Measurement in OpenQASM

Quantum measurement is a critical operation in quantum computing that translates the qubit states into classical bits we can interpret. This chapter will guide you through the measurement syntax in OpenQASM and show you how to capture the states of qubits in classical registers.

Understanding Quantum Measurement

Quantum measurements in OpenQASM default to the computational (Z) basis, collapsing the qubit state to either \( |0\rangle \) or \( |1\rangle \) upon observation. This process is analogous to reading out a classical bit with a definite value of 0 or 1. OpenQASM simplifies measuring individual qubits or an entire quantum register with ease.

Measure a Single Qubit

Measuring a single qubit's state involves the measure command. Here's the syntax for measuring a particular qubit from a quantum register and storing its state in a classical register:

measure <quantum_register>[<qubit_index>] -> <classical_register>[<bit_index>];

Experiment: Measuring the First Qubit

To illustrate this, we'll measure a single qubit from our quantum register¹²³⁴:

Diagram
OPENQASM 2.0;                 // Define the OpenQASM version [^1]
include "qelib1.inc";         // Include the standard library [^2]

// Declaration of quantum and classical registers
qreg qubit[1];                // Single-qubit quantum register [^3]
creg bit[1];                  // Single-bit classical register [^3]

// Measure the qubit and save the result in the classical bit
measure qubit[0] -> bit[0];   // Measurement command [^4]
Translation
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This experiment produces a classical bit that corresponds to the measured state of our quantum register's qubit.

Measure a Quantum Register

For simultaneous measurement of all qubits in a quantum register, the same measure keyword is used:

measure <quantum_register> -> <classical_register>;

Experiment: Measuring Multiple Qubits

Let's extend our measurement to an entire register¹²³⁴:

Diagram
OPENQASM 2.0;                 // Define the OpenQASM version [^1]
include "qelib1.inc";         // Include the standard library [^1]

// Declare quantum and classical registers with matching sizes
qreg qubits[2];               // Quantum register with two qubits [^3]
creg bits[2];                 // Classical register with two bits [^3]

// Execute measurements on all qubits and store the results
measure qubits -> bits;       // Measurement command for all qubits [^4]
Translation
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Simulation
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In this scenario, each qubit from the qubits register has its measured state stored in the corresponding bit of the bits register. For instance, qubits[0]'s state would be stored in bits[0], and so on.

Note: The measure command in OpenQASM is versatile, accommodating measurements of single qubits or entire registers depending on your program's needs.

The ability to measure qubits and store their outcomes as classical information is a fundamental feature of OpenQASM, bridging the gap between quantum operations and traditional computing.

Footnotes

1. Version String Documentation ↩ ↩²

2. Include Documentation ↩ ↩²

3. Registers Documentation ↩ ↩²

4. Measurement Documentation ↩ ↩²