Poq: Projection-based Runtime Assertions for Debugging on a Quantum Computer

In this paper, we propose Poq, a runtime assertion scheme for debugging on a quantum computer. The predicates in the assertions are represented by projections (or equivalently, closed subspaces of the state space), following Birkhoff-von Neumann quantum logic. The satisfaction of a projection by a quantum state can be directly checked upon a small number of projective measurements rather than a large number of repeated executions. Several techniques are introduced to rotate the predicates to the computational basis, on which a realistic quantum computer usually supports its measurements, so that a satisfying tested state will not be destroyed when an assertion is checked and multi-assertion per testing execution is enabled. We compare Poq with existing quantum program assertions and demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of Poq by its applications to assert two sophisticated quantum algorithms.