name: quantum-circuit-distribution-optimization description: "Joint qubit leasing and quantum circuit distribution optimization methodology. ILP formulation for multi-QC quantum network resource allocation, NP-completeness analysis, greedy algorithm with local search. Covers qubit allocation, gate execution placement, and inter-QC communication tradeoffs (migration vs teleportation). Activation: quantum circuit distribution, qubit leasing, quantum network optimization, JQLQCD, quantum resource allocation, distributed quantum computing." arxiv_id: "2606.00501"
Quantum Circuit Distribution Optimization (JQLQCD)
Methodology from arXiv:2606.00501 (May 2026). Joint Qubit Leasing and Quantum Circuit Distribution (JQLQCD) problem framework for optimizing quantum computation across networked quantum computers.
Problem Formulation
Given a quantum circuit to execute across N quantum computers (QCs) connected by a quantum network, optimize four coupled decisions:
- Qubit Leasing: How many qubits to lease from each QC
- Qubit Storage: Where to store circuit qubits at each time slot
- Gate Execution: Which QC executes each gate
- Qubit Movement: How to move qubits between QCs (migration vs teleportation)
Key Insight
These four decisions are interdependent — optimizing each independently leads to suboptimal solutions. The JQLQCD formulation captures the full coupling.
ILP Formulation
Decision Variables
x[q, t, c]: qubit q stored at QC c at time ty[g, c]: gate g executed at QC cl[c]: number of qubits leased from QC cm[q, t, c1, c2]: qubit q migrated from c1 to c2 at time ttele[q, t, c1, c2]: qubit q teleported from c1 to c2 at time t
Objective
Minimize total cost = leasing costs + communication costs (migration + teleportation)
Constraints
- Storage: Each qubit stored at exactly one location per time step
- Gate Proximity: Qubits needed by a gate must be co-located at execution QC
- Capacity: Leased qubits ≤ QC physical capacity
- Conservation: Qubit movement preserves quantum state
- Temporal: Gate ordering respects circuit dependencies
Complexity Results
NP-completeness: JQLQCD is NP-complete (reduction from graph partitioning).
Tractable special cases:
- Single-QC: Trivial — all gates execute locally
- Star topology with uniform costs: Polynomial-time optimal solution
- Tree topology with linear costs: Dynamic programming solution
- Fixed gate placement: Reduces to min-cost flow (polynomial)
Greedy Algorithm with Local Search
For general large instances:
Phase 1: Greedy Initialization
- Assign each gate to the QC with lowest leasing cost that has capacity
- For each qubit, assign storage to minimize total movement
- Choose migration vs teleportation based on cost comparison
Phase 2: Local Search Refinement
- Gate Swap: Try reassigning gates to different QCs
- Storage Redistribute: Rebalance qubit storage across QCs
- Communication Optimize: Switch migration ↔ teleportation where beneficial
- Accept moves that reduce total cost
Performance
- Near-optimal on small instances (within 5-15% of ILP optimum)
- Scales to circuits with 100+ qubits across 10+ QCs
- Runtime polynomial in circuit size × number of QCs
Tradeoff: Migration vs Teleportation
| Aspect | Migration | Teleportation |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Linear in distance | Constant (entanglement pre-shared) |
| Fidelity | Preserved during transfer | Requires entanglement + classical comm |
| Latency | O(distance × transfer rate) | O(classical comm latency) |
| Resource | No entanglement needed | Consumes entanglement pairs |
| Best for | Nearby QCs, low bandwidth needs | Distant QCs, high-fidelity needs |
Decision rule: Use migration when cost_migration < cost_teleportation, i.e., when QCs are physically close and entanglement is expensive to maintain.
Practical Applications
- Quantum Cloud Computing: Users lease qubits from multiple quantum cloud providers
- Distributed Quantum Computing: Multi-core quantum processors with interconnects
- Quantum Network Optimization: Routing quantum computations across a quantum internet
- Hybrid Quantum-Classical Workflows: Deciding which parts of a circuit run on which hardware
Design Patterns
Pattern 1: Cost-Aware Gate Placement
For each gate g:
candidates = QCs with capacity for all g's qubits
For each QC in candidates:
cost = lease_cost + movement_cost(qubits_to_QC) + gate_cost(QC, g)
Assign g to QC with minimum cost
Pattern 2: Communication Mode Selection
For each qubit transfer (q, c1, c2):
if distance(c1, c2) < threshold AND bandwidth(c1, c2) > min_bw:
use migration
else if entanglement_available(c1, c2):
use teleportation
else:
establish entanglement + use teleportation
Pattern 3: Temporal Qubit Scheduling
For each time step t in circuit:
active_qubits = qubits needed by gates at t
For each qubit q in active_qubits:
target_QC = QC executing next gate on q
if q.storage != target_QC:
plan movement (migration or teleportation)
Pitfalls
- Independent optimization is suboptimal: Optimizing leasing, placement, and communication separately ignores their coupling
- Teleportation has hidden costs: Entanglement generation and maintenance are expensive and not captured in simple models
- Gate fidelity varies by QC: Different QCs have different error rates — incorporate into cost model
- Temporal dependencies: Qubit movement takes time — must respect circuit timing constraints
- NP-hardness means heuristics are necessary: For real-world instances (>50 qubits, >5 QCs), exact ILP is intractable
Related Skills
- [[distributed-quantum-computing]] — DQC architecture and patterns
- [[quantum-qubit-routing]] — Qubit mapping and routing methodology
- [[asynchronous-quantum-distributed-computing]] — Asynchronous DQC patterns
- [[distributed-quantum-routing]] — Routing for distributed quantum networks
- [[quantum-network-control]] — Entanglement distribution optimization