Quantum machine learning integrates the strengths of quantum computing and machine learning, enabling models to learn complex features using fewer parameters than their classical counterparts. Due to the increasing complexity of quantum machine learning models, it is necessary to verify that the implementation of these models satisfy the design specification and be free of bugs and faults. Mutation testing is a promising avenue to identify faulty quantum circuits that do not meet design specifications or contain defects by intentionally inserting faults into the quantum circuit. It is necessary to define mutation operations to inject faults into quantum circuits to ensure that a test suite is robust enough to evaluate an implementation against its design specification. In this paper, we extend mutation testing to quantum machine learning applications, primarily quantum neural network models. Specifically, this paper makes two important contributions. We define new mutation operations for efficient fault insertion compared to state-of-the-art approaches. We also present a directed mutation generation technique to reduce redundant mutant circuits. Extensive experimental evaluation demonstrates that our approach generates a more diverse and representative set of mutants, effectively addressing faults that traditional techniques fail to expose.
Quantum machine learning integrates the strengths of quantum computing and machine learning, enabling models to learn complex features using fewer parameters than their classical counterparts. Due to the increasing complexity of quantum machine learning models, it is necessary to verify that the implementation of these models satisfy the design specification and be free of bugs and faults. Mutation testing is a promising avenue to identify faulty quantum circuits that do not meet design specifications or contain defects by intentionally inserting faults into the quantum circuit. It is necessary to define mutation operations to inject faults into quantum circuits to ensure that a test suite is robust enough to evaluate an implementation against its design specification. In this paper, we extend mutation testing to quantum machine learning applications, primarily quantum neural network models. Specifically, this paper makes two important contributions. We define new mutation operations for efficient fault insertion compared to state-of-the-art approaches. We also present a directed mutation generation technique to reduce redundant mutant circuits. Extensive experimental evaluation demonstrates that our approach generates a more diverse and representative set of mutants, effectively addressing faults that traditional techniques fail to expose.
This paper addresses the problem of evaluating the Fault Tolerance Algorithms and Methodologies (FTAMs) for quantum circuits, by making use of fault injection techniques. The proposed mutant-based fault injection techniques are inspired from their classical counterparts [3][8], and were adapted to the specific features of quantum computation, including the available error models [4][5]. The HDLs were employed in order to perform fault injection, due to their capacity of behavioral and structural circuit description, as well as their hierarchical features. Besides providing a much realistic description, the experimental simulated fault injection campaigns provide quantitative means for quantum fault tolerance assessment.
Machine Learning (ML) has been widely applied across numerous domains due to its ability to automatically identify informative patterns from data for various tasks. The availability of large-scale data and advanced computational power enables the development of sophisticated models and training strategies, leading to state-of-the-art performance, but it also introduces substantial challenges. Quantum Computing (QC), which exploits quantum mechanisms for computation, has attracted growing attention and significant global investment as it may address these challenges. Consequently, Quantum Machine Learning (QML), the integration of these two fields, has received increasing interest, with a notable rise in related studies in recent years. We are motivated to review these existing contributions regarding quantum circuit-based learning models for classical data analysis and highlight the identified potentials and challenges of this technique. Specifically, we focus not only on QML models, both kernel-based and neural network-based, but also on recent explorations of their integration with classical machine learning layers within hybrid frameworks. Moreover, we examine both theoretical analysis and empirical findings to better understand their capabilities, and we also discuss the efforts on noise-resilient and hardware-efficient QML that could enhance its practicality under current hardware limitations. In addition, we cover several emerging paradigms for advanced quantum circuit design and highlight the adaptability of QML across representative application domains. This study aims to provide an overview of the contributions made to bridge quantum computing and machine learning, offering insights and guidance to support its future development and pave the way for broader adoption in the coming years.
