Reference
Quantum computing glossary
Plain-English definitions, alphabetical, with the subject each term belongs to. Search covers definitions and alternative names, so "Born's rule" finds the same entry as "Born rule".
- Terms defined
- 241
- Subjects
- 7
- Letters in use
- 24
- With aliases
- 134
Showing all 241 terms
A
- Adiabatic Quantum Computing also AQC, quantum annealing (ideal) A model of quantum computing that encodes a problem in a Hamiltonian and slowly evolves the system so it stays in its ground state, arriving at the solution. Algorithms
- Adiabatic Theorem The adiabatic theorem states that a quantum system remains in its ground state if a Hamiltonian is changed slowly enough, forming the physical basis for adiabatic quantum computing and quantum annealing. Algorithms
- Amplitude Amplification A generalization of Grover's algorithm that quadratically boosts the amplitude of a marked state within any quantum algorithm, providing a quadratic speedup for a broad class of decision and search problems. Algorithms
- Ancilla Factory also magic state factory, T factory A dedicated region of a fault-tolerant quantum processor that continuously produces high-fidelity magic states or prepared ancilla qubits consumed by the logical computation. Error Correction
- Ancilla Qubit also ancilla, auxiliary qubit An auxiliary qubit used in a quantum circuit as a workspace for intermediate computations, syndrome measurement, or scratch space, typically initialized to |0⟩ and reset or discarded after use. Fundamentals
B
- Barren Plateau also gradient vanishing in quantum circuits, exponentially vanishing gradients A barren plateau is a phenomenon in variational quantum algorithms where gradients of the cost function vanish exponentially with system size, making optimization with gradient-based methods infeasible. Algorithms
- Bell Basis Measurement also Bell-state measurement, Bell-state analysis A Bell basis measurement projects two qubits onto one of the four maximally entangled Bell states, enabling quantum teleportation, entanglement swapping, and superdense coding. Quantum Internet
- Bell Inequality also CHSH inequality, Bell test A mathematical constraint on the correlations between measurements of two separated particles that any local hidden variable theory must satisfy, which quantum mechanics provably violates, confirming that quantum entanglement is a genuine non-classical phenomenon. Fundamentals
- Bell Pair also EPR pair, entangled pair A maximally entangled two-qubit state shared between two parties, serving as the fundamental resource for quantum teleportation, entanglement-based cryptography, and quantum networking. Quantum Internet
- Bell State also EPR pair, Bell pair One of four maximally entangled two-qubit states, the simplest and most important examples of quantum entanglement. Fundamentals
- Bernstein-Vazirani Algorithm also BV algorithm The Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm finds a hidden bit string in a single quantum query using superposition and interference, providing an exponential speedup over classical algorithms for this specific oracle problem. Algorithms
- Blind Quantum Computing A protocol that allows a client with minimal quantum capabilities to delegate a quantum computation to a powerful server while keeping the computation, its inputs, and its outputs completely hidden from the server. Fundamentals
- Bloch Sphere A geometric representation of a single qubit's state as a point on the surface of a unit sphere, used to visualise quantum gates as rotations. Mathematics
- Born Machine A Born machine is a generative quantum model where the output probability distribution is defined by the Born rule (probability proportional to squared amplitude), enabling quantum-native generative modeling for tasks like drug discovery and financial simulation. Algorithms
- Born Rule also Born's rule The rule that the probability of obtaining a measurement outcome equals the squared modulus of the corresponding probability amplitude, the fundamental bridge between quantum states and observable reality. Mathematics
- Boson Sampling A computational task of sampling from the output photon distribution of a linear optical network fed with single photons, believed to be classically intractable at scale. Algorithms
- Bosonic Code A bosonic code encodes a logical qubit into the infinite-dimensional Hilbert space of a quantum harmonic oscillator, enabling hardware-efficient error correction using fewer physical components than qubit arrays. Error Correction
- BQP (Bounded-Error Quantum Polynomial Time) BQP is the complexity class of decision problems solvable by a quantum computer in polynomial time with a probability of error at most 1/3 on any input. Algorithms
- Bra-Ket Notation also Dirac notation Bra-ket notation (Dirac notation) is a standard mathematical notation for quantum states where ket |psi> represents a column vector state, bra <psi| its conjugate transpose, and their product <phi|psi> the inner product. Mathematics
C
- Cat Qubit also bosonic cat qubit A cat qubit is a superconducting qubit whose logical states are superpositions of coherent states in a microwave cavity, providing inherent bias-preserving protection against bit-flip errors while remaining susceptible to phase-flip errors. Hardware
- Circuit Cutting also circuit knitting, quasiprobability decomposition Circuit cutting is a technique to simulate large quantum circuits on smaller quantum hardware by cutting the circuit into subcircuits and reconstructing the full result with classical post-processing, at the cost of exponential classical overhead in the number of cuts. Algorithms
- Circuit Depth The number of sequential time steps (layers of gates) required to execute a quantum circuit, where gates acting on disjoint qubits in the same step count as one layer. Fundamentals
- Clifford Circuit A quantum circuit composed entirely of Clifford gates (H, S, CNOT) which can be simulated efficiently on a classical computer despite appearing quantum. Mathematics
- Clifford Group The group of quantum gates that map Pauli operators to Pauli operators under conjugation, efficiently simulable classically by the Gottesman-Knill theorem but insufficient for universal quantum computation. Mathematics
- CLOPS (Circuit Layer Operations Per Second) also circuit layer operations per second CLOPS is a quantum computing throughput metric measuring how many layers of quantum circuit operations a quantum processor can execute per second, complementing quantum volume as a hardware performance benchmark. Hardware
- CNOT Gate also controlled-NOT gate, CX gate A two-qubit gate that flips the target qubit if and only if the control qubit is |1⟩, essential for creating entanglement and universal quantum computation. Fundamentals
- Coherence Time also T1, T2 The duration over which a qubit maintains its quantum properties, longer coherence times allow deeper quantum circuits and more reliable computation. Hardware
- Coined Quantum Walk also discrete-time quantum walk, DTQW A discrete-time quantum walk on a graph that uses an internal coin degree of freedom to create superpositions of movement directions, spreading quadratically faster than classical random walks. Algorithms
- Commutator The operator [A, B] = AB - BA, which measures the extent to which two quantum operators fail to commute; zero commutator means the operators share a common eigenbasis and can be measured simultaneously. Mathematics
