Trapped-ion quantum computers rely on shuttling compilers, which cast an input algorithm into a sequence of ion-qubit movements within a given architecture. We present the first study in which a single frontier large language model (LLM), Claude Opus 4.7, generates and iteratively refines the full Python code of shuttling compilers from written specifications. We start with a compiler for (i) a linear segmented trap, extend it to (ii) a trap with junctions, and finally achieve efficient compilation for (iii) a broad class of connected trap graphs. The compilers for the more general cases are seeded with code from the previous ones. We benchmark the LLM-generated compilers against state-of-the-art hand-crafted ones using a common suite of quantum circuits. The number of shuttling timesteps is reduced by up to 76% for (i) and up to 39% for (ii). For the broad case (iii) of freely connected architectures, we find large variations in the required number of shuttling timesteps, depending on the connectivity. A densely connected, junction-rich architecture yields an order-of-magnitude reduction in shuttling timesteps compared to a corridor-like one. Repeating the complete generation and evaluation with a second frontier LLM, Claude Fable 5, reproduces these findings, with the Fable 5 compilers surpassing the hand-crafted ones more often on the largest circuits. Our results show that an unmodified frontier LLM can produce working, correct, and competitive shuttling compilers without additional manual algorithmic engineering, thus reducing the development time for new architectures from several months to a few days.
Fabian Kreppel, Reza Salkhordeh, F. Schmidt-Kaler et al.· 0 citations
Can a high-quality quantum gate be certified when uncharacterized state-preparation and measurement errors are dominant? Can this be achieved with low experimental overhead? Here, we introduce a sound black-box certification protocol for a single-qubit gate based on a small set of fixed, deterministic sequences. From the data, the protocol derives finite-sample bounds on the gate's rotation eigenvalue, a gauge-invariant property. Its phase reveals the accuracy of the rotation angle, while its modulus quantifies the loss of coherence under repeated gate applications. We implement the protocol on a $^{40}\mathrm{Ca}^{+}$ trapped-ion processor and certify the $\sqrt{\mathrm{X}}$-gate rotation eigenvalue using $22\,000$ circuit executions, and demonstrate the robustness of certification to state-preparation and measurement errors by deliberately degrading the readout. Finally, we prove that these spectral constraints imply, up to a physically meaningful unitary change of basis, a rigorous average gate-fidelity lower bound for every time-independent qubit model compatible with the data. In both readout settings, the spectral bounds yield the same fidelity certificate of $99.94(3)\%$ with $99\%$ confidence. Our results establish a new standard for quantum-gate certification by combining soundness and experimental efficiency without requiring trusted reference operations, randomized circuits, or model fitting.
N. Miklin, Jan Nöller, J. Martínez et al.· 0 citations