IEEE International Conference on Quantum Computing and Engineering (QCE)
Measurement-Based Quantum Computing as a Tangram Puzzle
Ashlesha Patil, Yosef P. Jacobson, Don Towsley, Saikat Guha
Abstract
Measurement-Based Quantum Computing (MBQC), proposed in 2001 is a model of quantum computing that achieves quantum computation by performing a series of adaptive single-qubit measurements on an entangled cluster state. Our project is aimed at introducing MBQC to a wide audience ranging from high school students to quantum computing researchers through a Tangram puzzle with a modified set of rules played on an applet. The player is provided a quantum circuit which they have to map to MBQC using polyominos. Polyominos, the building blocks of our game, consist of square tiles joined edge-to-edge to form different shapes. Each tile represents a measurement basis, differentiated by its color. Polyominos rest on a square-grid playing board, which signifies a cluster state. We show that mapping a quantum circuit to MBQC is equivalent to arranging a set of polyominos—each corresponding to a gate in the circuit—on the playing board, subject to certain rules. We state the rules in simple terms with no reference to quantum computing. One such rule describes ways to deform a polyomino while it still correctly realizes a given quantum gate. The player has to place polyominos on the playing board conforming to the rules. Any correct solution creates a valid realization of the quantum circuit in MBQC. A higher-scoring correct solution fills up less space on the board, resulting in a lower-overhead embedding of the circuit in MBQC, a challenging research problem.