- Continuous-Variable Quantum Computing A model of quantum computation that encodes information in the continuous degrees of freedom of quantum harmonic oscillators rather than in discrete two-level qubits. Fundamentals
- Controlled Unitary Gate also CU gate A controlled unitary is a quantum gate that applies a unitary operation U to a target qubit only when a control qubit is in state |1>, generalizing the CNOT gate to arbitrary unitaries and enabling phase kickback, quantum phase estimation, and Grover oracles. Fundamentals
- CPTP Map also quantum channel, quantum operation A Completely Positive Trace-Preserving map: the most general mathematical description of any physically allowed quantum operation, including unitary gates, noise, and measurement. Fundamentals
- Cross-Entropy Benchmarking also XEB, linear cross-entropy benchmarking A method for verifying quantum circuit execution by comparing the measured output distribution against the classically computed ideal distribution using the linear cross-entropy fidelity metric. Fundamentals
- Crosstalk Crosstalk in quantum computing refers to unwanted interactions between neighboring qubits during gate operations, causing errors in non-targeted qubits and limiting the scalability of quantum processors. Hardware
- CZ Gate also controlled-Z gate, controlled-phase gate A symmetric two-qubit gate that applies a phase flip (Z gate) to the target qubit if and only if both qubits are in the |1> state, native to several superconducting and neutral atom platforms. Fundamentals
D
- Data Encoding also quantum feature map, state preparation Data encoding (or quantum feature maps) refers to the methods used to embed classical data into quantum states, a critical step in quantum machine learning that determines what patterns a quantum model can represent. Algorithms
- Decoherence also quantum decoherence The loss of quantum behaviour in a qubit due to unwanted interaction with its environment, causing superposition and entanglement to break down. Hardware
- Density Matrix also density operator, state operator A mathematical representation of a quantum state that captures both pure states and statistical mixtures, described by a Hermitian, positive semi-definite matrix with unit trace that generalizes the state vector to noisy and entangled systems. Mathematics
- Depolarizing Channel A noise model where a qubit experiences an X, Y, or Z Pauli error each with probability p/3, making it the most common symmetric noise model used for benchmarking quantum devices. Error Correction
- Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm also Deutsch-Jozsa problem A quantum algorithm that determines whether a Boolean function is constant or balanced using a single query, exponentially faster than any deterministic classical algorithm. Algorithms
- Diamond NV Center (Nitrogen-Vacancy Center) An NV center is a point defect in diamond where a nitrogen atom and an adjacent vacancy create a spin qubit that can be operated at room temperature, used for quantum sensing, quantum networking, and small-scale quantum computing. Hardware
- Dilithium (ML-DSA) also CRYSTALS-Dilithium, ML-DSA A lattice-based digital signature scheme standardized as FIPS 204, serving as the primary post-quantum replacement for RSA and ECDSA signatures. Cryptography
- Dynamical Decoupling also DD, pulse refocusing Dynamical decoupling is an open-loop quantum control technique that suppresses decoherence by applying sequences of pulses to a qubit, effectively averaging out environmental noise. Error Correction
E
- Eigenvalue and Eigenvector For a linear operator A, an eigenvector |v⟩ satisfies A|v⟩ = λ|v⟩ where λ is the eigenvalue, representing states that are unchanged in direction by the operator, crucial in quantum mechanics where observables are Hermitian operators whose eigenvalues are measurement outcomes. Mathematics
- Entanglement also quantum entanglement A quantum correlation between two or more qubits such that the state of each cannot be described independently, measuring one instantly determines information about the others. Fundamentals
- Entanglement Distillation also entanglement purification A protocol that extracts high-fidelity entangled pairs from a larger supply of noisy entangled pairs using only local operations and classical communication, enabling long-distance quantum communication. Quantum Internet
- Entanglement Entropy also bipartite entanglement entropy, von Neumann entanglement entropy Entanglement entropy quantifies the degree of quantum entanglement between two parts of a quantum system by measuring the von Neumann entropy of the reduced density matrix of one subsystem. Mathematics
- Entanglement Swapping also teleportation of entanglement A protocol that creates entanglement between two particles that have never interacted, by performing a joint measurement on two intermediary particles that are each entangled with one of the target particles. Quantum Internet
- Exchange Interaction The exchange interaction is a quantum mechanical effect arising from the Pauli exclusion principle that causes two neighboring electrons in quantum dot qubits to interact, enabling two-qubit gates through electrostatic control of the tunnel barrier between dots. Hardware
- Expectation Value The average value of a quantum observable over many measurements, computed as the inner product of the quantum state with the observable applied to that state. Mathematics
F
- FALCON (FN-DSA) also FN-DSA, FIPS 206 A lattice-based digital signature scheme selected by NIST for standardization as FIPS 206 (still in draft), using NTRU lattices to produce the most compact post-quantum signatures among the NIST selections. Cryptography
- Fault-Tolerance Threshold also error threshold, accuracy threshold The fault-tolerance threshold is the maximum physical error rate below which a quantum error-correcting code can suppress logical errors arbitrarily by increasing the number of physical qubits per logical qubit. Error Correction
- Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing also FTQC Quantum computation using error-corrected logical qubits that can run arbitrarily long algorithms despite imperfect physical hardware. Error Correction
- Flag Qubit also flag ancilla A flag qubit is an ancilla qubit added to a fault-tolerant syndrome measurement circuit that signals when a high-weight error has propagated through the circuit, enabling efficient fault-tolerant operation with fewer qubits than full ancilla parallelization. Error Correction
- Flux Qubit also persistent-current qubit A superconducting qubit that encodes quantum information in the direction of persistent current flowing through a superconducting loop interrupted by Josephson junctions. Hardware
G
- Gate Fidelity A measure of how accurately a quantum gate is implemented in hardware, expressed as the overlap between the ideal and actual operations, where 1.0 is perfect and values below 0.99 are generally considered poor for fault-tolerant computing. Hardware
- Global Phase A complex scalar factor e^(i*phi) multiplying an entire quantum state, which has no observable physical consequences and cannot be detected by any measurement. Mathematics
- Grover Diffusion Operator also inversion about the mean, Grover diffuser The Grover diffusion operator amplifies the probability amplitude of the marked state in Grover's search algorithm by reflecting all amplitudes about their average value. Algorithms
- Grover's Algorithm also Grover's search A quantum search algorithm that finds a marked item in an unsorted database of N items in O(√N) queries, a quadratic speedup over any classical algorithm. Algorithms
