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Scalable quantum computing can become a reality with error correction,provided coherent qubits can be constructed in large arrays. The key premise isthat physical errors can remain both small and sufficiently uncorrelated asdevices scale, so that logical error rates can be exponentially suppressed.However, energetic impacts from cosmic rays and latent radioactivity violateboth of these assumptions. An impinging particle ionizes the substrate,radiating high energy phonons that induce a burst of quasiparticles, destroyingqubit coherence throughout the device. High-energy radiation has beenidentified as a source of error in pilot superconducting quantum devices, butlacking a measurement technique able to resolve a single event in detail, theeffect on large scale algorithms and error correction in particular remains anopen question. Elucidating the physics involved requires operating largenumbers of qubits at the same rapid timescales as in error correction, exposingthe event's evolution in time and spread in space. Here, we directly observehigh-energy rays impacting a large-scale quantum processor. We introduce arapid space and time-multiplexed measurement method and identify large burstsof quasiparticles that simultaneously and severely limit the energy coherenceof all qubits, causing chip-wide failure. We track the events from theirinitial localised impact to high error rates across the chip. Our resultsprovide direct insights into the scale and dynamics of these damaging errorbursts in large-scale devices, and highlight the necessity of mitigation toenable quantum computing to scale.

Resolving catastrophic error bursts from cosmic rays in large arrays of superconducting qubits