Abstract
Simon's problem is to find a hidden period (a bitstring) encoded into an unknown 2-to-1 function. It is one of the earliest problems for which an exponential quantum speedup was proven for ideal, noiseless quantum computers, albeit in the oracle model. Here, using two different 127-qubit IBM Quantum superconducting processors, we demonstrate an algorithmic quantum speedup for a variant of Simon's problem where the hidden period has a restricted Hamming weight . For sufficiently small values of and for circuits involving up to 58 qubits, we demonstrate an exponential speedup, albeit of a lower quality than the speedup predicted for the noiseless algorithm. The speedup exponent and the range of values for which an exponential speedup exists are significantly enhanced when the computation is protected by dynamical decoupling. Further enhancement is achieved with measurement error mitigation. This constitutes a demonstration of a bona fide quantum advantage for an Abelian hidden subgroup problem.