H
- Hadamard Gate also H gate A single-qubit gate that creates an equal superposition of |0⟩ and |1⟩, one of the most fundamental operations in quantum computing. Fundamentals
- Hadamard Test A quantum circuit that estimates the real or imaginary part of the expectation value of a unitary operator by using an ancilla qubit and controlled operations. Algorithms
- Hamiltonian Simulation The task of approximating the time evolution operator e^{-iHt} of a quantum system's Hamiltonian using quantum circuits. Algorithms
- Hermitian Operator also self-adjoint operator, observable A linear operator equal to its own conjugate transpose, guaranteeing real eigenvalues and forming the mathematical representation of all physical observables in quantum mechanics. Mathematics
- HHL Algorithm (Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd) The HHL algorithm solves sparse linear systems Ax=b exponentially faster than classical methods under specific conditions, with applications in machine learning, fluid dynamics, and financial modeling. Algorithms
- Hilbert Space A Hilbert space is a complete inner product space that provides the mathematical framework for quantum mechanics, where quantum states are represented as vectors and observables as operators. Mathematics
- Holevo Bound The Holevo bound limits the amount of classical information that can be reliably extracted from a quantum state: at most n bits from n qubits, regardless of how many measurements are performed, establishing a fundamental limit on quantum communication capacity. Mathematics
I
- Ising Model also Ising Hamiltonian, transverse-field Ising model The Ising model is a mathematical model of ferromagnetism in statistical mechanics, describing interacting binary spins on a lattice, and is directly simulated by quantum annealing hardware and neutral atom quantum computers. Fundamentals
- iSWAP Gate A two-qubit entangling gate that swaps the states of two qubits while applying a phase of i to the swapped components, native to several superconducting qubit platforms. Fundamentals
J
- Jordan-Wigner Transformation also JW transformation, Jordan-Wigner mapping The Jordan-Wigner transformation maps fermionic creation and annihilation operators to qubit Pauli operators, enabling quantum computers to simulate fermionic systems such as molecular electronic structure. Algorithms
- Josephson Junction A Josephson junction is a thin insulating barrier sandwiched between two superconductors that allows Cooper pairs to tunnel through, creating a nonlinear inductance that is the essential component of superconducting qubits such as the transmon. Hardware
K
L
- Lattice Surgery A fault-tolerant technique for performing logical gates on surface code qubits by merging and splitting adjacent patches of code, avoiding the overhead of transversal gates for many operations. Error Correction
- Lattice-Based Cryptography A family of cryptographic schemes whose security relies on the hardness of mathematical lattice problems, forming the foundation of most NIST post-quantum cryptography standards. Cryptography
- Leakage Error also leakage, state leakage Leakage is a quantum error in which a qubit leaves its computational subspace (the 0 and 1 levels) and occupies a higher energy state of the physical system. Error Correction
- Logical Error Rate The probability that an error-corrected logical qubit experiences an undetectable error per round of error correction, the key metric for evaluating quantum error correction performance. Error Correction
- Logical Qubit An error-protected qubit encoded across many physical qubits, capable of surviving long computations, the unit of quantum computing in a fault-tolerant machine. Error Correction
M
- Magic State also resource state, ancilla magic state A magic state is a specific non-stabilizer quantum state used in fault-tolerant quantum computing to implement non-Clifford gates such as the T gate through a process called magic state distillation. Error Correction
- Magic State Distillation A fault-tolerant protocol that produces high-fidelity non-Clifford resource states from many noisy copies, enabling the implementation of T gates in error-corrected quantum computation. Error Correction
- Measurement also quantum measurement, wave function collapse The act of observing a qubit's state, which collapses its superposition to a definite 0 or 1 with probabilities determined by its amplitudes. Fundamentals
- Measurement Basis The choice of observable used to measure a qubit, which determines which orthogonal states the qubit collapses to; different bases reveal different aspects of the quantum state. Fundamentals
- Measurement-Based Quantum Computing (MBQC) also one-way quantum computing, cluster state computation Measurement-based quantum computing performs universal quantum computation by preparing a large entangled resource state (cluster state) and then adaptively measuring individual qubits, with each measurement's basis determined by prior measurement outcomes. Fundamentals
- Mid-Circuit Measurement also mid-circuit measurement and reset, MCMR A mid-circuit measurement is a quantum measurement applied to one or more qubits during a quantum circuit without terminating the computation, enabling dynamic circuits and real-time classical feedback. Hardware
- Minimum Weight Perfect Matching also MWPM, blossom decoder A graph algorithm used as the standard decoder for surface codes, pairing error syndrome defects in a way that minimizes the total estimated error weight. Error Correction
N
- Native Gate Set also basis gates, hardware gate set The set of quantum gates that a hardware backend can physically implement, to which all abstract gates must be decomposed before execution. Hardware
- Neutral Atom Qubit A qubit encoded in the hyperfine or optical electronic states of a neutral atom held in place by a focused laser beam, with two-qubit gates mediated by Rydberg state interactions. Hardware
- NISQ also Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum, NISQ era Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum, the current era of quantum computing, characterised by 50–1,000 physical qubits with no error correction and limited circuit depth. Fundamentals
- NIST Post-Quantum Cryptography Standards also NIST PQC, post-quantum standards NIST published three post-quantum cryptographic standards in August 2024 (ML-KEM, ML-DSA, SLH-DSA), with a fourth (FN-DSA) in draft, as replacements for RSA and ECC that remain secure against quantum computers running Shor's algorithm. Cryptography
- No-Cloning Theorem A fundamental theorem of quantum mechanics stating that it is impossible to create a perfect copy of an arbitrary unknown quantum state. Fundamentals
- No-Communication Theorem The no-communication theorem proves that quantum entanglement cannot be used to transmit information faster than light, preserving causality despite apparent nonlocality. Fundamentals
- Noise Model A mathematical description of the errors affecting a quantum processor, used in classical simulation to predict how hardware imperfections degrade circuit performance. Fundamentals
O
P
- Parallel Gate Execution also gate parallelism, simultaneous gate execution Parallel gate execution is the simultaneous application of quantum gates to non-interacting qubits in a single time step, reducing overall circuit depth and execution time. Fundamentals
- Parameter-Shift Rule also quantum gradient, analytic quantum gradient The parameter-shift rule is a method for computing exact gradients of quantum circuits on real hardware by evaluating the circuit at shifted parameter values, enabling gradient-based optimization of variational quantum algorithms. Algorithms
