CAREER: FET: A Top-down Compilation Infrastructure for Optimization and Debugging in the Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) era

该项目制定了一个全面的研究议程，重点是建设一个自上而下的量子计算编译基础设施。它将开发理论和实践方法，以实现高级算法优化、低级别脉冲优化以及整个系统的调试和分析。编译堆栈将有助于在近期量子设备上自动进行资源高效型量子算法设计和高保真程序执行。它将有利于量子化学和组合优化等重大量子计算应用，并有助于美国在量子信息科学和技术方面的领先地位。研究成果将通过开源软件包、主要会议和期刊上的出版物、教学研讨会上的教程以及专门的K-12项目广泛传播，这些项目旨在让年轻一代接触到量子信息研究的前沿。该项目将整合经典计算领域的方法，如代码生成和优化、编程语言设计和实现以及编译技术，以应对量子编程、优化和调试方面的独特研究挑战。具体目标包括1)语言和自动调谐编译器，用于自动化量子计算领域的资源高效算法开发；2)脉冲级编译基础设施，用于利用脉冲变化和调度的丰富自由度，以实现更有效的优化和误差缓解；3)通过基于系统投影的运行时断言和不变量生成，为量子编程提供高级测试和调试支持。这项研究议程的成功将使软件堆栈更加完整和高效，以提高在近期设备上支持端到端量子应用的可行性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project sets a comprehensive research agenda focusing on the construction of a top-down compilation infrastructure for quantum computing. It will develop theoretical and practical methodologies for enabling high-level algorithmic optimization, low-level pulse optimizations, as well as whole-system debugging and analysis. The compilation stack would facilitate automatic resource-efficient quantum algorithm designs and high-fidelity program executions on near-term quantum devices. It will benefit major quantum computing applications such as quantum chemistry and combinatorial optimization and contribute to the leadership of the United States in quantum information science and technology. The research findings will be widely disseminated through open-source software packages, publications in premier conferences and journals, tutorials at teaching workshops, as well as specialized K-12 programs for exposing the young generation to the frontiers of quantum information research.The project will integrate methods from the classical computing fields such as code generation and optimization, programming language design and implementation, and compilation techniques, to address the unique research challenges in quantum programming, optimization, and debugging. Specific targets include 1) A language and an autotuning compiler to automate resource-efficient algorithm development in the quantum computing domain; 2) A pulse-level compilation infrastructure to exploit the abundant freedom in pulse variation and scheduling towards more effective optimization and error mitigation; 3) Advanced testing and debugging support via systematic projection-based runtime assertion and invariant generation for quantum programming. The success of this research agenda will enable a more complete and efficient software stack for improving the feasibility of supporting end-to-end quantum applications on near-term devices.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.