DOE OSTI · 3001783
A cross-platform execution engine for the quantum intermediate representation
Abstract
Hybrid languages like the quantum intermediate representation (QIR) are essential for programming systems that mix quantum and conventional computing models, while execution of these programs is often deferred to a system-specific implementation. Here, we develop the QIR Execution Engine (QIR-EE) for parsing, interpreting, and executing QIR across multiple hardware platforms. QIR-EE uses LLVM to execute hybrid instructions specifying quantum programs and, by design, presents extension points that support customized runtime and hardware environments. We demonstrate an implementation that uses the XACC quantum hardware-accelerator library to dispatch prototypical quantum programs on different commercial quantum platforms and numerical simulators, and we validate execution of QIR-EE on IonQ, Quantinuum, and IBM hardware. Our results highlight the efficiency of hybrid executable architectures for handling mixed instructions, managing mixed data, and integrating with quantum computing frameworks to realize cross-platform execution.
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Wong, Elaine [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000313542020), Leyton-Ortega, Vicente [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Claudino, Daniel Chaves [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000288600689), Johnson, Seth R. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000315048966), Adams, Austin J. [Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)], Afrose, Sharmin [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Gowrishankar, Meenambika [Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (United States)], Cabrera, Anthony [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)], Humble, Travis S. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)] (ORCID:0000000294490498). 2025-11-05. A cross-platform execution engine for the quantum intermediate representation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11227-025-07969-2
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