Quantum network coding has been proposed to improve resource utilization to support distributed computation but has not yet been put in to practice. We investigate a particular implementation of quantum network coding using measurement-based quantum computation on IBM Q processors. We compare the performance of quantum network coding with entanglement swapping and entanglement distribution via linear cluster states. These protocols outperform quantum network coding in terms of the final Bell pair fidelities but are unsuitable for optimal resource utilization in complex networks with contention present. We demonstrate the suitability of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices such as IBM Q for the study of quantum networks. We also identify the factors that limit the performance of quantum network coding on these processors and provide estimates or error rates required to boost the final Bell pair fidelities to a point where they can be used for generation of genuinely random cryptographic keys among other useful tasks. Surprisingly, the required error rates are only around a factor of 2 smaller than the current status and we expect they will be achieved in the near future.
Based on the connection between the categorical derivation of classical programs from specifications and the category-theoretic approach to quantum physics, this paper contributes to extending the laws of classical program algebra to quantum programming. This aims at building correct-by-construction quantum circuits to be deployed on quantum devices such as those available at the IBM Q Experience. Quantum circuit reversibility is ensured by minimal complements, extended recursively. Measurements are postponed to the end of such recursive computations, termed quantamorphisms, thus maximising the quantum effect. Quantamorphisms are classical catamorphisms which, extended to ensure quantum reversibility, implement quantum cycles (vulg. for-loops) and quantum folds on lists. By Kleisli correspondence, quantamorphisms can be written as monadic functional programs with quantum parameters. This enables the use of Haskell, a monadic functional programming language, to perform the experimental work. Such calculated quantum programs prepared in Haskell are pushed through Quipper to the Qiskit interface to IBM Q quantum devices. The generated quantum circuits - often quite large - exhibit the predicted behaviour. However, running them on real quantum devices incurs into a significant amount of errors. As quantum devices are constantly evolving, an increase in reliability is likely in the near future, allowing for our programs to run more accurately.
We report the first experimental demonstration of quantum synchronization. This is achieved by performing a digital simulation of a single spin-$1$ limit-cycle oscillator on the quantum computers of the IBM Q System. Applying an external signal to the oscillator, we verify typical features of quantum synchronization and demonstrate an interference-based quantum synchronization blockade. Our results show that state-of-the-art noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers are powerful enough to implement realistic dissipative quantum systems. Finally, we discuss limitations of current quantum hardware and define requirements necessary to investigate more complex problems.
Quantum Robot is an excellent future application that can be achieved with the help of a quantum computer. As a practical example, quantum controlled Braitenberg vehicles proposed by Raghuvanshi et al. [Proceedings of the 37th International Symposium on Multiple-Valued Logic (2007)] is a mobile quantum system and hence acts as a quantum robot. Braitenberg vehicles are simple circuit robots which can experience natural behaviours like fear, aggression and love etc. These robots can be controlled by quantum circuits incorporating quantum principles such as entanglement and superposition. Complex behaviours can be mimicked by a quantum circuit that can be implemented in a quantum robot. Here we investigate the scheme of Raghuvanshi et al. and propose a new quantum circuit to make the quantum robot fly. We demonstrate one of its application in playing a game. The quantum robot we present here shows the behaviour of `fear and its movement is deterministic in nature. This phenomenon can be successfully modelled in a game, where it can always avoid accident. The proposed quantum circuit is designed in IBM quantum experience describing the above protocol.
Quantum network coding is an effective solution for alleviating bottlenecks in quantum networks. We introduce a measurement-based quantum network coding scheme for quantum repeater networks (MQNC), and analyze its behavior based on results acquired from Monte-Carlo simulation that includes various error sources over a butterfly network. By exploiting measurement-based quantum computing, operation on qubits for completing network coding proceeds in parallel. We show that such an approach offers advantages over other schemes in terms of the quantum circuit depth, and therefore improves the communication fidelity without disturbing the aggregate throughput. The circuit depth of our protocol has been reduced by 56.5% compared to the quantum network coding scheme (QNC) introduced in 2012 by Satoh, et al. For MQNC, we have found that the resulting entangled pairs joint fidelity drops below 50% when the accuracy of local operations is lower than 98.9%, assuming that all initial Bell pairs across quantum repeaters have a fixed fidelity of 98%. Overall, MQNC showed substantially higher error tolerance compared to QNC and slightly better than buffer space multiplexing using step-by-step entanglement swapping, but not quite as strong as simultaneous entanglement swapping operations.
Maximum-likelihood estimation is applied to identification of an unknown quantum mechanical process represented by a ``black box. In contrast to linear reconstruction schemes the proposed approach always yields physically sensible results. Its feasibility is demonstrated using the Monte Carlo simulations for the two-level system (single qubit).