Loredo Learn Quantum Computing with Python and IBM Quantum

Write your own practical quantum programs with Python
2. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-80324-092-3
Verlag: De Gruyter
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 426 Seiten

The IBM Quantum Platform was built to enable developers to learn the basics of quantum computing by providing access to high performant quantum computers and provide documentation and courses to help get up to speed with the latest features in quantum computing.
Updated with new examples and changes to the platform, this edition begins with an introduction to the IBM Quantum Platform and the Quantum Information Science Kit (Qiskit) SDK. You will become well versed in the IBM Quantum Composer interface as well as running your quantum circuits on a real quantum computer. Along the way, you'll learn some of the fundamental principles regarding quantum mechanics, qubits, quantum gates, quantum circuits, and the error mitigation techniques that are used to perform operations on qubits.
As you build on your knowledge, you'll understand the functionality of IBM Qiskit and the developer-focused resources so you can create your own quantum algorithms. You'll learn how to monitor and optimize your quantum circuits. Lastly, you'll look at the fundamental quantum algorithms and understand how they can be applied effectively.
By the end of this quantum computing book, you'll know how to build quantum algorithms and will have gained a practical understanding of quantum computation that you can apply to your research or business.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Loredo, Robert

Fachgebiete

• Mathematik | Informatik EDV | Informatik EDV & Informatik Allgemein

Leseproben

1

Exploring the IBM Quantum Tools

Quantum computing has been growing in popularity over the past few years, most recently since IBM released the first commercially available quantum computer on the cloud back in May 2016, back then referred to as the IBM Quantum Experience, now rebranded as the IBM Quantum Platform (IQP). This release was the first of its kind, hosted on the cloud and providing the world with the opportunity to experiment with quantum devices for free. The platform includes a user interface (UI) that allows anyone to run experiments on a real quantum computer. And just recently added was direct access to all documentation and learning resources, such as tutorials and courses, right from the platform, making it easier to run circuits as you learn.

The goal of this chapter is to first introduce you to the IBM Quantum Platform, which contains everything you need to learn how to create and run quantum circuits on real quantum systems. It also provides you with courses and tutorials to experiment with existing quantum algorithms and applications. The IBM Quantum Platform is comprised of the following three applications, which you can see listed in the Application Switcher located at the top-right corner of the platform (see ):

• Platform: Lists all the jobs and systems (dashboard, systems, and jobs) you have access to on the platform.
• Documentation: Provides a list of resources to help you get started. Resources include how to set up your development environment and build/test/execute quantum circuits on quantum systems. It also provides API documentation of the latest version of the Quantum Information Science Kit (Qiskit) open-source code.
• Learning: Provides quantum courses and tutorials for users of all different levels. These cover topics such as the basics of quantum computing, variational algorithm design, and a new addition: quantum-safe cryptography!

You can select and switch between each of these applications using the top-left applications icon next to your avatar, the switcher is shown in the following figure:

Figure 1.1: Application selection

This chapter will help you understand what actions and information are available in each application, each of which we will also cover in more detail in later chapters, to give you an overview of where everything is. This includes creating circuits, running the circuits on both simulators and real quantum devices, viewing information about your profile and available backend systems, and visualizing the results of your experiments. So, let’s get started!

The following topics will be covered in this chapter:

• Getting started with the IBM Quantum Platform
• Using the documentation to quickly start up
• Understanding IBM quantum tools

Technical requirements

Throughout this book, it is expected that you will have some experience in developing with Python and, although it isn’t necessary, some basic knowledge of classical and quantum mechanics would help. Most of the information will be provided with each chapter, so if you do not have knowledge of classical or quantum mechanics, we will cover what you need to know here. For those of you who have existing knowledge in this area, the information here will serve as a useful refresher.

The Python editor used throughout this book is Jupyter Notebook. You can, of course, use any Python editor of your choice. This may include Watson Studio, PyCharm, Spyder, Visual Studio Code, and so on.

