STRESS TESTING IBM_BRISBANE: Rapid Noise Saturation with Deep Random Circuits on 127 Qubits

STRESS TESTING IBM_BRISBANE: Rapid Noise Saturation with Deep Random Circuits on 127 Qubits | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article STRESS TESTING IBM_BRISBANE: Rapid Noise Saturation with Deep Random Circuits on 127 Qubits MUHAMMAD SUKRI BIN RAMLI This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6512631/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The practical utility of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) processors depends critically on their performance under demanding computational loads. We investigated the impact of circuit depth on the 127-qubit superconducting processor ibm_brisbane by executing stress-test circuits utilizing all available qubits. These circuits consisted of repeated layers combining random single-qubit rotations and linear chains of Controlled-Z entangling gates. We systematically increased the ideal circuit depth from 1 up to 30 layers, resulting in transpiled circuits ranging from approximately 550 to over 15,000 gates (optimization level 2). Using the qiskit-ibm-runtime Sampler primitive with 4096 shots and default error mitigation, we successfully obtained results for ideal depths up to 22 (transpiled depth ~ 11.7k gates), beyond which platform usage limits prevented execution. Our central finding is the immediate onset of noise saturation: the output distribution reached maximum sample entropy (12.0 bits) and exhibited near-zero average single-qubit Z magnetization even at the shallowest depth tested (ideal depth 1, transpiled depth ~ 550). These noise-dominated characteristics persisted despite significant increases in transpiled circuit depth. This demonstrates that for these specific full-width, complex random circuits, noise overwhelms the computation almost instantaneously on this device under default settings, highlighting the profound challenge of achieving computational fidelity for deep, wide algorithms in the NISQ era without advanced error handling. Computational Physics Quantum Computing NISQ IBM Brisbane 127 Qubits Stress Testing Quantum Circuits Circuit Depth Noise Saturation Random Circuits Entangling Gates CZ Gates Transpilation Qiskit qiskit-ibm-runtime Error Mitigation Quantum Volume Shannon Entropy Z Magnetization Superconducting Qubits Computational Fidelity Decoherence Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6512631","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":446917966,"identity":"0903869f-8f95-4b7b-828c-2cc164b265f6","order_by":0,"name":"MUHAMMAD SUKRI BIN RAMLI","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA60lEQVRIie3QMQrCMBSA4SeBuETdRBCPIAhCF8GLuCQ4dFIQl4KCcYmTuHoSJ4fIA7t4iILgHHAXk+gmsY4O+YcUSr6mLwCx2F/GQLtHnRANhX9TkXYh5YQSyoG/yFqWER8F1nsTf0yYdGXthLPjcESr7G54NpxCEzcFZAMhAyTRdY7723iiSO3Q4pfxHNrC/tgl/UJYD5kmnoBQREhHKgrLyMoSdjVCrd7kUUrQEWgJ93FP5BeCdhamc0toYmfJhbJkz89pP0jyLd6ZXkx2Dbwaky3Erp0WxiwHnRD5vH/qFh7aHovFYrGfegKVXlqCM0X9pAAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7206-7706","institution":"","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"MUHAMMAD","middleName":"SUKRI BIN","lastName":"RAMLI","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-23 12:29:50","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":false,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false,"humanSubjectConsent":false,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":false,"humanSubjectCaseReport":false,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6512631/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6512631/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":81274393,"identity":"be0e483b-1ddf-4590-a71a-ac612d06997b","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-04-24 09:00:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":968532,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"1quantumstresstest.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6512631/v1_covered_7819bab9-ea01-4c5a-a9d2-821bfe0c80e9.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003eSTRESS TESTING IBM_BRISBANE: Rapid Noise Saturation with Deep Random Circuits on 127 Qubits\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Quantum Computing, NISQ, IBM Brisbane, 127 Qubits, Stress Testing, Quantum Circuits, Circuit Depth, Noise Saturation, Random Circuits, Entangling Gates, CZ Gates, Transpilation, Qiskit, qiskit-ibm-runtime, Error Mitigation, Quantum Volume, Shannon Entropy, Z Magnetization, Superconducting Qubits, Computational Fidelity, Decoherence","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6512631/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6512631/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe practical utility of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) processors depends critically on their performance under demanding computational loads. 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