rqm-optimizeis an optional, backend-adjacent SU(2)-aware compression layer for the RQM ecosystem. It compresses contiguous single-qubit gate runs into shorter equivalent forms, reducing unnecessary depth while preserving circuit behavior up to global phase. It operates on QiskitQuantumCircuitobjects after the compiler and lowering stages — it is not the primary optimization stage and does not own the public circuit schema.
A complete quaternion and a complete conventional complex/SU(2) or matrix representation carry the same transformation information. RQM uses quaternions because they make ordered rotation composition, inverses, normalization, sign handling, residuals, canonicalization, and lowering explicit in one structured coordinate system.
Any claimed benefit must come from a measured implementation or workflow—not from additional physics or information in the representation. This package does not claim quantum-state compression, unique measurement, lower hardware error, or universal compiler superiority.
rqm-optimize is a practical SU(2)-aware compression layer for backend-native circuits.
It operates after the circuit has already been lowered to a Qiskit QuantumCircuit — that is, after rqm-compiler optimization and rqm-qiskit lowering have already run.
It accepts a Qiskit QuantumCircuit, scans it for contiguous single-qubit gate runs, fuses those runs into minimal SU(2)-equivalent operations, and returns a simplified circuit that is unitary-equivalent to the original up to global phase.
rqm-optimize is complementary to rqm-compiler, not a replacement for it:
rqm-compileroptimizes in its own internal circuit model, before lowering to a backend.rqm-optimizecompresses in backend-native / Qiskit circuit space, after lowering.
Use rqm-optimize when you want an extra 1-qubit compression pass after the compiler and lowering stages.
The canonical external/public circuit IR lives in rqm-circuits upstream. rqm-optimize does not consume or define the public wire format — it works on QuantumCircuit objects only.
rqm-core → math foundation (quaternion / SU(2) / Bloch)
rqm-circuits → canonical external/public circuit IR
rqm-compiler → internal optimization / rewriting engine
rqm-qiskit → Qiskit lowering / execution bridge
rqm-braket → Braket lowering / execution bridge
rqm-optimize → optional backend-adjacent optimization / compression layer ← this package
rqm-optimize is downstream of rqm-circuits, rqm-compiler, and usually rqm-qiskit.
It is an optional later-stage pass — the rest of the stack functions without it.
Studio / API / SDK
↓
rqm-circuits payload (public circuit IR — parsed/validated upstream)
↓
rqm-compiler (internal optimization / rewriting)
↓
rqm-qiskit (lowering to Qiskit QuantumCircuit)
↓
rqm-optimize (optional: backend-adjacent 1-qubit compression)
↓
backend run
Some users also call rqm-optimize directly on a hand-written Qiskit QuantumCircuit without going through the full stack — that is a fully supported and practical mode of use.
Owns:
- Backend-adjacent single-qubit compression in Qiskit circuit space
- SU(2)-aware fusion of contiguous one-qubit runs
- Optional native-basis preferences for emitted decompositions (
ibm,zyz) - Optimization metadata about that compression step (
OptimizationResult)
Does NOT own:
- Canonical external/public circuit schema →
rqm-circuits - Compiler rewrite / canonicalization logic →
rqm-compiler - Quaternion / SU(2) / Bloch / spinor math primitives →
rqm-core - API wire format →
quantum-compiler-api - Studio payload format → Studio +
quantum-compiler-api
pip install rqm-optimizeOr from source:
git clone https://github.com/RQM-Technologies-dev/rqm-optimize.git
cd rqm-optimize
pip install -e ".[dev]"This example shows direct backend-native usage — passing a hand-written Qiskit QuantumCircuit directly to optimize. This is a real and useful mode, though not the canonical ecosystem entry point (which starts at an rqm-circuits payload parsed upstream).
