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arXiv:1908.05154 · International Journal of Modern Physics C

A software simulator for noisy quantum circuits

Himanshu Chaudhary, Biplab Mahato, Lakshya Priyadarshi, Naman Roshan, Utkarsh, Apoorva D. Patel

Published Feb 16, 2022• 8 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have developed a software library that simulates noisy quantum logic circuits. We represent quantum states by their density matrices in the Pauli basis, and incorporate possible errors in initialization, logic gates, memory and measurement using simple models. Our quantum simulator is implemented as a new backend on IBM’s open-source Qiskit platform. In this paper, we provide its description, and illustrate it with some simple examples.

DOI
10.1142/s0129183122501030

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We have developed a software library that simulates noisy quantum logic circuits. We represent quantum states by their density matrices in the Pauli basis, and incorporate possible errors in initialization, logic gates, memory and measurement using simple models. Our quantum simulator is implemented as a new backend on IBM’s open-source Qiskit platform. In this paper, we provide its description, and illustrate it with some simple examples.
Abstract This practical guide explores the use of IBM Quantum cloud simulators for modeling and analyzing quantum circuits under realistic conditions. Using the IBM Q platform and Qiskit Runtime, the work demonstrates how to configure the ibmq_qasm_simulator and map a basic noise model derived from a physical IBM Quantum™ device. The guide focuses on: Setting up the ibmq_qasm_simulator in Qiskit. Extracting and applying a hardware-based noise model from a real IBM Quantum backend. Performing noisy simulations of QuantumCircuits. Using Sampler and Estimator primitives in Qiskit Runtime to analyze circuit outputs. Studying the impact of realistic quantum errors such as decoherence, gate infidelity, and readout noise. By incorporating noise models into simulations, researchers and developers can better understand how quantum circuits behave on real hardware, optimize algorithms before deployment, and design more robust quantum programs. This approach bridges the gap between idealized simulations and physical quantum devices, making it a critical step toward practical quantum application development.
This paper explains the roadmap for running quantum circuit programs based on the Qiskit library in quantum simulators as well as real cloud-based IBM quantum computers. Qiskit is a free and open-source software development platform based on the Python programming language that is used in quantum programming. Qiskit acts as a link between quantum computing’s theoretical foundations and the practical aspects of programming and experimentation. It also allows users to experiment with and develop quantum algorithms, as well as simulate and execute them on simulators and real-world cloud-based quantum devices. It also simplifies the quantum programming process and allows a diverse range of people to participate in the exciting world of quantum computing. The paper, on the other hand, provides the mathematical foundation for analyzing quantum circuits and algorithms using linear algebra principles, as they provide the tools needed to describe and manipulate quantum states and operations. Furthermore, the paper shows quantum circuit design and implementation using real Qiskit codes.
Quantum-mechanical phenomena are playing an increasing role in information processing as transistor sizes approach the nanometer level, while the securest forms of communication rely on quantum data encoding. When they involve a finite number of basis states, these phenomena can be modeled as quantum circuits, the quantum analogue of conventional or classical logic circuits. Simulation of quantum circuits can therefore be used as a tool to evaluate issues in the design of quantum information processors. Unfortunately, simulating such phenomena efficiently is exceedingly difficult. The matrices representing quantum operators (gates) and vectors modeling quantum states grow exponentially with the number of quantum bits. The information represented by quantum states and operators often exhibits structure that can be exploited when simulating certain classes of quantum circuits. We study the development of simulation methods that run on classical computers and take advantage of such repetitions and redundancies. In particular, we define a new data structure for simulating quantum circuits called the quantum information decision diagram (QuIDD). A QuIDD is a compressed graph representation of a vector or matrix and permits computations to be performed directly on the compressed data. We develop a comprehensive set of algorithms for operating on QuIDDs in both the state-vector and density-matrix formats, and evaluate their complexity. These algorithms have been implemented in a general-purpose simulator program for quantum-mechanical applications called QuIDDPro. Through extensive experiments conducted on representative quantum simulation applications, including Grover's search algorithm, error characterization, and reversible circuits, we demonstrate that QuIDDPro is faster than other existing quantum-mechanical simulators such as the National Institute of Standards and Technology's QCSim program, and is far more memory-efficient. Using QuIDDPro, we explore the advantages of quantum computation over classical computation, simulate quantum errors and error correction, and study the impact of numerical precision on the fidelity of simulations. We also develop several novel algorithms for testing quantum circuit equivalence and compare them empirically. The QuIDDPro software is equipped with a user-friendly interface and is distributed with numerous example scripts. It has been used as a laboratory supplement for quantum computing courses at several universities.
Abstract This practical guide presents methods for constructing noise models using the Qiskit Aer noise module within the IBM Q ecosystem. The objective is to simulate quantum circuits under realistic error conditions, enabling accurate emulation of noisy quantum processors. The guide demonstrates how to: Use the Qiskit Aer noise module to define custom noise models. Incorporate gate errors, readout errors, and decoherence effects into simulations. Apply noise channels (e.g., depolarizing, amplitude damping, phase damping). Attach noise models to quantum circuit simulations. Analyze how noise affects algorithm performance and output distributions. Building noise models is essential for studying the behavior of quantum algorithms in the NISQ (Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum) era. It allows researchers to evaluate algorithm robustness, optimize circuit depth, and test error mitigation strategies before execution on real IBM Quantum hardware. This approach provides a bridge between ideal theoretical circuits and physically realistic quantum devices, enhancing the reliability and applicability of quantum computing experiments.
The practical benefits of hybrid quantum information processing hardware that contains continuous-variable objects (bosonic modes such as mechanical or electromagnetic oscillators) in addition to traditional (discrete-variable) qubits have recently been demonstrated by experiments with bosonic codes that reach the break-even point for quantum error correction [1-5] and by efficient Gaussian boson sampling simulation of the Franck-Condon spectra of triatomic molecules [6] that is well beyond the capabilities of current qubit-only hardware. The goal of this Co-design Center for Quantum Advantage (C2QA) project is to develop an instruction set architecture (ISA) for hybrid qubit/bosonic mode systems that contains an inventory of the fundamental operations and measurements that are possible in such hardware. The corresponding abstract machine model (AMM) would also contain a description of the appropriate error models associated with the gates, measurements and time evolution of the hardware. This information has been implemented as an extension of Qiskit. Qiskit is an open-source software development toolkit (SDK) for simulating the quantum state of a quantum circuit on a system with Python 3.7+ and for running the same circuits on prototype hardware within the IBM Quantum Lab. We introduce the Bosonic Qiskit software to enable the simulation of hybrid qubit/bosonic systems using the existing Qiskit software development kit [7]. This implementation can be used for simulating new hybrid systems, verifying proposed physical systems, and modeling systems larger than can currently be constructed. We also cover tutorials and example use cases included within the software to study Jaynes-Cummings models, bosonic Hubbard models, plotting Wigner functions and animations, and calculating maximum likelihood estimations using Wigner functions.
The emergence of quantum computers represents a crucial leap forward in practical computability, when compared to classical architectures. Harnessing that power effectively is an exercise of increasing importance. Despite research in this field expanding rapidly, little headway has been made towards new quantum algorithms. The complexity of quantum systems makes them conceptually inaccessible to non-experts; therefore, programs are hard to design, hindering advancement. This paper presents a method for genetically encoding and designing arbitrary circuits in Qiskit, a software library developed by IBM for simulating quantum logic gates. The effectiveness of the system is verified by evolving solutions to the Toffoli gate and Quantum Fourier Transform problems.