- Parametric Circuit also parameterized quantum circuit, PQC A quantum circuit containing free parameters (typically rotation angles) that can be set or optimized at runtime, forming the basis of variational quantum algorithms and quantum machine learning. Fundamentals
- Pauli Decomposition The expansion of any operator on n qubits as a linear combination of tensor products of Pauli matrices, providing a universal basis for expressing Hamiltonians and observables. Mathematics
- Pauli Gates also Pauli matrices, Pauli operators The three fundamental single-qubit quantum gates X, Y, and Z, which together with the identity form a basis for all single-qubit operators and play a central role in error models, Hamiltonian decomposition, and the Clifford group. Fundamentals
- Pauli Group The set of single-qubit Pauli matrices {I, X, Y, Z} and their products with phases {±1, ±i}, which forms a group under matrix multiplication and serves as the fundamental building block for describing quantum errors and stabilizer codes. Mathematics
- Pauli Noise Any quantum noise channel expressible as a probabilistic mixture of Pauli operators (I, X, Y, Z), encompassing bit-flip, phase-flip, and depolarizing channels, and correctable by stabilizer codes. Error Correction
- Pauli Twirling Pauli twirling is a noise tailoring technique that converts arbitrary quantum noise channels into Pauli channels by randomly applying Pauli gates before and after operations, simplifying error characterization and mitigation. Error Correction
- Phase Kickback also eigenvalue kickback, phase kick-back Phase kickback is a quantum phenomenon where applying a controlled-U gate to an eigenstate of U causes the eigenvalue phase to be transferred back to the control qubit, enabling algorithms like QPE and Grover's. Algorithms
- Photon / Photonic Qubit A photon is the quantum of electromagnetic radiation; photonic qubits encode quantum information in properties such as polarization, path, or timing, and operate at room temperature without cryogenic cooling. Hardware
- Photonic Qubit A qubit encoded in a quantum property of individual photons such as polarization, path, or time-bin, offering natural room-temperature operation, long coherence, and compatibility with optical fiber networks but facing challenges in implementing deterministic two-qubit gates. Hardware
- Physical Qubit A single hardware-level quantum bit implemented in a physical system, subject to noise and errors, as distinguished from logical qubits that are error-corrected. Hardware
- Post-Quantum Cryptography also PQC, quantum-resistant cryptography Classical cryptographic algorithms designed to resist attacks from quantum computers, standardised by NIST in 2024 as replacements for RSA and elliptic-curve cryptography. Cryptography
Q
- QAOA also Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm, Farhi-Goldstone-Gutmann algorithm The Quantum Approximate Optimisation Algorithm: a variational quantum algorithm for combinatorial optimisation that alternates cost and mixer Hamiltonians. Algorithms
- Qiskit Runtime also IBM Qiskit Runtime IBM's cloud execution environment that runs quantum-classical workloads near the quantum hardware, providing optimized primitives for sampling and expectation value estimation. Fundamentals
- QMA (Quantum Merlin-Arthur) QMA is the quantum analogue of NP: the class of decision problems for which a 'yes' answer can be verified by a polynomial-time quantum computer given a quantum witness state. Algorithms
- Quantum Advantage also quantum supremacy, quantum speedup The point at which a quantum computer solves a problem faster, cheaper, or more accurately than any classical computer, the practical goal of quantum computing. Fundamentals
- Quantum Advantage Claims also quantum supremacy, quantum computational advantage Quantum advantage claims are experimental demonstrations where a quantum device solves a specific problem faster than classical computers, though the practical relevance and classical hardness of such benchmarks remain actively debated. Fundamentals
- Quantum Advantage in Drug Discovery The potential for quantum computers to outperform classical methods in pharmaceutical applications such as molecular simulation, binding affinity prediction, and drug candidate screening. Algorithms
- Quantum Advantage in Optimization Quantum advantage in optimization refers to the ability of quantum algorithms such as QAOA, quantum annealing, and quantum branch-and-bound to find better solutions faster than classical optimization heuristics for combinatorial problems. Algorithms
- Quantum Advantage in Quantum Chemistry Quantum advantage in chemistry refers to the ability of quantum computers to simulate molecular and materials systems exponentially faster than classical computers, particularly for strongly correlated electrons beyond the reach of density functional theory or coupled-cluster methods. Algorithms
- Quantum Advantage in Sampling A demonstrated or claimed quantum speedup for the task of sampling from probability distributions that are computationally hard for classical computers to reproduce. Algorithms
- Quantum Advantage Threshold also quantum advantage crossover The quantum advantage threshold is the problem size or hardware quality at which a quantum computer outperforms the best classical algorithm for a practically useful problem on commercially available hardware. Algorithms
- Quantum Annealing also adiabatic optimization A metaheuristic optimization approach that uses quantum tunneling to find the global minimum of an objective function encoded as an Ising model or QUBO, exploiting the ability to tunnel through energy barriers that would trap classical simulated annealing. Algorithms
- Quantum Approximate Counting Quantum approximate counting estimates the number of solutions to a search problem with quadratic speedup over classical methods, using quantum amplitude estimation applied to Grover's oracle. Algorithms
- Quantum Approximate Optimization also QAO, quantum approximate optimization algorithms Quantum approximate optimization refers to variational hybrid algorithms such as QAOA that use shallow quantum circuits to find approximate solutions to combinatorial optimization problems. Algorithms
- Quantum Battery A quantum battery is a quantum system that stores energy using quantum mechanical effects such as entanglement and coherence, potentially allowing faster charging and higher energy density than classical batteries. Fundamentals
- Quantum Benchmark also quantum benchmarking, QPU benchmarking A standardized method for characterizing quantum processor performance, encompassing metrics like quantum volume, randomized benchmarking, CLOPS, and cross-entropy benchmarking. Fundamentals
- Quantum Bus A quantum bus is a physical medium that transmits quantum information between qubits, enabling two-qubit gates between non-adjacent qubits; implementations include microwave resonators (superconducting), photonic links, and phonon modes. Hardware
- Quantum Cellular Automaton (QCA) A quantum cellular automaton is a discrete model of quantum computation where qubits on a lattice evolve via local unitary rules applied simultaneously to all cells, generalizing classical cellular automata. Algorithms
- Quantum Channel also CPTP map, quantum operation A completely positive, trace-preserving (CPTP) map that describes the most general physical transformation a quantum state can undergo, encompassing unitary evolution, measurement, and noise. Mathematics
