rigetti / rigetti/pyquil

Read classical registers while keeping the wavefunction

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Description

In pyQuil < 2.0, it was possible to simulate postselection when simulating wavefunctions, with codes of this style:

from pyquil import Program
from pyquil.api import QVMConnection
from pyquil.gates import *

state_prep = Program(H(0))
state_prep += I(1)
state_prep.measure(0, 0)
conditional_bit = 0

qvm = QVMConnection()
finished = False
while not finished:
    wf = qvm.wavefunction(program.if_then(conditional_bit, I(0)), [conditional_bit])
    finished = wf.classical_memory[conditional_bit]

# Here would come other operations with wf, which is now postselected on the first qubit being |1>.

I have not managed to reproduce this type of program with pyQuil 2.3. The most similar solution (that is quite specific) that I have found is the following:

from pyquil import Program
from pyquil.api import QVMConnection
from pyquil.gates import *

conditional_bit = 0

state_prep = Program(H(0))
c = cr.declare('ro', 'BIT', 1)
state_prep += MEASURE(0, c[conditional_bit])

qvm = QVMConnection()
finished = False
while not finished:
    wf = qvm.wavefunction(program.if_then(('ro', conditional_bit), I(0)))
    finished = (abs(wf.amplitudes[0]) < 1e-10)

# Here would come other operations with wf, which is now postselected on the first qubit being |1>

So, ultimately my question is, is there a standard way to access classical registers from outside a Quil program?

Thank you

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Research direction

Start with QVMConnection.wavefunction and the Program, MEASURE, and classical_memory usage shown in the issue. Trace how classical registers are handled outside a Quil program and determine what standard access should look like; done requires a decided API behavior and corresponding documentation or tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
api
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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