• Rational Quantum Mechanics: Testing Quantum Theory with Quantum Computers
• Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences as Rational quantum mechanics: Testing quantum theory with quantum computers.

This fantastic paper proves that there might be fundamental limits on the power of quantum computers—limits that cannot be overcome by technological advances. If these limits exist, and the paper contains an experimental process that either verifies or denies their existence, then "quantum computers will never break realistic RSA-encrypted messages, for fundamental rather than practical reasons."

Building a practical quantum computer requires surmounting what appear to me to be insurmountable obstacles, and now this paper indicates that trying to build one might not result in a machine that is useful for much at all. There are eerie similarities between making practical quantum computers and making practical fusion power—both are always at least 30 years away.

The paper is all about what mathematics tells us about quantum computers. Mathematics rules once again.

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