Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

1-2023

Abstract

Quantum computing offers significant speedup compared to classical computing, which has led to a growing interest among users in learning and applying quantum computing across various applications. However, quantum circuits, which are fundamental for implementing quantum algorithms, can be challenging for users to understand due to their underlying logic, such as the temporal evolution of quantum states and the effect of quantum amplitudes on the probability of basis quantum states. To fill this research gap, we propose , an interactive visual analytics system to enhance the interpretability of quantum circuits through both global and local levels. For the global-level analysis, we present three coupled visualizations to delineate the changes of quantum states and the underlying reasons: a Probability Summary View to overview the probability evolution of quantum states; a State Evolution View to enable an in-depth analysis of the influence of quantum gates on the quantum states; a Gate Explanation View to show the individual qubit states and facilitate a better understanding of the effect of quantum gates. For the local-level analysis, we design a novel geometrical visualization to explicitly reveal how the quantum amplitudes affect the probability of the quantum state. We thoroughly evaluated as well as the novel integrated into it through two case studies on different types of quantum algorithms and in-depth expert interviews with 12 domain experts. The results demonstrate the effectiveness and usability of our approach in enhancing the interpretability of quantum circuits.

Keywords

Data visualization; Interpretability; Quantum circuits; Quantum computing

Discipline

Numerical Analysis and Scientific Computing | Software Engineering

Research Areas

Information Systems and Management

Publication

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics

First Page

1

Last Page

13

ISSN

1077-2626

Identifier

10.1109/TVCG.2023.3332999

Publisher

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1109/TVCG.2023.3332999

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