Collapsed Constellations ─ 崩壊した星座

Measurement-Based Quantum Computation (MBQC) proceeds by preparing a highly entangled quantum state known as a cluster state and then measuring its qubits sequentially. In contrast to gate-based quantum computation, in which quantum operations are applied step by step to an initial state, MBQC computes by progressively dismantling an entangled collection of qubits through measurement. Because measurement irreversibly consumes entanglement and does not allow the process to be reversed, MBQC is also known as one-way quantum computation.
In “Structural Constellations” (1948–66), Josef Albers explored the ambiguity of the visual world and the multiplicity of spatial perception. Although these planar figures are composed entirely of straight lines, multiple viewpoints coexist within them. When the viewer attempts to read them as three-dimensional forms, the same line may appear to project forward or recede into depth. Albers selectively emphasized certain lines while eliminating others. Through this operation, multiple planes, volumes, and movements emerge simultaneously from a single figure.
This work connects the destructive indeterminacy of quantum measurement with the generative ambiguity of Albers’s figures. A one-dimensional linear quantum cluster, in which countless constellations remain latent, and a two-dimensional lattice cluster based on the construction rules of kolam, the traditional floor drawings of South India, are collapsed through measurement. From the resulting measurement outcomes, ambiguous geometric poems composed solely of straight lines are constructed. The computation was carried out on a superconducting quantum computer at Osaka University’s Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB), accessed through the open-source quantum cloud software OQTOPUS.

Special Thanks: Makoto Negoro and Takafumi Miyanaga, Center for Quantum Information and Quantum Biology (QIQB), The University of Osaka / Keisuke Inoue, FabLab KandaNishikicho