An Interpreter for Quantum Circuits

TL;DR

This paper presents an ACL2 interpreter for quantum circuit netlists, implementing key gates and discussing challenges in measurement, irrational numbers, and randomness, with future plans for pseudo-random generator development.

Contribution

It introduces a novel ACL2 interpreter for quantum circuits, handling complex gates and measurement challenges, and outlines future work on pseudo-random number generation.

Findings

Implemented quantum gates including Hadamard in ACL2

Identified challenges in measurement and irrational number handling

Outlined future development of pseudo-random generators

Abstract

This paper describes an ACL2 interpreter for "netlists" describing quantum circuits. Several quantum gates are implemented, including the Hadamard gate H, which rotates vectors by 45 degrees, necessitating the use of irrational numbers, at least at the logical level. Quantum measurement presents an especially difficult challenge, because it requires precise comparisons of irrational numbers and the use of random numbers. This paper does not address computation with irrational numbers or the generation of random numbers, although future work includes the development of pseudo-random generators for ACL2.