A software methodology for compiling quantum programs

TLDR

Quantum computers promise to transform our notions of computation by offering a completely new paradigm. The paper aims to develop an optimizing compiler and software design flow to enable scalable quantum computation by presenting a software architecture that translates high‑level quantum programs into hardware‑specific instructions. The methodology comprises a layered abstraction stack analogous to classical CAD, detailing compilation and optimization techniques for each layer. The approach accelerates innovation and supports scalable, hardware‑specific compilation of complex quantum algorithms.

Abstract

Quantum computers promise to transform our notions of computation by offering a completely new paradigm. To achieve scalable quantum computation, optimizing compilers and a corresponding software design flow will be essential. We present a software architecture for compiling quantum programs from a high-level language program to hardware-specific instructions. We describe the necessary layers of abstraction and their differences and similarities to classical layers of a computer-aided design flow. For each layer of the stack, we discuss the underlying methods for compilation and optimization. Our software methodology facilitates more rapid innovation among quantum algorithm designers, quantum hardware engineers, and experimentalists. It enables scalable compilation of complex quantum algorithms and can be targeted to any specific quantum hardware implementation.