[论文解读] A Fine-Grained and Efficient Reliability Analysis Framework for Noisy Quantum Circuits

Jindi Wu, Tianjie Hu+1 more|arXiv (Cornell University)|Feb 20, 2026

Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture被引用 0

一句话总结

本文提出一个细粒度、可扩展的框架，用于高效估计嘈杂量子电路的可靠性，使用与状态无关的噪声代理电路（NPC）和代理保真度（Proxy Fidelity）来避免全态保真度计算。

ABSTRACT

Evaluating the reliability of noisy quantum circuits is essential for implementing quantum algorithms on noisy quantum devices. However, current quantum hardware exhibits diverse noise mechanisms whose compounded effects make accurate and efficient reliability evaluation challenging. While state fidelity is the most faithful indicator of circuit reliability, it is experimentally and computationally prohibitive to obtain. Alternative metrics, although easier to compute, often fail to accurately reflect circuit reliability, lack universality across circuit types, or offer limited interpretability. To address these challenges, we propose a fine-grained, scalable, and interpretable framework for efficient and accurate reliability evaluation of noisy quantum circuits. Our approach performs a state-independent analysis to model how circuit reliability progressively degrades during execution. We introduce the Noise Proxy Circuit (NPC), which removes all logical operations while preserving the complete sequence of noise channels, thereby providing an abstraction of cumulative noise effects. Based on the NPC, we define Proxy Fidelity, a reliability metric that quantifies both qubit-level and circuit-level reliability. We further develop an analytical algorithm to estimate Proxy Fidelity under depolarizing, thermal relaxation, and readout error channels. The proposed framework achieves fidelity-level reliability estimation while remaining execution-free, scalable, and interpretable. Experimental results show that our method accurately estimates circuit fidelity, with an average absolute difference (AAD) ranging from 0.031 to 0.069 across diverse circuits and devices.

研究动机与目标

• Motivate the need for reliable evaluation of noisy quantum circuits across diverse noise mechanisms.
• Propose a state-independent framework that models progressive reliability degradation during circuit execution.
• Introduce the Noise Proxy Circuit (NPC) to abstract cumulative noise while preserving noise sequence.
• Define Proxy Fidelity as a scalable reliability metric at both qubit and circuit levels.
• Provide an analytical algorithm to estimate Proxy Fidelity for common noise channels (depolarizing, thermal relaxation, readout).

提出的方法

• Develop the Noise Proxy Circuit (NPC) by removing all logical operations but preserving the sequence of noise channels.
• Define Proxy Fidelity as a reliability metric derived from the NPC.
• Derive an analytical method to estimate Proxy Fidelity under depolarizing, thermal relaxation, and readout error channels.
• Ensure the framework is execution-free, scalable, and interpretable while achieving fidelity-level reliability estimates.

实验结果

研究问题

• RQ1 How can circuit reliability be modeled without relying on full state fidelity?
• RQ2 Can a state-independent abstraction (NPC) accurately reflect cumulative noise effects in quantum circuits?
• RQ3 What is the accuracy of Proxy Fidelity estimates for standard noise models compared to true fidelity?
• RQ4 Is the framework scalable across diverse circuit types and quantum devices?

主要发现

• The framework yields fidelity-level reliability estimates without executing the circuit.
• Proxy Fidelity can be estimated analytically under depolarizing, thermal relaxation, and readout errors.
• Experiments show the method achieves average absolute differences (AAD) ranging from 0.031 to 0.069 across diverse circuits and devices.