package voqc

  1. Overview
  2. Docs

Main entry point for VOQC.

Overview

VOQC contains utilities for optimizing quantum circuits and mapping them to a connectivity graph. VOQC was first presented at POPL 2021. The extended version of the POPLpaper is available here. In the remainder of this document we refer to this paper as "POPL VOQC".

This file lists the functions we provide in VOQC, as well as properties we have verified about them. In general, our goal is to prove that VOQC circuit transformations are semantics preserving, meaning that the behavior of a circuit (its "semantics") does not change after our transformations are applied. The semantics of a unitary circuit over d qubits is a 2^d x 2^d unitary matrix, so proving semantics-preservation requires showing that two (symbolic) matrices are equal. Sometimes we also show that the output of a transformation has a particular property, such as using a particular gate set.

In the remainder of this document, we will use the following shorthand for properties proved:

  • Preserves semantics -- The semantics-preservation property is written in Coq as forall (c : circ), [[opt c]] = [[c]] for optimization opt. In our development, we support several variations on semantics-preservation:

    • (WT) -- We include the annotation (WT) to indicate that a transformation preserves semantics provided that the input circuit is well-typed. A circuit is "well-typed" for some dimension (i.e. number of qubits) d if every gate in the circuit applies to qubit(s) less than d and no gate has duplicate arguments. Some optimizations do not preserve semantics when the input is ill-typed because they can produce a well-typed circuit from an ill-typed input. In Coq, this requirement is written as forall c, well_typed c -> [[opt c]] = [[c]].
    • (phase) -- We include the annotation (phase) to indicate that the semantics are preserved up to a global phase. The unitary matrices X and e^(ix)X have the same action on all input states, and can thus be considered equivalent. However, this definition of equivalence is not compositional in the sense that the controlled versions of these matrices are not equivalent (because the phase is no longer global). In Coq, this restriction is written as forall c, exists x, [[opt c]] = e^(ix) [[c]].
    • (perm) -- We include the annotation (perm) to indicate that the semantics are preserved up to a permutation of qubits. This will be the case after applying circuit mapping. In Coq, for permutation matrices P1 and P2, this variation is written as forall c, exists P1 P2, [[c]] = P1 x [[opt c]] x P2.
  • Preserves WT -- This property says that if the input circuit is well-typed, then the output circuit will also be well-typed. In our semantics, the denotation of a well-typed circuit is a unitary matrix while the denotation of an ill-typed circuit is the zero matrix, so all of the variations on semantics-preservation actually imply WT-preservation.
  • Preserves mapping -- This property says that, for any connectivity graph G, if the input circuit respects the constraints in G then the output circuit also respects the constraints in G. This property allows us to apply optimizations after mapping, preserving our guarantee that the output program satisfies hardware constraints.
  • Uses gates {g1, ..., gn} -- This property says that every operation in the circuit is an application of one of {g1, ..., gn}.
  • Respects constraints G -- This property says that every two-qubit interaction in the circuit is allowed by the connectivity graph G.

Types

The circ type is a list of gates from the full gate set.

type layout

A layout describes a mapping from logical to physical qubits. For an architecture with n qubits, a layout should be a bijection on integers {0, ..., n-1}. Under the hood, layout is a pair of functions (nat -> nat) * (nat -> nat) that maps logical qubits to physical qubits and physical qubits back to logical qubits. A layout is well-formed if these two functions accurately represent a bijection and its inverse.

You can construct a layout using the functions list_to_layout, trivial_layout, or greedy_layout.

type c_graph

A connectivity graph (c_graph) is a pair nat * (nat -> nat -> bool), that consists of the total number of qubits in the system and a an oracle that indicates whether a directed edge exists between two qubits.

You can construct a connectivity graph using make_lnn, make_lnn_ring, or make_grid.

type path_finding_fun

A path_finding_fun is a function nat -> nat -> nat list that produces an undirected path between any two nodes in a graph. It is used for circuit mapping.

You can construct an object of this type using lnn_path_finding_fun, lnn_ring_path_finding_fun, or grid_path_finding_fun.

type qubit_ordering_fun

A qubit_ordering_fun is a function nat option -> nat list that produces an ordering of all qubits in the system, excluding its optional argument. It is used for ranking pysical qubits when generating layouts.

You can construct an object of this type using lnn_qubit_ordering_fun or lnn_ring_qubit_ordering_fun.

API

Utility Functions

val check_well_typed : circ -> int -> bool

Check if a circuit is well-typed with the given number of qubits (i.e. every gate is applied to qubits within range and never applied to duplicates).

val convert_to_ibm : circ -> circ

Restrict a program to use gates in the IBM gate set (this may be done implicitly when calling certain optimizations).