- Quantum Channel Capacity Quantum channel capacity is the maximum rate at which quantum information can be reliably transmitted through a noisy quantum channel, analogous to Shannon capacity for classical channels. Mathematics
- Quantum Chemistry Encoding (Second Quantization to Qubits) Quantum chemistry encoding transforms fermionic molecular Hamiltonians from second quantization (creation/annihilation operators) to qubit Hamiltonians via mappings like Jordan-Wigner, Bravyi-Kitaev, or parity, enabling simulation on quantum computers. Algorithms
- Quantum Circuit A model of quantum computation where qubits are initialised, transformed by a sequence of quantum gates, and finally measured to produce an output. Fundamentals
- Quantum Circuit Complexity Quantum circuit complexity measures the minimum number of elementary gates required to implement a quantum computation or prepare a quantum state, connecting quantum information theory to computational complexity and black hole physics. Mathematics
- Quantum Circuit Model also gate model quantum computing, circuit-based quantum computing The standard computational model for quantum computers in which computation proceeds by applying a sequence of quantum gates (unitary operations) to an initial state of qubits, followed by measurement, the quantum analogue of the classical circuit model. Fundamentals
- Quantum Coherence also quantum phase coherence Quantum coherence is the property of a quantum state where phase relationships between superposition components are maintained, enabling interference effects that drive quantum computation; decoherence is the loss of this property through environmental interaction. Fundamentals
- Quantum Complexity Theory The study of computational problems that quantum computers can solve efficiently, centered on the class BQP (bounded-error quantum polynomial time), which contains problems solvable by quantum computers in polynomial time with error probability at most 1/3. Algorithms
- Quantum Control Quantum control is the use of precisely shaped electromagnetic pulses or other external fields to implement quantum gate operations with high fidelity on physical qubits. Hardware
- Quantum Cryptography also quantum-safe cryptography Using quantum mechanical properties to secure communication, most notably quantum key distribution (QKD), which guarantees eavesdropping is detectable by the laws of physics. Cryptography
- Quantum Discord Quantum discord measures total quantum correlations in a bipartite system beyond entanglement, capturing non-classical correlations even in separable (unentangled) states. Mathematics
- Quantum Dot A quantum dot is a nanoscale semiconductor structure that confines electrons in all three dimensions, creating discrete energy levels; quantum dots can act as spin qubits for quantum computing or as single-photon emitters for quantum networking. Hardware
- Quantum Dot Qubit A qubit formed by confining a single electron in a nanoscale semiconductor quantum dot, where quantum information is encoded in the electron's spin state, offering potential compatibility with existing semiconductor manufacturing processes. Hardware
- Quantum Error Budget A quantum error budget is a systematic accounting of all error sources in a quantum computation (gate errors, readout errors, crosstalk, decoherence) used to predict total circuit fidelity and guide hardware improvement priorities. Error Correction
- Quantum Error Correcting Codes also QECC, quantum codes Mathematical structures that encode a logical qubit into multiple physical qubits such that errors on individual physical qubits can be detected and corrected without measuring the logical qubit's value. Error Correction
- Quantum Error Correction also QEC Techniques for protecting quantum information from decoherence and gate errors by encoding logical qubits redundantly across multiple physical qubits. Error Correction
- Quantum Error Detection Quantum error detection identifies that an error occurred without correcting it, discarding affected qubits to avoid propagating errors, as a cheaper alternative to full quantum error correction that still improves fidelity. Error Correction
- Quantum Error Mitigation Quantum error mitigation is a collection of classical post-processing techniques that reduce the effect of noise on quantum computations without encoding logical qubits, making NISQ-era results more accurate at the cost of additional circuit executions. Algorithms
- Quantum Error Rate (Gate Fidelity and Error per Gate) Quantum error rate is the probability that a quantum gate operation produces an incorrect result; current NISQ two-qubit gates achieve error rates of 0.1-1%, while fault-tolerant quantum computing requires rates below the fault-tolerance threshold of roughly 1%. Hardware
- Quantum Error Suppression also error suppression, noise suppression A collection of techniques that reduce effective error rates on quantum hardware without requiring the full overhead of quantum error correction, bridging the gap between raw NISQ execution and fault-tolerant computing. Error Correction
- Quantum Error Threshold also fault-tolerance threshold, accuracy threshold The maximum physical error rate per gate below which quantum error correction can suppress logical errors to arbitrarily low levels through increased code size. Error Correction
- Quantum Fidelity also state fidelity, quantum state overlap Quantum fidelity measures how similar two quantum states are, ranging from 0 (orthogonal states) to 1 (identical states), and is the standard metric for benchmarking quantum gates and devices. Mathematics
- Quantum Fingerprinting Quantum fingerprinting allows two parties to check if their large data strings are equal using exponentially less communication than classical protocols, by comparing quantum fingerprint states. Algorithms
- Quantum Fourier Transform also QFT The quantum analogue of the discrete Fourier transform, computed exponentially faster on a quantum computer and used as a core subroutine in Shor's algorithm and phase estimation. Algorithms
- Quantum Gate also quantum logic gate A basic operation applied to qubits that transforms their quantum state, the quantum analogue of classical logic gates, but always reversible. Fundamentals
- Quantum Homomorphic Encryption Quantum homomorphic encryption allows computation on encrypted quantum data without decrypting it, enabling private quantum cloud computing where a server processes qubits without learning the underlying quantum information. Cryptography
- Quantum Interference The phenomenon where probability amplitudes add or cancel, allowing quantum algorithms to suppress wrong answers and amplify correct ones. Fundamentals
- Quantum Intermediate Representation also QIR, quantum IR A compiler-level abstraction layer between high-level quantum programs and hardware-specific instructions, enabling optimization and portability across different quantum backends. Fundamentals
- Quantum Internet A network that transmits quantum information between nodes using entanglement and quantum communication protocols, enabling secure communication and distributed quantum computing. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Internet Protocol also quantum network protocol, entanglement protocol A standardized procedure for distributing entanglement, performing quantum teleportation, or transmitting quantum states across a network of quantum nodes, analogous to TCP/IP for classical networks but fundamentally different due to the no-cloning theorem. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Kernel A kernel function computed by a quantum circuit that maps classical data to a quantum feature space, used to power kernel-based machine learning algorithms such as support vector machines. Algorithms
