Resource-Efficient Quantum Computing by Breaking Abstractions

TLDR

Building a quantum computer that outperforms classical computers is a major engineering challenge, and quantum software optimizations offer an accelerated pathway to first‑generation QC applications, yet current software stacks use a layered approach inherited from classical computing to manage complexity. The review argues that greater efficiency of quantum computing systems can be achieved by breaking abstractions between layers and discusses future directions. The authors review hardware‑aware compilation optimizations that break the ISA abstraction and error‑correction schemes that break the qubit abstraction.

Abstract

Building a quantum computer that surpasses the computational power of its classical counterpart is a great engineering challenge. Quantum software optimizations can provide an accelerated pathway to the first generation of quantum computing (QC) applications that might save years of engineering effort. Current quantum software stacks follow a layered approach similar to the stack of classical computers, which was designed to manage the complexity. In this review, we point out that greater efficiency of QC systems can be achieved by breaking the abstractions between these layers. We review several works along this line, including two hardware-aware compilation optimizations that break the quantum instruction set architecture (ISA) abstraction and two error-correction/information-processing schemes that break the qubit abstraction. Last, we discuss several possible future directions.