English

Quantum Hoare Type Theory

Programming Languages 2021-11-16 v2 Emerging Technologies Logic in Computer Science Quantum Physics

Abstract

As quantum computers become real, it is high time we come up with effective techniques that help programmers write correct quantum programs. Inspired by Hoare Type Theory in classical computing, we propose Quantum Hoare Type Theory (QHTT), in which precise specifications about the modification to the quantum state can be provided within the type of computation. These specifications within a Hoare type are given in the form of Hoare-logic style pre- and postconditions following the propositions-as-types principle. The type-checking process verifies that the implementation conforms to the provided specification. QHTT has the potential to be a unified system for programming, specifying, and reasoning about quantum programs.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2012.02154,
  title  = {Quantum Hoare Type Theory},
  author = {Kartik Singhal},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.02154},
  year   = {2021}
}

Comments

UChicago CS master's paper. 34 pages, 12 code listings. Preliminary version accepted at QPL'20: arXiv:2109.02198