A volumetric framework for quantum computer benchmarks
Abstract
We propose a very large family of benchmarks for probing the performance of quantum computers. We call them {volumetric benchmarks} (VBs) because they generalize IBM's benchmark for measuring quantum volume \cite{Cross18}. The quantum volume benchmark defines a family of {square} circuits whose depth d and width w are the same. A volumetric benchmark defines a family of {rectangular} quantum circuits, for which d and w are uncoupled to allow the study of time/space performance trade-offs. Each VB defines a mapping from circuit shapes -- (w,d) pairs -- to test suites C(w,d). A test suite is an ensemble of test circuits that share a common structure. The test suite C for a given circuit shape may be a single circuit C, a specific list of circuits {C1…CN} that must all be run, or a large set of possible circuits equipped with a distribution Pr(C). The circuits in a given VB share a structure, which is limited only by designers' creativity. We list some known benchmarks, and other circuit families, that fit into the VB framework: several families of random circuits, periodic circuits, and algorithm-inspired circuits. The last ingredient defining a benchmark is a success criterion that defines when a processor is judged to have ``passed'' a given test circuit. We discuss several options. Benchmark data can be analyzed in many ways to extract many properties, but we propose a simple, universal graphical summary of results that illustrates the Pareto frontier of the d vs w trade-off for the processor being benchmarked.
- Publication:
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Quantum
- Pub Date:
- November 2020
- DOI:
- 10.22331/q-2020-11-15-362
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1904.05546
- Bibcode:
- 2020Quant...4..362B
- Keywords:
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- Quantum Physics
- E-Print:
- Latest version published in Quantum. 16 pages, 6 figures