量子程序验证

摘要

量子硬件设计与制造技术的飞速发展使得人们开始预言大于100个量子比特的特定用途的量子计算机有望在5～10年内实现.可以想见,到那时候,量子软件的开发将变成真正发挥这些计算机能力的关键因素.然而,由于量子信息的不可克隆性和纠缠的非局域作用等量子特征,如何设计正确、高效的量子程序和量子通信协议将是一个富有挑战性的课题形式化验证方法,特别是模型检测技术,已在经典软件设计和系统建模方面被证明行之有效,因此量子软件的形式化验证也开始受到越来越多的关注.从量子顺序程序验证和量子通信协议验证两方面,对近年来国内外学者,尤其对University of Technology Sydney和清华大学的研究组在该研究领域取得的一些成果进行了系统的总结.最后,对未来可能的研究方向和面临的挑战进行了简单展望.%With the rapid development of quantum hardware,people tend to believe that special-purpose quantum computers with more than 100 qubits will be available in 5 to 10 years.It is conceivable that,once this becomes a reality,the development of quantum software will be crucial in harnessing the power of quantum computers.However,due to the distinguishable features of quantum mechanics,such as the no-cloning of quantum information and the nonlocal effect of entanglement,developing correct and efficient quantum programs and communication protocols is a challenging issue.Formal verification methods,particularly model checking techniques,have proven effective in classical software design and system modelling.Therefore,formal verification of quantum software has received more and more attention recently.This article reviews recent research findings in verification of both sequential quantum programs and quantum communication protocols,with the focus placed on the work of the two authors' research groups.Future directions and challenges in this area are also discussed.