SBIR Phase I: End-to-End Compilation of Quantum Applications

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的广泛影响与美国国家优先事项相关。例如，量子计算的潜在应用包括与国防相关的任务，如飞机和飞行机动识别。其他有前途的量子应用普遍存在于物流问题中，并可能影响美国制造业的竞争力。此外，量子计算的长期前景，如更好的肥料生产，将大大减少全球能源支出。从所建议的端到端编译技术中获得的效率将解决这些目标。这项研究资助的科学进步将使量子计算能够应用于比以前想象的更广泛的问题。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目具有加速实际量子计算时间表的智力价值。通过跨越整个量子堆栈的跨层优化实现显著的效率提升，实际应用将比其他方式更快地可执行。第一阶段的研究将验证三种提出的量子技术优于当前量子研究中发现的最先进技术。这项工作将促进对近期量子计算的最终潜力和限制的理解。迄今为止，对于非纠错量子计算机是否会超越经典计算机，还没有达成共识。为了解决这个首要的研究问题，拟议的研发将承担端到端编译的技术挑战，这将使量子应用的执行适合底层硬件。这需要避开传统的抽象障碍，这些障碍很方便，但会因间接而导致效率损失。相反，提议的工作将采取尽可能直接的路径，从最终用户应用程序到底层量子硬件。这样做将揭示噪声量子计算机的基本能力。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is relevant to US national priorities. For example, potential applications of quantum computing include defense-related tasks such as aircraft and flight maneuver identification. Other promising quantum applications are prevalent in logistics problems and can impact American competitiveness in manufacturing. In addition, longer term horizons of quantum computing such as better fertilizer production would dramatically reduce global energy expenditures. The efficiency gains from the proposed end-to-end compilation techniques will address these objectives. The scientific advances funded by this research will enable quantum computing to be applied to a wider range of problems than previously envisioned.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project has the intellectual merit of accelerating the timeline for practical quantum computing. By achieving significant efficiency gains from cross-layer optimization spanning the full quantum stack, practical applications will be executable sooner than otherwise possible. The Phase I research will validate that three proposed quantum techniques outperform the state-of-art found in prevailing quantum research. This work will advance understanding of the ultimate potential and limits of near-term quantum computing. To date, there is still no consensus whether non-error-corrected quantum computers will ever outperform classical computers. To address this overarching research question, the proposed R&D will undertake the technical challenge of end-to-end compilation, which tailors execution of quantum applications to the underlying hardware. This requires eschewing traditional abstraction barriers which are convenient but incur efficiency losses due to indirection. Instead, the proposed work will take as direct a path as possible from the end-user application down to the underlying quantum hardware. Doing so will reveal the fundamental capacity of noisy quantum computers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.