Researchers have made a breakthrough in quantum computing by developing an algorithm that reduces the number of quantum operations needed to perform certain tasks. The algorithm, called Tableaux Manipulation (TM), was tested on syndrome extraction circuits for a distance-rotated surface code and showed significant improvements over existing methods.
When compared to Qiskit, a popular quantum abstraction software developed by IBM, TM reduced the number of single-qubit gates by nearly 50% for large distances. The algorithm also introduced fewer total quantum operations, with only 20% of those introduced by Qiskit for certain code distances.
The research has significant implications for the development of fault-tolerant quantum computers, which are necessary for large-scale quantum computing. The work was done using trapped ion and superconducting-qubit gatesets, two common hardware modalities used in quantum computing.
The algorithm, dubbed Tableaux Manipulation (TM), aims to reduce the number of single-qubit gates required for quantum error correction (QEC) protocols. To evaluate its performance, the authors compare it to the Qiskit compiler functionality, a popular quantum abstraction software.
The TM algorithm is tested on syndrome extraction circuits for a distance-rotated surface code, which are depth-6 circuits consisting of 4 layers of interlaced gates sandwiched by two layers of Hadamard gates. These circuits are compiled into two different gate sets: one using an interaction as its two-qubit gate and another using a Mølmer-Sørensen interaction.
The results are impressive! For a gate set indicative of trapped ion hardware, the TM algorithm introduces more single-qubit gates of the type, but significantly fewer gates of the type. In fact, for large distances, the reduction in gates is nearly 50%! When considering all single-qubit gates, the TM technique reduces the required number of quantum operations by a significant margin.
Similar results are observed for a superconducting-qubit gate set, where the TM algorithm introduces fewer gates than Qiskit for both single-qubit gate types. The reduction in total quantum operations is again substantial, with TM introducing only about 60% of the gates introduced by Qiskit.
The authors emphasize that the compiled circuits are completely equivalent, and this algorithm simply achieves the same result with far fewer gates in a deterministic process. This means there are no downsides to using this method for unitary stabilizer circuits, and it will always improve the performance of quantum memory experiments on near-term devices.
While the TM algorithm cannot reduce the number of noisy measurement operations and two-qubit gates, which are typically the most error-prone events in quantum hardware, using this algorithm to achieve the same circuits in fewer quantum operations would still be advantageous. This is because communicating operations to qubits in a dilution fridge incurs a non-zero heat cost, making it desirable to minimize the number of operations.
Overall, the TM algorithm offers a promising approach for optimizing circuit compilation and reducing gate overhead in QEC protocols. Its deterministic nature and ability to reduce single-qubit gates make it an attractive tool for improving the performance of quantum memory experiments on near-term devices.
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