Verified Properties: preserves semantics, preserves WT, preserves mapping, uses gates {U1, U2, U3, CX}

val convert_to_rzq : circ -> circ

Restrict a circuit to use gates in the RzQ gate set (this may be done implicitly when calling certain optimizations).

Verified properties: preserves semantics (phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping, uses gates {H, X, Rzq, CX}

val replace_rzq : circ -> circ

Replace the (non-standard) Rzq gate with its equivalent Rz, Z, T, S, Tdg, or Sdg gate.

Verified Properties: preserves semantics, preserves WT, preserves mapping, uses any gate in the full set except Rzq

val decompose_to_cnot : circ -> circ

Decompose CZ, SWAP, CCX, and CCZ gates so that the only multi-qubit gate is CX (also called "CNOT").

Verified Properties: preserves semantics, preserves WT, uses any gate in the full set except {CZ, SWAP, CCX, CCZ}

val count_I : circ -> int
val count_X : circ -> int
val count_Y : circ -> int
val count_Z : circ -> int
val count_H : circ -> int
val count_S : circ -> int
val count_T : circ -> int
val count_Sdg : circ -> int
val count_Tdg : circ -> int
val count_Rx : circ -> int
val count_Ry : circ -> int
val count_Rz : circ -> int
val count_Rzq : circ -> int
val count_U1 : circ -> int
val count_U2 : circ -> int
val count_U3 : circ -> int
val count_CX : circ -> int
val count_CZ : circ -> int
val count_SWAP : circ -> int
val count_CCX : circ -> int
val count_CCZ : circ -> int
val count_1q : circ -> int

Count the number of 1-qubit gates.

val count_2q : circ -> int

Count the number of 2-qubit gates.

val count_3q : circ -> int

Count the number of 3-qubit gates.

val count_total : circ -> int

Count the total number of gates (i.e. length of the instruction list).

val count_rzq_clifford : circ -> int

Count the Rzq gates parameterized by a multiple of PI/2 (i.e. "Clifford" Rz gates).

Optimization Functions

val optimize_ibm : circ -> circ

Implementation of Qiskit's Optimize1qGates routine, which merges adjacent 1-qubit gates. Internally uses the IBM gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val not_propagation : circ -> circ

Implementation of Nam et al.'s "NOT propagation," which commutes X gates rightward through the circuit, cancelling them when possible (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.3). Internally uses the RzQ gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val hadamard_reduction : circ -> circ

Implementation of Nam et al.'s "Hadamard gate reduction," which applies a series of identities to reduce the number of H gates (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.4). Internally uses the RzQ gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val cancel_single_qubit_gates : circ -> circ

Implementation of Nam et al.'s "single-qubit gate cancellation," which commutes single-qubit gates rightward through the circuit, cancelling them when possible, and reverting them to their original positions if they fail to cancel (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.3). Internally uses the RzQ gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val cancel_two_qubit_gates : circ -> circ

Implementation of Nam et al.'s "two-qubit gate cancellation," which commutes CX gates rightward through the circuit, cancelling them when possible, and reverting them to their original positions if they fail to cancel (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.3). Internally uses the RzQ gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val merge_rotations : circ -> circ

Implementation of Nam et al.'s "rotation merging using phase polynomials," which combines Rz gates that act on the same logical state (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.4). Internally uses the RzQ gate set.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val optimize_nam : circ -> circ

Run optimizations in the order 0, 1, 3, 2, 3, 1, 2, 4, 3, 2 where 0 is not_propagation, 1 is hadamard_reduction, 2 is cancel_single_qubit_gates, 3 is cancel_two_qubit_gates, and 4 is merge_rotations (see VOQC POPL Sec 4.6).

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val optimize_nam_light : circ -> circ

Run optimizations in the order 0, 1, 3, 2, 3, 1, 2, using the same numbering scheme as above. This will be faster than optimize_nam because it excludes rotation merging, which is our slowest optimization.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

val optimize_nam_lcr : circ -> ((circ * circ) * circ) option

Use optimize_nam to optimize across loop iterations. To count the gates required for n iterations, use count_gates_lcr.

Verified Properties: Say that this function returns Some (l, c, r) on input c0. Then for any n >= 3, iterating c0 n times is equivalent to running l once, c n-2 times, and r once. If c0 is well-typed then l, c, r are also well-typed. If c0 is properly mapped then l, c, r are also properly mapped.

val optimize : circ -> circ

optimize_nam followed by optimize_ibm.

