Date of Submission

Spring 2023

Academic Program

Computer Science; Physics

Project Advisor 1

Paul Cadden-Zimansky

Project Advisor 2

Sven Anderson

Abstract/Artist's Statement

This thesis introduces the quantum compilation problem and develops a prototypical compiler. The problem of quantum compiling is, in essence, converting high-level human expressions of quantum programs into low-level hardware executable code. Compilers that target different hardware platforms enable portable code that can be used to benchmark hardware performance, reduce programming work and speed up development. Because quantum systems are subjected to phenomena such as noise, no-cloning and decoherence, the challenge of quantum compiling is tied to the optimization of program runtimes and the lengths of compiled sequences. For near-term intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) computers with limited hardware resources and without error correction, a well-designed compiler that optimizes hardware usage and circuit fidelity is necessary to running applications and tests. To give an introduction to the problem of quantum compiling, this thesis reviews the universality proof for quantum computation and the Solovay-Kitaev theorem, which are both foundational to the topic. A compilation scheme with two components, one following the universality proof and one inspired by the Solovay-Kitaev theorem, is implemented to demonstrate an approach that solves the quantum compiling problem. Finally, I survey state-of-the-art compilation techniques and discuss how to extend this thesis toward building a practical compiler that will be a part of the broader software stack.

Open Access Agreement

Open Access

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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