An Open-Source, Industrial-Strength Optimizing Compiler for Quantum Programs

Abstract

Quilc is an open-source, optimizing compiler for gate-based quantum programs written in Quil or QASM, two popular quantum programming languages. The compiler was designed with attention toward NISQ-era quantum computers, specifically recognizing that each quantum gate has a non-negligible and often irrecoverable cost toward a program’s successful execution. Quilc’s primary goal is to make authoring quantum software a simpler exercise by making architectural details less burdensome to the author. Using Quilc allows one to write programs faster while usually not compromising—and indeed sometimes improving—their execution fidelity on a given hardware architecture. In this paper, we describe many of the principles behind Quilc’s design, and demonstrate the compiler with various examples.

Publication
Quantum Science and Technology

Introduces Quilc, an optimizing compiler for quantum programs