Verified Properties: Preserves semantics (WT, phase), preserves WT, preserves mapping

Mapping Functions

val swap_route : circ -> layout -> c_graph -> path_finding_fun -> circ

Map a circuit to an architecture given an initial layout.

Verified properties: Provided that that the input circuit is well-typed using the dimension stored in the input graph and the input layout and graph are well-formed, this transformation preserves semantics (WT, perm) and preserves WT. Furthermore, the output c respects the (undirected) constraints of the input graph.

val decompose_swaps : circ -> c_graph -> circ

Decompose swap gates and reorient cnot gates to satisfy connectivity constraints.

Verified properties: Provided that that the input circuit is well-typed using the dimension stored in the input graph, this transformation preserves semantics and preserves WT. Furthermore, if the input circuit restpects the (undirected) constraints of the graph, then the output respects the (directed) constraints.

val trivial_layout : int -> layout

Create a trivial layout on n qubits (i.e. logical qubit i is mapped to physical qubit i).

Verified Properties: The output layout is well-formed.

val check_list : int list -> bool

Check if a list is a permutation over [0...(n-1)], meaning that it is valid input to list_to_layout.

Verified Properties: If check_list returns true, the layout output by list_to_layout is well-formed.

val list_to_layout : int list -> layout

Make a layout from a list. Example: the list [3; 4; 1; 2; 0] is transformed to a layout with physical to logical qubit mapping {0->3, 1->4, 2->1, 3->2, 4->0} (so physical qubit 0 stores logical qubit 3) and the appropriate inverse logical to physical mapping.

Verified Properties: If check_list returns true, the layout output by list_to_layout is well-formed.

val layout_to_list : layout -> int -> int list

Convert a layout to a list for easier printing. Example: the layout with physical to logical qubit mapping {0->3, 1->4, 2->1, 3->2, 4->0} is transformed to the list [3; 4; 1; 2; 0].

val greedy_layout : circ -> c_graph -> qubit_ordering_fun -> layout

Choose an initial layout for a program that puts qubits close together on the architecture if they are used together in a two-qubit gate.

Verified Properties: The output layout is well-formed.

val make_lnn : int -> c_graph

Create a 1D LNN graph with n qubits (see POPL VOQC Fig 8(b)).

val make_lnn_ring : int -> c_graph

Create a 1D LNN ring graph with n qubits (see POPL VOQC Fig 8(c)).

val make_grid : int -> int -> c_graph

Create a m x n 2D grid (see POPL VOQC Fig 8(d)).

val c_graph_from_coupling_map : int -> (int * int) list -> c_graph

Create a connectivity graph from a list of pairs describing edges in the graph.

val lnn_path_finding_fun : int -> path_finding_fun

Get a function to find paths in a 1D LNN graph.

Verified Properties: The function returns valid paths.

val lnn_ring_path_finding_fun : int -> path_finding_fun

Get a function to find paths in a 1D LNN ring graph.

Verified Properties: The function returns valid paths.

val grid_path_finding_fun : int -> int -> path_finding_fun

Get a function to find paths in a 2D grid.

Verified Properties: The function returns valid paths.

val lnn_qubit_ordering_fun : int -> qubit_ordering_fun

Generate a preference-ordering function for qubits in a 1D LNN graph.

Verified Properties: The ordering function is valid.

val lnn_ring_qubit_ordering_fun : int -> qubit_ordering_fun

Generate a preference-ordering function for qubits in a 1D LNN ring graph.

Verified Properties: The ordering function is valid.

val remove_swaps : circ -> layout -> circ

Remove all swap gates from a program, instead performing a logical relabeling of qubits.

Verified Properties: Provided that that the input circuit is well-typed and the input layout is well-formed, this transformation preserves semantics (WT, perm) and preserves WT.

val check_swap_equivalence : circ -> circ -> layout -> layout -> bool

Check if two programs (and their initial layouts) are equivalent up to inserted swaps gates. This function can be used to validate circuit routing routines.

Verified Properties: Assuming the input circuits are well-typed and the input layouts are well formed, if this function returns true then the programs are equivalent up to a permutation of qubits.

val check_constraints : circ -> c_graph -> bool

Check if a circuit satisfies the constraints of a connectivity graph.

Verified Properties: If this function returns true, the program satisfies the constraints of the connectivity graph.

val optimize_and_map_to_lnn_ring_16 : circ -> circ option

Example composition of transformations. Applies optimize_nam, followed by swap_route using the 16-qubit LNN ring architecture, followed by optimize.

Verified Properties: If this function returns Some c, then it preserves semantics (WT, phase) and c respects the (directed) constraints of the LNN ring graph.