- Quantum Key Agreement Quantum key agreement (QKA) is a protocol where two parties jointly establish a shared secret key using quantum communication, ensuring neither party alone determines the final key, unlike QKD where one party typically generates and distributes the key. Cryptography
- Quantum Key Distribution also QKD A cryptographic protocol using quantum mechanics to distribute encryption keys with security guaranteed by physics, any eavesdropping attempt is detectable. Cryptography
- Quantum Machine Learning Advantage also QML advantage, quantum learning advantage Quantum machine learning advantage is the potential for quantum algorithms to outperform classical machine learning methods on specific tasks by exploiting quantum data encoding, superposition, or entanglement. Algorithms
- Quantum Many-Body Problem The quantum many-body problem refers to the challenge of computing the properties of quantum systems with many interacting particles, which is exponentially hard classically and a primary motivation for quantum simulation. Algorithms
- Quantum Memory A device that stores and retrieves quantum states (qubits) on demand, enabling synchronization of entanglement distribution across quantum networks and buffering quantum information during computation. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Memory Lifetime also memory coherence time, storage lifetime Quantum memory lifetime is the duration over which a quantum system maintains its stored quantum state before decoherence or other noise processes destroy the information. Hardware
- Quantum Monte Carlo also QMC, quantum amplitude Monte Carlo Quantum Monte Carlo refers to quantum algorithms that accelerate Monte Carlo sampling via quantum amplitude estimation, providing quadratic speedup for estimating expectation values and probabilities used in finance, physics, and risk analysis. Algorithms
- Quantum Natural Gradient also QNG, natural gradient for VQAs The quantum natural gradient is an optimization method for variational quantum algorithms that uses the quantum Fisher information metric to precondition gradient updates, enabling faster convergence. Algorithms
- Quantum Network also quantum communication network A network of quantum nodes connected by quantum channels that can distribute entanglement and transmit quantum states, enabling applications such as distributed quantum computing, quantum key distribution, and quantum sensing. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Network Node also quantum node, quantum communication node A quantum network node is a device capable of generating, storing, and processing qubits within a quantum network, enabling entanglement distribution and quantum communication between distant parties. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Neural Network A parameterized quantum circuit whose gate angles are trained via gradient-based optimization to minimize a loss function, used as a trainable model for learning tasks. Algorithms
- Quantum Noise Unwanted interactions between qubits and their environment that cause decoherence, gate errors, and measurement errors, representing the central obstacle to reliable quantum computation. Hardware
- Quantum Nonlocality also Bell nonlocality, nonlocal correlations The property of quantum mechanics whereby entangled particles exhibit correlations that cannot be explained by any local hidden variable theory, as demonstrated by violations of Bell inequalities. Fundamentals
- Quantum Oblivious Transfer Quantum oblivious transfer (QOT) is a cryptographic primitive where a sender transmits one of multiple messages and the receiver learns exactly one without the sender knowing which, using quantum mechanics to achieve information-theoretic security impossible classically. Cryptography
- Quantum Oracle also oracle, black-box query A quantum oracle is a black-box unitary operation that encodes a classical function into a quantum circuit, used in quantum algorithms such as Grover's to mark solutions without revealing the underlying problem structure. Algorithms
- Quantum Parallelism Quantum parallelism refers to the ability to evaluate a function on all possible inputs simultaneously using superposition, but this alone does not give a computational advantage since measurement collapses the state to a single output. Fundamentals
- Quantum PCA (qPCA) Quantum principal component analysis exponentially accelerates finding dominant eigenvectors of a density matrix, but requires QRAM and efficient state preparation that may limit practical quantum advantage. Algorithms
- Quantum Phase Estimation also QPE, phase kickback algorithm A quantum algorithm that estimates the eigenvalue phase of a unitary operator using the quantum Fourier transform and controlled-unitary operations, serving as a core subroutine in Shor's algorithm and quantum chemistry simulations. Algorithms
- Quantum Phase Transition A quantum phase transition is a change in the ground state of a quantum system driven by quantum fluctuations at absolute zero temperature, as a non-thermal control parameter such as pressure or magnetic field is varied. Fundamentals
- Quantum RAM also qRAM, quantum random access memory A hypothetical quantum memory architecture that allows a quantum computer to query exponentially many classical memory addresses in superposition, potentially enabling quadratic to exponential speedups for certain machine learning and search algorithms. Fundamentals
- Quantum Repeater A device that extends the range of quantum communication by entanglement swapping and purification, overcoming the photon loss that limits direct fiber-based quantum links to roughly 100 km. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Resource Theory also resource theory, resource theories of quantum information Quantum resource theory is a formal framework for quantifying and manipulating quantum resources such as entanglement, coherence, and magic, identifying which transformations are possible under restricted operations. Mathematics
- Quantum Sensing also quantum metrology The use of quantum effects such as superposition, entanglement, and squeezing to measure physical quantities with precision surpassing classical limits, achieving the Heisenberg limit rather than the standard quantum limit. Fundamentals
- Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) also QSP, quantum singular value transformation A framework for applying polynomial transformations to the eigenvalues of a unitary operator, providing a unified language that subsumes Hamiltonian simulation, quantum phase estimation, and amplitude amplification. Algorithms
- Quantum Simulation Using a quantum computer to simulate the dynamics of other quantum systems, particularly molecules and materials, which are intractable for classical computers. Algorithms
- Quantum Speedup also quantum advantage The improvement in computational complexity achieved by a quantum algorithm compared to the best known classical algorithm for the same problem, which may be polynomial, quadratic, exponential, or oracle-relative depending on the problem structure. Algorithms
