, and n is a positive integer (Zhan page 9 middle; n – 4).
Regarding claim 4, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches
wherein the obtaining comprises: for a target cluster in the multiple clusters, acquiring a reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster (Zhan page 4; page 5; page 8; reduced Hamiltonian - reduced A-Hamiltonian and B-Hamiltonian);
acquiring at least one eigenstate corresponding to the target cluster according to the reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster (Zhan page 4; page 5; page 8); and
performing a direct product operation on the eigenstates respectively corresponding to the multiple clusters to obtain the multiple direct product states (Zhan page 4; page 6 top; page 8).
Regarding claim 5, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 4 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches wherein the acquiring a reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster comprises: using other clusters in the multiple clusters than the target cluster as an environment, and acquiring a Hamiltonian of the target cluster in the environment to obtain the reduced Hamiltonian of the target cluster (Zhan page 3 bottom to page 4).
Regarding claim 6, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches
wherein the performing comprises: performing cluster division in multiple different manners on the multiple particles comprised in the target quantum system to obtain multiple different cluster division results, wherein each cluster division result comprises multiple clusters (Zhan page 3 bottom; Fig. 1); and
the selecting a set of direct product states from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent a compressed Hilbert space comprises: selecting the set of direct product states from direct product states respectively corresponding to the multiple different cluster division results as the set of basis vectors to represent the compressed Hilbert space (Zhan page 4).
Regarding claim 7, Zhan teaches all the limitations of claim 1 as stated above. Further, Zhan teaches wherein the acquiring the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system comprises:
acquiring the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian using a diagonalization algorithm, wherein the diagonalization algorithm comprises at least one of the following: a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on a variational method, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic approximation, a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm based on an adiabatic shortcut, or a quantum eigenstate solving algorithm that combines the adiabatic approximation and the adiabatic shortcut (Zhan Fig. 2 variational method – VQE; combined adiabatic approximation and the adiabatic shortcut – STA; Introduction first paragraph; page 3 middle; page 6 top); and
determining the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as the eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system (Zhan page 5 top “The diagonalization of Heff provides a good estimation of certain eigenstates … and eigenenergies”; page 6 top “The ground state … and its eigenenergy … are then determined by the diagonalization of Heff in Eq. (2)”; page 10 bottom; page 3 bottom; Figs. 1-2).
Regarding claims 15-20, they are directed to a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing computer code to implement the method of claims 1-6 respectively. All steps included in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claims 15-20 are performed by the method of claims 1-6 respectively. Claims 1-6 analysis applies equally to claims 15-20 respectively.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
Claims 8-14 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over Zhan, in view of Scott et al. (US 20210232960 A1), hereinafter Scott.
Regarding claim 8, Zhan teaches an apparatus for acquiring an eigenstate of a quantum system, comprising:
(Zhan Fig. 1; page 2 abstract; page 3 bottom “For simplicity, we assume that an N-spin network is divided into two clusters”);
(Zhan abstract “The products of eigenstates from different clusters construct a compressed Hilbert space”; page 3 bottom to page 4; page 9 middle; page 10 bottom “The products of eigenstates from different clusters are used to construct a compressed Hilbert space”);
(Zhan abstract “The products of eigenstates from different clusters construct a compressed Hilbert space”; page 4; page 5 top “the dimensionality of the compressed space is MJ, which can be significantly smaller than 2N”; page 9 middle “the total 8 product states are considered in the construction of the compressed Hilbert space. In the first stage of our experiment, we only consider the ground state of HA so that the total 4 product states arisen from its first excited state are excluded”);
(Zhan abstract; page 3 equation (1); page 5 equations (2-5); and
(Zhan page 5 top “The diagonalization of Heff provides a good estimation of certain eigenstates … and eigenenergies”; page 6 top “The ground state … and its eigenenergy … are then determined by the diagonalization of Heff in Eq. (2)”; page 10 bottom; page 3 bottom; Figs. 1-2).
Zhan does not explicitly teach at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code comprising: division code; obtaining code; selection code; first acquisition code; and second acquisition code.
However, on the same field of endeavor, Scott discloses an apparatus comprising at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code to implement a method for solving a quantum computing problem (Scott Fig. 10 and paragraphs [0177-0179, 0183]).
Accordingly, it would have been obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filling date of the claimed invention, to modify Zhan using Scott and implement the method as program code stored in at least one memory that is executed by at least one processor as a sequence of machine-readable instructions embodied in the program code. The motivation to do so is to provide an electronic device (computer system) for implementing the method of Zhan (Scott paragraphs [0177-0179]).
Therefore, the combination of Zhan as modified in view of Scott teaches an apparatus for acquiring an eigenstate of a quantum system, comprising: at least one memory configured to store program code; and at least one processor configured to read the program code and operate as instructed by the program code, the program code comprising: division code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to perform cluster division on multiple particles comprised in a target quantum system to obtain multiple clusters, each of the multiple clusters comprising at least one particle; obtaining code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to obtain multiple direct product states according to eigenstates respectively corresponding to the multiple clusters; selection code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to select a set of direct product states from the multiple direct product states as a set of basis vectors to represent a compressed Hilbert space, a dimension number of the compressed Hilbert space being less than that of an original Hilbert space of the target quantum system; first acquisition code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to acquire a Hamiltonian of the target quantum system and an equivalent Hamiltonian in the compressed Hilbert space; and second acquisition code configured to cause at least one of the at least one processor to acquire an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the equivalent Hamiltonian as an eigenstate and eigenenergy of the target quantum system.
Regarding claims 9-14, they are directed to an apparatus configured to practice of method claims 2-7 respectively. All steps performed by the apparatus of claims 9-14 are included in the method of claims 2-7 respectively. Claims 2-7 analysis applies equally to claims 9-14 respectively in addition to claim 8 analysis.
Conclusion
The prior art made of record and not relied upon is considered pertinent to applicant's disclosure.
Jimenez-Hoyos et al. (NPL – “Cluster-based mean-field and perturbative description of strongly correlated fermion systems: Application to the one-and two-dimensional Hubbard model”) generally related to using a cluster mean-field (CMF) algorithm for estimating the ground-state energy of a quantum system.
Any inquiry concerning this communication or earlier communications from the examiner should be directed to Carlo Waje whose telephone number is (571)272-5767. The examiner can normally be reached 9:00-6:00 M-F.
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/Carlo Waje/Examiner, Art Unit 2151 (571)272-5767
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