Physics & Astronomy ETDs

Publication Date

Summer 8-21-2025

Abstract

Quantum computing is a promising tool for solving computational problems in several areas, including the simulation of physical and chemical systems. The design of practical quantum computing systems for these applications is a daunting task, requiring collaborative work by interdisciplinary teams considering different abstractions of the same systems. This dissertation presents work on the development of those abstractions, and on components that bridge multiple layers of abstraction. I first provide an introduction to quantum circuit model computation, error correction with stabilizer codes, and physics simulation algorithms. In joint work with the QSCOUT software team, I then describe the development of the Jaqal programming language and its supporting software packages. Next, I investigate the performance of the variational quantum eigensolver on an early fault tolerant architecture. Finally, in joint work with Andrew Landahl, I develop the logical fermion data type and demonstrate its benefits in optimizing physics simulations.

Degree Name

Physics

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Physics & Astronomy

First Committee Member (Chair)

Ivan Deutsch

Second Committee Member

Tameem Albash

Third Committee Member

Andrew Baczewski

Fourth Committee Member

Andrew Landahl

Project Sponsors

The work in this dissertation was supported in part by the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at Sandia National Laboratories. Sandia Na- tional Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Language

English

Keywords

Quantum Computing, Quantum Error Correction, Quantum Algorithms, Quantum Simulation, Majorana Fermions

Document Type

Dissertation

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