- Quantum State Tomography also QST Quantum state tomography is the process of fully reconstructing an unknown quantum state's density matrix by performing measurements in multiple bases, requiring exponentially many measurements as qubit number grows. Fundamentals
- Quantum Supremacy also quantum computational advantage A demonstration that a quantum computer can perform a specific computational task faster than any classical computer could in a practical amount of time, even if the task has no immediate practical application. Algorithms
- Quantum Supremacy vs Quantum Advantage also quantum computational supremacy, quantum advantage Quantum supremacy refers to performing any computation faster than classical computers regardless of usefulness, while quantum advantage specifically means outperforming classical methods on a practically relevant task. Fundamentals
- Quantum Teleportation A protocol that transfers an exact quantum state from one qubit to another using a shared Bell pair and two classical bits, without physically moving the qubit. Quantum Internet
- Quantum Threshold Theorem also fault-tolerance threshold, threshold theorem A foundational result in quantum error correction stating that arbitrarily long quantum computations can be performed reliably if the physical error rate per gate falls below a critical threshold value (approximately 1% for the surface code), with logical error rates decreasing exponentially as more physical qubits are added per logical qubit. Error Correction
- Quantum Volume A hardware benchmark that measures the largest square random circuit a quantum computer can run with a success probability above 2/3, capturing qubit count, connectivity, and error rates together in a single number. Hardware
- Quantum Walk also quantum random walk The quantum analogue of a classical random walk, where a particle spreads across a graph in superposition, producing interference patterns that enable faster search and traversal algorithms than classical random walks. Algorithms
- Quantum Walk Algorithm also quantum random walk A quantum walk algorithm uses quantum analogues of random walks to achieve quadratic or exponential speedups over classical random walk algorithms in search, element distinctness, and graph problems. Algorithms
- Quantum Zeno Effect also watched pot effect The phenomenon where sufficiently frequent measurement of a quantum system inhibits its evolution, effectively freezing the system in its current state by repeatedly collapsing the wavefunction before significant change can occur. Fundamentals
- Quantum-Secure Communication Quantum-secure communication protects data against attacks from both classical and quantum computers, combining post-quantum cryptography for key exchange with quantum key distribution for key distribution, creating defense-in-depth against future quantum threats. Cryptography
- Qubit also quantum bit The fundamental unit of quantum information, a two-level quantum system that can exist in superposition of 0 and 1 simultaneously. Fundamentals
- Qubit Connectivity The graph specifying which pairs of qubits on a quantum processor can directly interact via two-qubit gates, determining how circuits must be compiled to run on that hardware. Hardware
- Qubit Count The total number of qubits on a quantum processor, a commonly cited but often misleading metric because qubit quality, connectivity, and error rates determine actual computational capability. Hardware
- Qubit Layout also qubit mapping, initial layout The mapping of logical qubits in a quantum circuit to physical qubits on a hardware device, a critical transpilation step that affects circuit depth and error rates. Hardware
- Qubit Reset also qubit initialization, active reset Qubit reset is an operation that unconditionally prepares a qubit in the ground state, discarding any previous quantum information, used between circuit repetitions or mid-circuit to reuse qubits. Hardware
- QUBO also Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization, Ising optimization Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) is a mathematical formulation for optimization problems over binary variables that maps directly to quantum annealing hardware, particularly D-Wave systems. Algorithms
- Quil also Quantum Instruction Language Rigetti's quantum instruction language, a human-readable assembly language for specifying quantum circuits with support for classical control flow and custom gate definitions. Fundamentals
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- Randomized Benchmarking (RB) also RB, Clifford randomized benchmarking Randomized benchmarking is a scalable protocol for estimating average gate error rates by running random sequences of Clifford gates of varying length and fitting the exponential decay of survival probability to an error-per-Clifford rate. Hardware
- Readout Error also measurement error, assignment error The probability that a qubit measurement returns an incorrect result, caused by imperfect discrimination between the physical signals corresponding to the |0> and |1> states. Hardware
- Repetition Code The simplest quantum error correction code, encoding one logical qubit into multiple physical qubits to protect against either bit-flip or phase-flip errors (but not both simultaneously). Error Correction
- Resource Estimation The process of calculating how many physical qubits, logical qubits, gates, and time a fault-tolerant quantum algorithm requires to solve a problem of practical interest. Error Correction
- Rotation Gates also Rx, Ry, Rz gates, parameterized rotations Parameterized single-qubit gates that rotate the qubit state by a specified angle around the X, Y, or Z axis of the Bloch sphere. Fundamentals
- Rydberg Atom A Rydberg atom is an atom excited to a high principal quantum number state, giving it an enormous electric dipole moment and enabling the long-range dipole-dipole interactions used for two-qubit entangling gates in neutral atom quantum computers. Hardware
- Rz Gate also Z rotation, Rz(θ) A single-qubit rotation gate that rotates the qubit state by angle theta around the Z axis of the Bloch sphere, often implemented as a virtual (zero-cost) gate on superconducting hardware. Fundamentals
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- Second Quantization also occupation number representation, Fock space formalism Second quantization is a formalism for quantum many-body systems that represents quantum states in terms of particle creation and annihilation operators, forming the basis for quantum chemistry simulation on quantum computers. Mathematics
- Shor Code also nine-qubit code, Shor's 9-qubit code The Shor code is the first quantum error-correcting code, encoding one logical qubit in nine physical qubits to protect against arbitrary single-qubit errors including both bit flips and phase flips. Error Correction
- Shor's Algorithm also Shor's factoring algorithm A quantum algorithm that factors large integers exponentially faster than any known classical algorithm, threatening current RSA encryption. Algorithms
- Shot also sample, run A single execution of a quantum circuit followed by measurement, producing one classical bitstring outcome; many shots are repeated to estimate probability distributions. Fundamentals
- Shot Noise also sampling noise, projection noise Shot noise in quantum computing is the statistical uncertainty in measurement outcomes arising from the finite number of circuit repetitions (shots) used to estimate expectation values. Fundamentals
- Simon's Algorithm also Simon's problem A quantum algorithm that finds the hidden period of a two-to-one function using O(n) queries, exponentially faster than any classical algorithm which requires O(2^(n/2)) queries. Algorithms
