PhD Proposal: Program Synthesis for Quantum Applications

Quantum Computing leverages the quantum properties of subatomic matter to enable algorithms faster than those possible on a regular computer. Quantum Computers have becomeincreasingly practical in recent years, with some small-scale machines available forpublic use. However, quantum programs are notoriously difficult to code and verify due to the unintuitive quantum knowledge associated with quantum programming. Automated tools that relieve the tedium and errors associated with low-level quantum details are highly desirable.My research focuses on developing theoretical and practical tools to automatedly synthesize desired quantum programs in the different quantum application domains. I first present QSynth, a quantumprogram synthesis framework that initiates the study of program synthesis for unitary quantum programs. Then I present MQCC, the first general-purpose quantum meta-programming framework which helps programmers balance trade-offs among a large number of factors specific to the targeted application and quantum hardware. I also present ongoing projects for synthesizing quantum error correction code with a low probability of an undetected error and synthesizing Variational Quantum Eigensolvers Ansatz with high trainability.

Examining Committee

Chair:

Dr. Xiaodi Wu

Department Representative:

Dr. Rance Cleaveland

Members:

Dr. David Van Horn