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EVIDENCE RECORD

IBM Quantum: what changed.

The recorded research and its supporting evidence.

This is a historical record. Read the current company research →

  1. Evidence or assessment clarified · axis ratings unchanged

    Assessment reviewed 6 Sept 2026 · Research reviewed 7 Sept 2026
    What changed
    Research evidence: IBM Quantum Compute Service changelog
    Previously

    Current documentation distinguishes Open Plan Heron access from paid Nighthawk r2 access and records dynamic-circuit support on ibm_phoenix.

    Source title
    IBM Quantum Compute Service changelog
    Source publication date
    Not recorded
    Source type
    Vendor technical documentation
    Marked independent
    No
    Now

    Current documentation distinguishes Open Plan Heron access from paid Nighthawk r2 access and records dynamic-circuit support on ibm_phoenix.

    Source title
    IBM Quantum Compute Service changelog
    Source publication date
    Not recorded
    Source type
    Vendor technical documentation
    Marked independent
    No
    Where to look
    September 2026 → The first Nighthawk r2 QPU is now available; April 2026 → New resources and hardware for Open Plan users
    Source checked
    11 Nov 2026
    Product scope
    IBM Quantum Platform; Nighthawk r2 and Open Plan Heron access
    Source or product version
    Living changelog; dated September and April 2026 entries
    Limitations
    Access and dynamic-circuit support apply to the named plans and backends; availability is not a general performance comparison.
    Retained for this claim (1)
    Research evidence: Processor types
    Previously

    Defines processor topology and revisions. Nighthawk r2 has 120 programmable qubits; the separately reported 458 physical qubits are not its programmable circuit capacity.

    Source title
    Processor types
    Source publication date
    Not recorded
    Source type
    Vendor technical documentation
    Marked independent
    No
    Now

    Defines processor topology and revisions. Nighthawk r2 has 120 programmable qubits; the separately reported 458 physical qubits are not its programmable circuit capacity.

    Source title
    Processor types
    Source publication date
    Not recorded
    Source type
    Vendor technical documentation
    Marked independent
    No
    Where to look
    Nighthawk → Revisions → r2 (September 2026)
    Source checked
    11 Nov 2026
    Product scope
    Nighthawk r2: 120 programmable qubits, 458 physical qubits
    Source or product version
    Living documentation; no immutable revision identifier supplied
    Limitations
    Physical hardware elements and programmable circuit capacity are different counts; these specifications are not a workload benchmark.
    Retained for this claim (1)
    Research evidence: Onset of Ergodicity Across Scales on a Digital Quantum Processor
    Previously

    External-user preprint reports a 100-qubit Nighthawk experiment with classical checks in tractable regimes. Authors are affiliated with Phasecraft and universities, not IBM.

    Source title
    Onset of Ergodicity Across Scales on a Digital Quantum Processor
    Source publication date
    12 Mar 2026
    Source type
    External-user research preprint
    Marked independent
    Yes
    Now

    External-user preprint reports a 100-qubit Nighthawk experiment with classical checks in tractable regimes. Authors are affiliated with Phasecraft and universities, not IBM.

    Source title
    Onset of Ergodicity Across Scales on a Digital Quantum Processor
    Source publication date
    12 Mar 2026
    Source type
    External-user research preprint
    Marked independent
    Yes
    Where to look
    Abstract, paragraphs 1–4; submission history v1 (12 March 2026)
    Source checked
    11 Nov 2026
    Product scope
    IBM Nighthawk; Heisenberg-model experiment using up to 100 qubits
    Source or product version
    arXiv:2603.12236v1
    Limitations
    This preprint studies one many-body model with error mitigation. Classical checks cover the regimes where tensor-network calculations remain reliable; it does not establish a general commercial speed advantage.
    Retained for this claim (1)
    Research evidence: Tracking progress on the path to IBM Quantum Starling
    Previously

    IBM reports two linked Nighthawk r2 devices cooling in modular cryostats; over 100 links per module at 0.1% error is a future Starling requirement.

    Source title
    Tracking progress on the path to IBM Quantum Starling
    Source publication date
    11 Nov 2026
    Source type
    Company technical disclosure
    Marked independent
    No
    Where to look
    Inter-module connectivity; Modular cryogenics and wiring
    Source checked
    11 Nov 2026
    Now

    IBM reports two linked Nighthawk r2 devices cooling in modular cryostats; over 100 links per module at 0.1% error is a future Starling requirement.

    Source title
    Tracking progress on the path to IBM Quantum Starling
    Source publication date
    11 Nov 2026
    Source type
    Company technical disclosure
    Marked independent
    No
    Where to look
    Inter-module connectivity; Modular cryogenics and wiring
    Source checked
    11 Nov 2026
    Limitations
    IBM reports cryostat integration and inter-module experiments. More than 100 links per module at 0.1% error is a future Starling requirement, not an achieved fault-tolerant system.
    Retained for this claim (1)
    Sources used in this record (6)

Recorded dates use UTC and show when QubitWire saved the comparison. Review dates show the evidence check; neither is a new claim about when the underlying event happened. This view preserves the original research and assessment methodology.

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