Cited by 386Quantum Computing Algorithms and ArchitectureQuantum many-body systemsQuantum Information and Cryptography

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 71 of the 71 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 1 of the 18 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

A generative modeling approach for benchmarking and training shallow quantum circuits

Open access
Benedetti, Marcello, Garcia-Pintos, Delfina, Perdomo, Oscar, Leyton-Ortega, Vicente, Nam, Yunseong, Perdomo-Ortiz, Alejandro·2019·npj Quantum Information

Abstract

Hybrid quantum-classical algorithms provide ways to use noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers for practical applications. Expanding the portfolio of such techniques, we propose a quantum circuit learning algorithm that can be used to assist the characterization of quantum devices and to train shallow circuits for generative tasks. The procedure leverages quantum hardware capabilities to its fullest extent by using native gates and their qubit connectivity. We demonstrate that our approach can learn an optimal preparation of the Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, also known as “cat states”. We further demonstrate that our approach can efficiently prepare approximate representations of coherent thermal states, wave functions that encode Boltzmann probabilities in their amplitudes. Finally, complementing proposals to characterize the power or usefulness of near-term quantum devices, such as IBM’s quantum volume, we provide a new hardware-independent metric called the qBAS score. It is based on the performance yield in a specific sampling task on one of the canonical machine learning data sets known as Bars and Stripes. We show how entanglement is a key ingredient in encoding the patterns of this data set; an ideal benchmark for testing hardware starting at four qubits and up. We provide experimental results and evaluation of this metric to probe the trade off between several architectural circuit designs and circuit depths on an ion-trap quantum computer.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper proposes data-driven quantum circuit learning (DDQCL), a hybrid quantum-classical generative modeling framework that uses Born-rule probabilities from shallow quantum circuits and introduces the qBAS score for benchmarking NISQ/hybrid systems. It demonstrates learning GHZ/cat-state preparations, coherent thermal states, and Bars-and-Stripes patterns in simulations and on an ion-trap quantum computer.

Key findings

  • DDQCL learned GHZ-like state preparation recipes from classical samples: 3- and 5-qubit instances yielded one recipe, while 4- and 6-qubit instances yielded another; parameters converged close to π/2, and the recipes generalized to larger odd and even qubit numbers.
  • For coherent thermal states with N = 5 qubits, deeper circuits (L = 3) consistently outperformed shallower circuits (L = 2 and L = 1) as the task became harder by lowering temperature from 2T_c to T_c to T_c/1.5; the inverse Bethe approximation performed extremely well in the easy task, matched L = 3 in the intermediate task, and underperformed in the difficult task.
  • For BAS(2, 2), the minimum entanglement entropy of any state encoding the data set is S_BAS(2,2) = 1.25163 and the maximum is S_BAS(2,2) = 1.79248; DDQCL found a representation with S_BAS(2,2) = 1.69989. All-to-all topology outperformed sparse topologies, and qBAS(2, 2) was computed with N_reads = 15 samples.
  • The qBAS score is an F1-based, hardware-independent metric on Bars and Stripes; example readout requirements include N_reads = 15 for (2, 2), 120 for (4, 4), and 16,780 for (10, 10).

Methods

  • DDQCL maps binary data vectors to computational-basis states of an N-qubit circuit. The circuit uses alternating layers of arbitrary single-qubit rotations and Mølmer-Sørensen XX entangling gates; Born’s rule gives P_θ(x) = |⟨x|ψ(θ)⟩|². Training minimizes a clipped negative log-likelihood C_nll(θ) = −(1/D) Σ ln(max(ε, P_θ(x^(d)))) using gradient-free particle swarm optimization, with 1000 measurements per estimation.
  • Data sets are synthetic: zero-temperature ferromagnet/GHZ, random thermal Boltzmann distributions with N = 5 qubits (and N = 6 in supplementary), and BAS(2, 2). Numerical experiments use 1000 data points sampled exactly from these distributions, 25 random initializations, and bootstrapping for error bars. Simulations used QuTiP2; experiments ran on an ion-trap quantum computer at the University of Maryland.
  • The qBAS(n, m) score is the harmonic mean of precision and recall on BAS patterns, with N_reads = N_BAS(n,m) H_{N_BAS(n,m)}. The paper compares all-to-all, chain, and star entangling topologies and different layer counts.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the negative log-likelihood cost becomes expensive to estimate as system size increases, that alternative cost functions are only preliminary, that optimizing N_reads is left for future work, and that KL divergence may become undefined for large n × m. It also notes simulations assumed noiseless hardware, deeper circuits did not always improve performance due to optimization/local optima, and the experimental L = 4 improvement was smaller than theoretical because the quantum computer accumulated errors in the deeper circuit.
  • Evident from the text: experimental validation is limited to small instances—GHZ training up to 6 qubits, thermal states at N = 5, and BAS(2, 2) on 4 qubits—and qBAS experiments were performed on a single ion-trap device. The GHZ recipe extraction also relied on human expert inspection and rounding of learned parameters.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1038/s41534-019-0157-8

Cites

71 of 71 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

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Verification

Claims the paper makes

41 Own interpretation · 23 Own result · 12 No basis given · 10 Not checked yet · 1 Supported so far

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Show all 40 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 32
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 20
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 2
47 of 47
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    The data vectors in the data set D are independent and identically distributed random vectors.

    “The data set D ¼ ðx ð1Þ ; ; x ðDÞ Þ is a collection of D independent and identically distributed random vectors.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For setting N_reads, the model distribution is equal to the target distribution P_BAS(n,m).

    “Assuming a perfect model distribution P BAS(n,m) = 1/ N BAS(n,m) , the expected number of measurements to obtain a value of r = 1.0 can be estimated using the famous coupon collector's problem.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    For simulations in silico, perfect gate fidelities and error-free measurements are assumed.

    “For the simulations in silico, we also assume perfect gate fidelities and error-free measurements.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    In the current ion trap experimental setup, arbitrary single-qubit rotations and Mølmer-Sørensen XX entangling gates involving any two qubits can be performed.

    “In the current experimental setup, we can perform arbitrary single qubit rotations and Mølmer-Sørensen XX entangling gates involving any two qubits.”
4 of 4

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Citations

Cites

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Monz, T. et al. 14-qubit entanglement: creation and coherence. Phys. Rev. Lett. 106, 130506 (2011). · DOI · Paper page

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Metadata

Authors
Benedetti, M., Garcia-Pintos, D., Perdomo, O., Leyton-Ortega, V., Nam, Y., & Perdomo-Ortiz, A.
Affiliations
  • Cambridge Quantum Computing (United Kingdom) (GB)
  • Central Connecticut State University (US)
  • IonQ (United States) (US)
Venue
npj Quantum Information
Published
2019-05-27
Volume
5
Issue
1
ISSN
2056-6387 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2784994528
Cited by
379
References
71
Citations by year
2026: 42 · 2025: 75 · 2024: 55 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 65 · 2020: 29 · 2019: 12
FWCI
16.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • npj Quantum Information (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • arXiv (Cornell University) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
  • arXiv (Cornell University)
Funders
  • RCUK | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
  • Cambridge Quantum Computing Limited
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum many-body systems
  • Physical Sciences › Physics and Astronomy › Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics › Quantum Information and Cryptography
Keywords
quantum circuit learning, shallow quantum circuits, generative models, hybrid quantum-classical algorithms, quantum device characterization, GHZ states, Schrödinger cat states, thermal states, quantum volume, entanglement, ion trap quantum computer, qubit connectivity, benchmarking

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