Qiskit
Overview
Qiskit is an open-source framework for quantum computing. It provides tools for creating and manipulating quantum programs and running them on prototype quantum devices on IBM Q Experience or on simulators on a local computer. It follows the circuit model for universal quantum computation, and can be used for any quantum hardware that follows this model.
History
Qiskit was first released by IBM in 2017 as part of the IBM Q Experience, a cloud-based quantum computing platform. It was developed to provide a simple and comprehensive tool for users to interact with quantum computers and to facilitate the development of new quantum computing algorithms.
Components
Qiskit is made up of four main components: Terra, Aer, Ignis, and Aqua.
Terra
Qiskit Terra is the foundation on which the rest of Qiskit is built. It provides the necessary tools for composing quantum programs at the level of circuits and pulses, optimizing them for the constraints of a particular physical quantum processor, and managing the batched execution of experiments on remote-access backends.
Aer
Qiskit Aer provides high-performance simulator backends for Qiskit. These include statevector, unitary, QASM, and pulse simulators. Aer is designed to be extensible and to work seamlessly with Terra.
Ignis
Qiskit Ignis is a library for quantum error mitigation and correction. It provides tools for characterizing noise in quantum devices, and for improving the results of quantum computations in the presence of noise.
Aqua
Qiskit Aqua is a library for building algorithms and applications for quantum computing. It provides a high-level interface for users to easily experiment with quantum algorithms and applications on near-term devices.
Usage
Qiskit is primarily used for quantum computing research and development. It provides a platform for developing new quantum algorithms, running them on real quantum hardware, and analyzing the results. It is also used for teaching quantum computing concepts and for developing quantum software.
Future Developments
IBM continues to develop and improve Qiskit. Future developments include improvements to the performance and capabilities of the simulator backends, new tools for quantum error correction, and new quantum algorithms and applications.