Here is the source code used throughout this book: https://github.com/PacktPublishing/Learning-Quantum-Computing-with-Python-and-IBM-Quantum-Second-Edition

Getting started with the IBM Quantum Platform

As mentioned earlier, the IBM Quantum Platform application is your high-level view of what you will normally see once you log in. It’s good to mention here that there may be updates to the tools as the platform evolves with the technology after the time of writing, so some visualizations and results may vary. The platform aggregates multiple views that you can see, and this helps you to get an idea as to what machines you have access to and what jobs you have pending, running, or completed.

In this section, we will go through the steps to get registered. Let’s get started.

Registering to the IBM Quantum Platform

In this section, we will get registered and explain what happens in the background once you sign up to the IBM Quantum Platform for the first time. This will help you understand what features and configurations are prepared and available to you upon registration.

To register, follow these steps:

1. The first step is to head over to the IBM Quantum Platform site at the following link: https://quantum.ibm.com/
2. You should see the login screen, as shown in . Your individual situation will determine how to proceed from there:
   • If you already have an account or are already signed in, you can sign in and skip this section.
   • If you have not registered, then you can select the login method of your choice from the sign-in screen. As you can see, you can register using various methods, such as with your IBMid, Google, GitHub, Twitter, LinkedIn, or by email.
   • If you do not have any of the account types listed, then you can simply register for an IBMid account and use that to sign in:

Figure 1.2: The IBM Quantum Platform sign-in page

1. Once you select the login method of your choice, you will see the login screen for that method. Simply fill out the information, if it’s not already there, and select login.
2. Once signed in, you will land on the IBM Quantum Platform home page. This is the first page you will see each time you log in:

Figure 1.3: The IBM Quantum home page

Now that you have registered with IBM Quantum Platform, let’s take a quick tour and delve into some features that make up the home page.

Note first that across the top of the Platform application page you have three tabs: Dashboard, Systems, and Jobs. Each of these provides various information for you, which we will cover in detail in the following sections. But before we get started, let’s look at the Manage account settings view.

Understanding the Manage account settings view

Let’s start by reviewing the home page, specifically the Manage account settings view. You can access your user account and settings view via your avatar, located at the top right of the page (as visible in ).

This view provides profile settings of the logged-in user, as illustrated in :

Figure 1.4: The Manage account settings view

This view also provides actions regarding your profile such as setting your password, email, API token, and in-app notification settings.

The API token is used by the provider to determine which systems you have provisioned for your account. This is autogenerated when you use the platform; however, should you ever decide to run a notebook off the platform, then you will need to save your API token locally. We describe how to save and load your account details locally in , .

Below the Manage account settings is the Instances list, which allows you to see which instances you are a member of. Instances are used to determine which IBM Quantum systems you have access to based on which hub, project, or group you belong to, as illustrated in . Also, below the list of instances is the option Delete Account, which will also remove all your account data.

Figure 1.5: Instances and Delete Account views

Finally, at the bottom of the Profile settings you will see your Notification settings, which you can enable based on your preferences.

Getting familiar with the Compute resources view

The Compute resources view provides you with a list of all the various quantum services available to you, which include the quantum systems. You can see all the available services by selecting the grid icon, located at the top left of the IBM Quantum Platform view, and selecting the Platform tab.

Once the Compute resources page is open you will see a grouping of systems via a pull-down selector highlighted by a box in the following figure. The groupings are of systems that you have access to and a list of all systems including those systems reserved for premium users, as illustrated in :

Figure 1.6: The Compute resources view

The view contains all the systems available to you.

Each...

Über Autor(innen)

Loredo Robert :

Robert Loredo is the IBM Quantum Ambassador Worldwide lead with over 20 years' experience in software architecture and engineering. He is a Qiskit Advocate and Master Inventor, listed as one of the world's most prolific inventors with over 200 patents. He has presented various workshops, lectures, and articles covering quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and bioinformatics worldwide. As an adjunct professor, he has taught cloud computing and software engineering at the Florida International University School of Computer Science. He holds both a bachelor's and a master's degree in Computer and Electrical Engineering from the University of Miami and is currently pursuing his PhD in Computer Science, specializing in Quantum Machine Learning and NeuroInformatics, at Florida International University. As a philanthropist, one of his favorite charities is Doctors without Borders.