Jiayin Chen

Identifying and calibrating quantitative dynamical models for physical quantum systems is important for a variety of applications. Here we present a closed-loop Bayesian learning algorithm for estimating multiple unknown parameters in a dynamical model, using optimised experimental "probe" controls and measurement. The estimation algorithm is based on a Bayesian particle filter, and is designed to autonomously choose informationally-optimised probe experiments with which to compare to model predictions. We demonstrate the performance of the algorithm in both simulated calibration tasks and in an experimental single-qubit ion-trap system. Experimentally, we find that with 60x fewer samples, we exceed the precision of conventional calibration methods, delivering an approximately 93x improvement in efficiency (as quantified by the reduction of measurements required to achieve a target residual uncertainty and multiplied by the increase in accuracy). In simulated and experimental demonstrations, we see that successively longer pulses are selected as the posterior uncertainty iteratively decreases, leading to an exponential improvement in the accuracy of model parameters with the number of experimental queries.

Manipulating quantum computing hardware in the presence of imperfect devices and control systems is a central challenge in realizing useful quantum computers. Susceptibility to noise limits the performance and capabilities of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices, as well as any future quantum computing technologies. Fortunately quantum control enables efficient execution of quantum logic operations and algorithms with built-in robustness to errors, without the need for complex logical encoding. In this manuscript we introduce software tools for the application and integration of quantum control in quantum computing research, serving the needs of hardware R&D teams, algorithm developers, and end users. We provide an overview of a set of python-based classical software tools for creating and deploying optimized quantum control solutions at various layers of the quantum computing software stack. We describe a software architecture leveraging both high-performance distributed cloud computation and local custom integration into hardware systems, and explain how key functionality is integrable with other software packages and quantum programming languages. Our presentation includes a detailed mathematical overview of central product features including a flexible optimization toolkit, filter functions for analyzing noise susceptibility in high-dimensional Hilbert spaces, and new approaches to noise and hardware characterization. Pseudocode is presented in order to elucidate common programming workflows for these tasks, and performance benchmarking is reported for numerically intensive tasks, highlighting the benefits of the selected cloud-compute architecture. Finally, we present a series of case studies demonstrating the application of quantum control solutions using these tools in real experimental settings for both trapped-ion and superconducting quantum computer hardware.