Differentiation of Optical Circuits
Quantinuum researchers are developing a new way to think about computing with light
Quantum computing is a young, dynamic field – so young that the community is still exploring multiple different “architectures” for quantum computers. The computer “architecture” can roughly be described as what the computer is made out of – in other words, is it made out of superconductors or semiconductors? Are the qubits made from ions, superconducting “squids”, atoms, or even particles of light? We call these different physical realizations the “architecture” or “modality”.
Exploring the pros and cons of all the different modalities is an important part of current quantum computing research. Because Quantinuum is committed to the community, and even though our hardware is trapped-ion based, we often work in partnership with researchers exploring alternate options. This work allows us to both develop quantum technologies outside our own architecture while better developing our hardware-agnostic software.
Recently, our Oxford team has made big strides in our understanding of “photonic”, or light-based, quantum computing. First, they developed a string-diagram formalism for describing linear and nonlinear optics. Then, they applied their formalism to solve outstanding problems in the field.
The graphical approach made solving some problems in particular much easier than they would have been using more standard linear algebra techniques, in part because the circuits they are describing have a two-dimensional structure, just like the string diagrams themselves. By creating a diagrammatic representation of the circuits themselves, the researchers are more easily able to compute things such as the change in the circuit when a parameter is adjusted.
In their most recent paper, the team figured out how to take the derivative of (or “differentiate) linear optical circuits, which means they can now figure out how the circuit will change when certain parameters are adjusted. Differentiation is central to a whole class of algorithms (including optimization algorithms and any algorithm making use of “gradient descent”, which is a key component of many machine learning and AI techniques), making the teams’ results incredibly useful. This work will form the basis for an upcoming software platform for photonic quantum computing.
In addition, this graphical approach to describing optical circuits is particularly advantageous for reasoning about multiple particles and composite quantum systems, like one must to understand fault-tolerance in quantum computing. While graphical languages are fairly new in the photonics sphere, they already seem to offer an insightful new perspective. Their current results open the door to “variational” approaches, which are used to solve things like combinatorial graph problems or problems in quantum chemistry.
Kaniah is Chief Legal Counsel and SVP of Government Relations for Quantinuum. In her previous role, she served as General Counsel, Honeywell Quantum Solutions. Prior to Honeywell, she was General Counsel, Honeywell Federal Manufacturing and Technologies, LLC, and Senior Attorney, U.S. Department of Energy. She was Lead Counsel before the Civilian Board of Contract Appeals, the Merit Systems Protection Board, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Kaniah holds a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and B.A., International Relations and Spanish from the College of William and Mary.
Jeff Miller is Chief Information Officer for Quantinuum. In his previous role, he served as CIO for Honeywell Quantum Solutions and led a cross-functional team responsible for Information Technology, Cybersecurity, and Physical Security. For Honeywell, Jeff has held numerous management and executive roles in Information Technology, Security, Integrated Supply Chain and Program Management. Jeff holds a B.S., Computer Science, University of Arizona. He is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, attaining the rank of Commander.
Matthew Bohne is the Vice President & Chief Product Security Officer for Honeywell Corporation. He is a passionate cybersecurity leader and executive with a proven track record of building and leading cybersecurity organizations securing energy, industrial, buildings, nuclear, pharmaceutical, and consumer sectors. He is a sought-after expert with deep experience in DevSecOps, critical infrastructure, software engineering, secure SDLC, supply chain security, privacy, and risk management.
Todd Moore is the Global Vice President of Data Encryption Products at Thales. He is responsible for setting the business line and go to market strategies for an industry leading cybersecurity business. He routinely helps enterprises build solutions for a wide range of complex data security problems and use cases. Todd holds several management and technical degrees from the University of Virginia, Rochester Institute of Technology, Cornell University and Ithaca College. He is active in his community, loves to travel and spends much of his free time supporting his family in pursuing their various passions.
Retired U.S. Army Major General John Davis is the Vice President, Public Sector for Palo Alto Networks, where he is responsible for expanding cybersecurity initiatives and global policy for the international public sector and assisting governments around the world to prevent successful cyber breaches. Prior to joining Palo Alto Networks, John served as the Senior Military Advisor for Cyber to the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and served as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy. Prior to this assignment, he served in multiple leadership positions in special operations, cyber, and information operations.
