The architecture of a quantum programming environment

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology.This thesis presents the architecture of quantum programming environment, called QSI, along with its related modules and several quantum experiments. The environment is based on one specific quantum language, namely quantum while-language. Some partial experimental results are also presented within QSI. The first part relates to the architecture, the designing and the implementation of quantum programming environment which provides a new, powerful and flexible environment for developing and implementing quantum programs. First, we study the possible structure of the programming environment which supports a measurement-based case statement and a measurement-based while-loop. These two program constructs are extremely convenient for describing large-scale quantum algorithms, such as quantum random walk-based algorithms. We also define a new assembly language called f-QASM (Quantum Assembly Language with feedback) as an interactive command set. The assembly language is compatible with other low-level instruction sets and can be used to directly drive quantum hardware. Moreover, the simulation of syntax of quantum program and the behaviours within the architecture on the classical computer are discussed. Finally, we consider the work-flow which contains the decomposition of unitary matrix to achieve the goal that executing on Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum Computer. The second part concerns the modules based on quantum programming environment: termination analysis module, detective separable unitary module and quantum control module. Along with the architecture, we bring an essential module - termination analysis module for the loop structure. It can analyze sub-bodies of quantum program and suggest the critical termination information. In addition, we improve the Jordan decomposition step in the original algorithm which consumes extended period for analyzing. This improvement also makes the module more robust on executing. A fast permutation algorithm module clarifies the re-ordering algorithm in case of qubits system. It regenerates the program (unitary operator) which is not in pre-ordered sequence. In the detective separable unitary module, we prove sufficient conditions for separable unitary and its approximate scenario. The result shows there does not exist a universal algorithm for potential parallel executing quantum programs without communications (classical or quantum communications). However, in approximate, there exists a scheme for parallel computing without the help of communication. In this part, two examples for parallel computing are given. Last, in quantum control module, an algorithm is suggested towards automatically generating quantum circuits for quantum case-statement. We believe these analysis modules can help the compiler to optimize the implementation of quantum algorithms. The third part is devoted to quantum experiment. First, we focus several experiments which can be operated directly by QSI : Qloop, BB84 protocol and Grover search algorithm. After that, with the help of IBM’s QISKit, two impressive experiments: distinguishing unitary gates and Bell states are given on real quantum computer. Finally, we combine QSI with Microsoft’s LIQUi|> to implement quantum case-statement. These experiments significantly show the quantum power and the scalable framework of the quantum programming environment in practice

Brokered Graph State Quantum Computing

We describe a procedure for graph state quantum computing that is tailored to fully exploit the physics of optically active multi-level systems. Leveraging ideas from the literature on distributed computation together with the recent work on probabilistic cluster state synthesis, our model assigns to each physical system two logical qubits: the broker and the client. Groups of brokers negotiate new graph state fragments via a probabilistic optical protocol. Completed fragments are mapped from broker to clients via a simple state transition and measurement. The clients, whose role is to store the nascent graph state long term, remain entirely insulated from failures during the brokerage. We describe an implementation in terms of NV-centres in diamond, where brokers and clients are very naturally embodied as electron and nuclear spins.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Two-message quantum interactive proofs and the quantum separability problem

Suppose that a polynomial-time mixed-state quantum circuit, described as a sequence of local unitary interactions followed by a partial trace, generates a quantum state shared between two parties. One might then wonder, does this quantum circuit produce a state that is separable or entangled? Here, we give evidence that it is computationally hard to decide the answer to this question, even if one has access to the power of quantum computation. We begin by exhibiting a two-message quantum interactive proof system that can decide the answer to a promise version of the question. We then prove that the promise problem is hard for the class of promise problems with "quantum statistical zero knowledge" (QSZK) proof systems by demonstrating a polynomial-time Karp reduction from the QSZK-complete promise problem "quantum state distinguishability" to our quantum separability problem. By exploiting Knill's efficient encoding of a matrix description of a state into a description of a circuit to generate the state, we can show that our promise problem is NP-hard with respect to Cook reductions. Thus, the quantum separability problem (as phrased above) constitutes the first nontrivial promise problem decidable by a two-message quantum interactive proof system while being hard for both NP and QSZK. We also consider a variant of the problem, in which a given polynomial-time mixed-state quantum circuit accepts a quantum state as input, and the question is to decide if there is an input to this circuit which makes its output separable across some bipartite cut. We prove that this problem is a complete promise problem for the class QIP of problems decidable by quantum interactive proof systems. Finally, we show that a two-message quantum interactive proof system can also decide a multipartite generalization of the quantum separability problem.Comment: 34 pages, 6 figures; v2: technical improvements and new result for the multipartite quantum separability problem; v3: minor changes to address referee comments, accepted for presentation at the 2013 IEEE Conference on Computational Complexity; v4: changed problem names; v5: updated references and added a paragraph to the conclusion to connect with prior work on separability testin

Coupling slot-waveguide cavities for large-scale quantum optical devices

By offering effective modal volumes significantly less than a cubic wavelength, slot-waveguide cavities offer a new in-road into strong atom-photon coupling in the visible regime. Here we explore two-dimensional arrays of coupled slot cavities which underpin designs for novel quantum emulators and polaritonic quantum phase transition devices. Specifically, we investigate the lateral coupling characteristics of diamond-air and GaP-air slot waveguides using numerically-assisted coupled-mode theory, and the longitudinal coupling properties via distributed Bragg reflectors using mode-propagation simulations. We find that slot-waveguide cavities in the Fabry-Perot arrangement can be coupled and effectively treated with a tight-binding description, and are a suitable platform for realizing Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard physics.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitte