Residuals Exceed Uncertainty By Factors Up To 32 In IBM VQE Quantum Evaluation

Reported accuracy in quantum calculations can be deeply misleading: molecular energies from IBM’s processors showed residuals exceeding stated uncertainties by up to thirtytwofold. While zero-noise extrapolation reduced oxygen calculation errors on one processor by nearly eightyfour per cent, twirled readout error extinction offered further gains, up to 80 millihartree per job, but with unpredictable variability. This work demonstrates that current uncertainty quantification may not reflect actual computational flaws.