Hoare meets Heisenberg: A Lightweight Logic for Quantum Programs

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Sundaram, Aarthi, Rand, Robert, Singhal, Kartik, Lackey, Brad
Format: Preprint
Published: 2021
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author Sundaram, Aarthi
Rand, Robert
Singhal, Kartik
Lackey, Brad
author_facet Sundaram, Aarthi
Rand, Robert
Singhal, Kartik
Lackey, Brad
contents We show that Gottesman's (1998) semantics for Clifford circuits based on the Heisenberg representation gives rise to a lightweight Hoare-like logic for efficiently characterizing a common subset of quantum programs. Our applications include (i) certifying whether auxiliary qubits can be safely disposed of, (ii) determining if a system is separable across a given bipartition, (iii) checking the transversality of a gate with respect to a given stabilizer code, and (iv) computing post-measurement states for computational basis measurements. Further, this logic is extended to accommodate universal quantum computing by deriving Hoare triples for the $T$-gate, multiply-controlled unitaries such as the Toffoli gate, and some gate injection circuits that use associated magic states. A number of interesting results emerge from this logic, including a lower bound on the number of $T$ gates necessary to perform a multiply-controlled $Z$ gate.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2101_08939
institution arXiv
publishDate 2021
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Hoare meets Heisenberg: A Lightweight Logic for Quantum Programs
Sundaram, Aarthi
Rand, Robert
Singhal, Kartik
Lackey, Brad
Quantum Physics
Emerging Technologies
Logic in Computer Science
Programming Languages
F.3.1; D.2.4; F.4.1; I.1.1
We show that Gottesman's (1998) semantics for Clifford circuits based on the Heisenberg representation gives rise to a lightweight Hoare-like logic for efficiently characterizing a common subset of quantum programs. Our applications include (i) certifying whether auxiliary qubits can be safely disposed of, (ii) determining if a system is separable across a given bipartition, (iii) checking the transversality of a gate with respect to a given stabilizer code, and (iv) computing post-measurement states for computational basis measurements. Further, this logic is extended to accommodate universal quantum computing by deriving Hoare triples for the $T$-gate, multiply-controlled unitaries such as the Toffoli gate, and some gate injection circuits that use associated magic states. A number of interesting results emerge from this logic, including a lower bound on the number of $T$ gates necessary to perform a multiply-controlled $Z$ gate.
title Hoare meets Heisenberg: A Lightweight Logic for Quantum Programs
topic Quantum Physics
Emerging Technologies
Logic in Computer Science
Programming Languages
F.3.1; D.2.4; F.4.1; I.1.1
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.08939