Strawberry Fields: A Software Platform for Photonic Quantum Computing

We introduce Strawberry Fields, an open-source quantum programming architecture for light-based quantum computers, and detail its key features. Built in Python, Strawberry Fields is a full-stack library for design, simulation, optimization, and quantum machine learning of continuous-variable circuit...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Nathan Killoran, Josh Izaac, Nicolás Quesada, Ville Bergholm, Matthew Amy, Christian Weedbrook
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Verein zur Förderung des Open Access Publizierens in den Quantenwissenschaften 2019-03-01
Series:Quantum
Online Access:https://quantum-journal.org/papers/q-2019-03-11-129/pdf/
Description
Summary:We introduce Strawberry Fields, an open-source quantum programming architecture for light-based quantum computers, and detail its key features. Built in Python, Strawberry Fields is a full-stack library for design, simulation, optimization, and quantum machine learning of continuous-variable circuits. The platform consists of three main components: (i) an API for quantum programming based on an easy-to-use language named Blackbird; (ii) a suite of three virtual quantum computer backends, built in NumPy and TensorFlow, each targeting specialized uses; and (iii) an engine which can compile Blackbird programs on various backends, including the three built-in simulators, and - in the near future - photonic quantum information processors. The library also contains examples of several paradigmatic algorithms, including teleportation, (Gaussian) boson sampling, instantaneous quantum polynomial, Hamiltonian simulation, and variational quantum circuit optimization.
ISSN:2521-327X