Automatic Generation of Test Circuits for the Verification of Quantum Deterministic Algorithms

Quantum computing will make it possible to exponentially accelerate the performance of a wide range of computational problems, such as cryptography, machine learning or chemical simulation. However, the quantum potential is not only a matter of hardware, but also of software. Therefore, this new paradigm has an impact yet to be explored on software development processes and techniques, and the adaptation of classical software engineering to the new classical/quantum hybrid systems raises a number of important challenges: a new Quantum Software Engineering is therefore needed. Specifically, and focusing on quantum software quality, software verification remains an open research question, as its novelty and complexity make quantum software development a particularly error-prone process. Most current approaches to test-driven verification rely heavily on simulations, which is a problem due to the lack of scalability of simulators running on classical computers. To address this shortcoming, we define the concept of a "Quantum Test Case", and then present a method to test quantum circuits on real machines, without using simulation test functionalities such as amplitude calculation or non-destructive measurement. This is achieved by automatically generating a Quantum Test Case, which wraps the circuit under test and performs the verification. We also present the process to run a set of tests on a circuit with this method, along with an example to illustrate the technique.