Quantum Machine Learning refers to the interdisciplinary area of research, blending principles from quantum physics and machine learning that can process information on quantum computers. Quantum machine learning (QML) intentions to exploit the superposition (qubit can exist in multiple states) property and other effects of quantum mechanics for enhanced efficiency and speed in specific machine learning computations, promising exponential-power superiority in particular computations. This paper focusses on Quantum Machine Learning Models to develop the framework to learn complicated associations within the data through the adjustment of the variational parameters during training. This framework serves as a foundational structure for implementing quantum neural networks, allowing for further experimentation and growth in quantum machine learning applications. It highlights the quantum circuits to process and learn from data in a mode distinct from classical neural networks. As the retrieve of quantum computing grows, such frameworks can be adapted and expanded to explore more sophisticated quantum algorithms and architectures. In the circumstances of Quantum Neural Networks, gradient descents is used in minimizing cost or loss function by iteratively adjusting the variational parameters based onto the gradient of the loss with admire to those parameters. The output that indicates the process of installing the Quantum information science Kit (Qiskit) library in Python specifically version 3.7 along with its dependencies.
Detection and isolation of faults is a crucial step in the physical realization of quantum circuits. Even though quantum gates and circuits compute reversible functions, the standard techniques of automatic test pattern generation (ATPG) for classical reversible circuits are not directly applicable to quantum circuits. For faulty quantum circuits under the widely accepted single fault assumption, we show that their behavior can be fully characterized by the (single) faulty gate and the corresponding fault model. This allows us to efficiently determine test input states as well as measurement strategy for fault detection and diagnosis. Building on top of these, we design randomized algorithms which are able to detect every nontrivial single-gate fault with minimal probability of error. We also describe similar algorithms for fault diagnosis. We evaluate our algorithms by the number of output samples that needs to be collected and the probability of error. Both of these can be related to the eigenvalues of the operators corresponding to the circuit gates. We experimentally compare all our strategies with the state-of-the-art ATPG techniques for quantum circuits under the “single missing faulty gate” model and demonstrate that significant improvement is possible if we can exploit the quantum nature of circuits.
Using quantum algorithms to improve deep learning models' capabilities is becoming increasingly popular as quantum computing develops. In this work, we investigate how quantum algorithms using quantum neural networks (QNNs) might enhance the effectiveness and performance of deep learning models. We examine the effects of quantum-inspired methods on tasks, including regression, sorting, and optimization, by thoroughly analyzing quantum algorithms and how they integrate with deep learning systems. We experiment with Estimator QNN and Sampler QNN implementations using Qiskit machine-learning, analyzing their forward and backward pass outcomes to assess the effectiveness of quantum algorithms in improving deep learning models. Our research clarifies the scope, intricacy, and scalability issues surrounding QNNs and offers insights into the possible advantages and difficulties of quantum-enhanced deep learning. This work adds to the continuing investigation of quantum computing's potential to advance machine learning and artificial intelligence paradigms by clarifying the interaction between quantum algorithms and deep learning systems.
With the growing synergy between deep learning and quantum computing, Quantum Neural Networks (QNNs) have emerged as a promising paradigm by leveraging quantum parallelism and entanglement. However, testing QNNs remains underexplored due to their complex quantum dynamics and limited interpretability. Developing a mutation testing technique for QNNs is promising while requires addressing stochastic factors, including the inherent randomness of mutation operators and quantum measurements. To tackle these challenges, we propose QuanForge, a mutation testing framework specifically designed for QNNs. We first introduce statistical mutation killing to provide a more reliable criterion. QuanForge incorporates nine post-training mutation operators at both gate and parameter levels, capable of simulating various potential errors in quantum circuits. Finally, a mutant generation algorithm is formalized that systematically produces effective mutants, thereby enabling a robust and reliable mutation analysis. Through extensive experiments on benchmark datasets and QNN architectures, we show that QuanForge can effectively distinguish different test suites and localize vulnerable circuit regions, providing insights for data enhancement and structural assessment of QNNs. We also analyze the generation capabilities of different operators and evaluate performance under simulated noisy conditions to assess the practical feasibility of QuanForge for future quantum devices.