Verification Paradigms for Quantum Computing
摘要
As quantum computing progresses toward practical deployment, ensuring that quantum circuits execute both correctly and reliably has emerged as a critical concern. Quantum programs manipulate delicate superposition and entangled states that are inherently sensitive to noise, calibration drift, and compilation artifacts. This chapter examines the field of quantum verificationQuantum verification, with emphasis on two core objectives: establishing fidelity, which quantifies how closely a physical system approximates its ideal behavior, and ensuring functional correctnessFunctional correctness, which confirms that a quantum circuit performs its intended computational task. Modern quantum devices face a range of error sources, including coherent gate miscalibrations, stochastic decoherence processes, readout infidelities, and transformations introduced during circuit compilation. These factors introduce significant verification challenges, such as exponential state-space complexity, a lack of standardized metrics, limited expressiveness in specification languages, and fragmentation across toolchains. A variety of verification paradigms have been proposed to address these issues. These include formal equivalence checking using graphical and algebraic methods, simulation-based testing for small or structured circuits, empirical characterization techniques such as randomized benchmarkingRandomized Benchmarking (RB) and gate-set tomography, and state/process tomographyProcess Tomography (PT) for detailed characterization. Recent developments also point toward the use of assertion-based reasoning frameworks and hardware-in-the-loop testing strategies, including quantum fuzzingQuantum fuzzing. Emerging directions in automated specification inference, fault localization, and compiler-assisted circuit repair reflect the growing need for scalable, integrated verification workflows. This chapter provides an overview of these paradigms, offering both conceptual foundations and practical insights into the evolving landscape of quantum verificationQuantum verification.