Heterotic computing

Abstract

Non-classical computation has tended to consider only single computational models: neural, analog, quantum, etc. However, combined computational models can both have more computational power, and more natural programming approaches, than such 'pure' models alone. Here we outline a proposed new approach, which we term heterotic computing. We discuss how this might be incorporated in an accessible refinement-based computational framework for combining diverse computational models, and describe a range of physical exemplars (combinations of classical discrete, quantum discrete, classical analog, and quantum analog) that could be used to demonstrate the capability. © 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.