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
from rqm_optimize import optimize
qc = QuantumCircuit(1)
qc.rx(0.5, 0)
qc.ry(0.3, 0)
qc.rz(0.2, 0)
qc.h(0)
qc.s(0)
qc.t(0)
result = optimize(qc, return_metadata=True)
print("original gates:", result.original_gate_count) # 6
print("optimized gates:", result.optimized_gate_count) # 1
print("fused runs:", result.fused_runs) # 1
print("original depth:", result.original_depth) # 6
print("optimized depth:", result.optimized_depth) # 1
print(result.circuit)API and Studio users typically originate in rqm-circuits upstream. By the time rqm-optimize is called, the circuit has already crossed the public IR boundary (parsed from an rqm-circuits payload) and the compiler boundary (rqm-compiler optimization). rqm-optimize is a later-stage, backend-adjacent compression pass applied after rqm-qiskit lowering:
public circuit (rqm-circuits) → optimize in compiler space (rqm-compiler)
→ lower to Qiskit (rqm-qiskit) → optional backend-native compression (rqm-optimize) → run
If you are using rqm-compiler to construct circuits and rqm-qiskit to lower them to Qiskit, pass the lowered circuit directly to optimize:
# public IR → compile → lower → optional compress → run
from rqm_qiskit import to_qiskit # rqm-qiskit lowering bridge
from rqm_optimize import optimize
qiskit_circuit = to_qiskit(compiled_circuit) # your rqm-compiler output
optimized = optimize(qiskit_circuit)
# submit optimized to your backend of choiceRequest IBM-native decomposition (rz + sx) to produce circuits that map directly to common superconducting hardware gate sets:
result = optimize(qc, native_basis="ibm", return_metadata=True)
# output gates are rz and sx — no transpilation step needed for IBM backendsSupported native_basis values:
| Value | Decomposition | Gates |
|---|---|---|
None (default) |
Compact U basis | u |
"ibm" |
IBM hardware native | rz, sx |
"zyz" |
Analytic Euler | rz, ry |
- Detects contiguous single-qubit gate runs on each qubit.
- Fuses each run into a single SU(2)-equivalent gate using matrix
multiplication followed by Qiskit's
OneQubitEulerDecomposer. - Supports native-basis preference so fused runs can be emitted directly
as IBM-native (
rz/sx) or analytic ZYZ gates. - Skips fusion when the decomposition would produce more gates than the original (i.e., only applies optimizations that reduce or maintain gate count).
- Preserves barriers, measurements, resets, and multi-qubit gates exactly as hard boundaries.
- Never mutates the input circuit.
- Returns deterministic output.
- Reports rich metadata: total gate count, circuit depth, single-qubit gate count, fused run count — both before and after.
rx, ry, rz, u, u3, u2, u1, p, x, y, z, h, s, sdg,
t, tdg, id, sx, sxdg, r, and any generic single-qubit
UnitaryGate whose matrix can be extracted.
- Backend-aware native-axis alignment using calibration data (planned for v0.2).
- Quaternionic error metrics and drift-aware path selection (planned).
- Braket circuit support (planned).
- Two-qubit gate optimization.
| Field | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
circuit |
QuantumCircuit |
The optimized circuit |
original_gate_count |
int |
Total gate count before optimization |
optimized_gate_count |
int |
Total gate count after optimization |
original_depth |
int |
Circuit depth before optimization |
optimized_depth |
int |
Circuit depth after optimization |
original_1q_gate_count |
int |
Single-qubit gate count before |
optimized_1q_gate_count |
int |
Single-qubit gate count after |
fused_runs |
int |
Number of runs fused (≥ 2 gates → 1) |
strategy |
str |
Optimization strategy used |
native_basis |
str | None |
Decomposition basis preference |
notes |
list[str] |
Human-readable optimization notes |
src/rqm_optimize/
├── __init__.py # Public API: optimize, OptimizationResult
├── optimizer.py # Type dispatch, strategy validation, result packaging
├── fusion.py # Single-qubit run identification and matrix fusion
├── geometry.py # SU(2) / global-phase normalization helpers
├── metrics.py # Gate count, depth, 1q gate count, matrix error norms
├── qiskit_adapter.py # Qiskit instruction inspection, matrix extraction, Euler emission
└── py.typed # PEP 561 marker
The public surface area is intentionally minimal: optimize() and
OptimizationResult. All internal helpers are private.
# Install with dev dependencies.
pip install -e ".[dev]"
# Run tests.
pytest
# Run the example.
python examples/basic_optimize.pyTests cover:
- Public API importability and
__all__contract. - Fusion correctness (runs compressed, boundaries respected, equivalence up to global phase).
- Integration tests comparing unitaries using
qiskit.quantum_info.Operator. - Measurement / barrier / multi-qubit structure preservation.
- Metadata fields (
original_depth,optimized_depth,original_1q_gate_count,optimized_1q_gate_count) and determinism. native_basisparameter: IBM (rz/sx) and ZYZ decomposition paths.
rqm-optimize → improves circuits today
rqm-calibration → backend / drift / native-axis intelligence (future)
rqm-noise → quaternionic noise and error modeling (future)
Apache License 2.0 — see LICENSE.