an open source industrial strength optimizing compiler for quantum programs

• DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2003.13961
• Publication Date: 2020-07-07
• Authors: R S Smith; E C Peterson; M G Skilbeck; E J Davis
• Keywords: FOS: Computer and information sciences; Quantum Physics; Computer Science - Programming Languages; 0202 electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering; FOS: Physical sciences; 02 engineering and technology; Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Programming Languages (cs.PL)

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.