Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 26, 2026

Generation and Coherent Control of Pulsed Quantum Frequency Combs
Published on: June 8, 2018
Demonstration of Shor's factoring algorithm for N [Formula: see text] 21 on IBM quantum processors
1Department of Physics, Stellenbosch University, Matieland, 7602 South Africa.
Abstract:
We report a proof-of-concept demonstration of a quantum order-finding algorithm for factoring the integer 21. Our demonstration involves the use of a compiled version of the quantum phase estimation routine, and builds upon a previous demonstration. We go beyond this work by using a configuration of approximate Toffoli gates with residual phase shifts, which preserves the functional correctness and allows us to achieve a complete factoring of [Formula: see text]. We implemented the algorithm on IBM quantum processors using only five qubits and successfully verified the presence of entanglement between the control and work register qubits, which is a necessary condition for the algorithm's speedup in general. The techniques we employ may be useful in carrying out Shor's algorithm for larger integers, or other algorithms in systems with a limited number of noisy qubits.
Related Concept Videos
Rational Expressions
Long Division of Polynomials
The Binomial Theorem
Synthetic Disvision of Polynomials
Rationalizing Substitutions
Binomial Expansion Using Pascal's Triangle