- Sparse Hamiltonian A sparse Hamiltonian is a Hamiltonian matrix where each row has at most polynomially many nonzero entries, enabling efficient quantum simulation via algorithms such as the LCU method and product formulas. Algorithms
- SPHINCS+ (SLH-DSA) also SLH-DSA, FIPS 205 A stateless hash-based digital signature scheme standardized as FIPS 205, offering the most conservative security assumptions among NIST post-quantum standards at the cost of larger signatures. Cryptography
- Stabilizer Code A quantum error-correcting code defined by a group of commuting multi-qubit Pauli operators whose simultaneous $+1$ eigenstates form the protected logical codespace. Error Correction
- State Preparation also state initialization, amplitude encoding The process of initializing a quantum register into a specific target quantum state, a necessary first step for many quantum algorithms that requires careful circuit design. Fundamentals
- Steane Code also [[7,1,3]] code, CSS Hamming code The [[7,1,3]] CSS code that encodes 1 logical qubit into 7 physical qubits, derived from the classical Hamming code, and supporting transversal implementation of all Clifford gates. Error Correction
- Superconducting Qubit A qubit built from superconducting circuits cooled to near absolute zero, encoding quantum information in quantised energy levels, the platform used by IBM, Google, and Rigetti. Hardware
- Superposition The quantum property allowing a qubit to exist in a combination of 0 and 1 simultaneously, collapsing to a definite value only upon measurement. Fundamentals
- Surface Code The leading quantum error correction code, arranging qubits on a 2D grid and detecting errors via local measurements, currently the most practical path to fault-tolerant quantum computing. Error Correction
- SWAP Gate A two-qubit gate that exchanges the quantum states of two qubits, essential for routing information on hardware with limited qubit connectivity. Fundamentals
- SWAP Network A pattern of SWAP gate insertions used to route quantum information between non-adjacent qubits on hardware with limited physical connectivity. Fundamentals
- SWAP Test The SWAP test is a quantum circuit that estimates the overlap (fidelity) between two unknown quantum states using a single ancilla qubit and a controlled-SWAP gate. Algorithms
- Syndrome Measurement The measurement of stabilizer generators to detect the presence and location of errors without revealing or disturbing the encoded logical qubit information. Error Correction
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- T Gate (pi/8 Gate) also pi/8 gate, T gate A non-Clifford single-qubit gate with matrix diag(1, e^{i*pi/4}) that is essential for universal quantum computation but expensive to implement fault-tolerantly, requiring magic state distillation. Fundamentals
- T1 and T2 Times also relaxation time, coherence time T1 is the time for a qubit to decay from the excited state |1⟩ to the ground state |0⟩. T2 is the time over which the qubit's phase coherence is maintained. Both set the window in which useful quantum computation can occur. Hardware
- Tensor Network also tensor network state A tensor network is a mathematical framework for efficiently representing and contracting high-dimensional quantum states by decomposing them into networks of low-rank tensors, used in both classical quantum simulation and quantum machine learning. Mathematics
- Tensor Product also Kronecker product, direct product The mathematical operation that combines two quantum systems into a joint system, mapping an m-dimensional and n-dimensional Hilbert space into an mn-dimensional composite space, used to describe multi-qubit states and compound quantum systems. Mathematics
- Toffoli Gate also CCNOT gate, controlled-controlled-NOT A three-qubit gate that flips the target qubit if and only if both control qubits are |1⟩, providing universality for classical reversible computation and serving as a key building block in quantum arithmetic circuits. Fundamentals
- Topological Qubit A qubit encoded in the global topological properties of a physical system rather than local degrees of freedom, making it inherently protected from local noise and potentially requiring much less error correction overhead than conventional qubit designs. Hardware
- Transmon Qubit also transmission-line shunted plasma oscillation qubit A superconducting qubit design that reduces charge noise sensitivity by shunting a Josephson junction with a large capacitor, the dominant qubit type in IBM and Google processors. Hardware
- Transpilation also quantum compilation, circuit compilation The process of rewriting an abstract quantum circuit into an equivalent circuit that uses only the native gates and qubit connectivity of a specific hardware backend. Fundamentals
- Transversal Gate A logical gate implemented by applying independent physical gates to corresponding qubits in each code block, inherently fault-tolerant because errors cannot spread within a block. Error Correction
- Trapped Ion A qubit technology using individual charged atoms (ions) held in place by electromagnetic fields, offering the highest gate fidelities of any platform. Hardware
- Trotterization also Trotter-Suzuki decomposition, Trotter decomposition Trotterization (Trotter-Suzuki decomposition) is a method for approximating quantum time evolution e^(-iHt) by splitting the Hamiltonian into simpler terms and interleaving their individual exponentials, converting Hamiltonian simulation into a quantum circuit. Algorithms
- Two-Qubit Gate Fidelity also entangling gate fidelity, two-qubit fidelity Two-qubit gate fidelity measures how accurately a two-qubit gate such as CNOT or CZ is implemented on real hardware, accounting for errors from crosstalk, decoherence, and calibration imperfections. Hardware
- Types of Quantum Speedup also quantum computational advantage types, quantum speedup classification Quantum speedups are categorized as superpolynomial (exponentially faster, as in Shor's algorithm), polynomial (quadratically faster, as in Grover's algorithm), or heuristic (problem-specific, unproven advantages). Algorithms
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- Variational Principle also variational method, Ritz variational principle The variational principle states that for any trial quantum state, its expected energy is always greater than or equal to the true ground state energy, providing the foundation for variational quantum algorithms. Mathematics
- Variational Quantum Deflation Variational quantum deflation (VQD) is an extension of VQE that finds excited state energies by adding penalty terms to the cost function for previously found lower-energy states, enabling full energy spectrum calculations with variational circuits. Algorithms
- Variational Quantum Eigensolver also VQE A hybrid quantum-classical algorithm that uses a quantum computer to estimate the ground state energy of a molecule, the leading near-term application for quantum chemistry. Algorithms
- Variational Quantum Simulation Variational quantum simulation uses parametric circuits and classical optimization to approximate the time evolution or ground state of quantum systems, adapting the VQE approach to dynamics. Algorithms
- Von Neumann Entropy The quantum analogue of Shannon entropy for a density matrix rho, defined as S(rho) = -Tr(rho log rho), measuring the degree of quantum entanglement and mixedness of a state. Mathematics