PHOENIX: Pauli-Based High-Level Optimization Engine for Instruction Execution on NISQ Devices

Abstract

Variational quantum algorithms (VQA) based on Hamiltonian simulation represent a specialized class of quantum programs well-suited for near-term quantum computing applications due to its modest resource requirements in terms of qubits and circuit depth. Unlike the conventional single-qubit (1Q) and two-qubit (2Q) gate sequence representation, Hamiltonian simulation programs are essentially composed of disciplined subroutines known as Pauli exponentiations (Pauli strings with coefficients) that are variably arranged. To capitalize on these distinct program features, this study introduces PHOENIX, a highly effective compilation framework that primarily operates at the high-level Pauli-based intermediate representation (IR) for generic Hamiltonian simulation programs. PHOENIX exploits global program optimization opportunities to the greatest extent, compared to existing SOTA methods despite some of them also utilizing similar IRs. Experimental results demonstrate that PHOENIX outperforms SOTA VQA compilers across diverse program categories, backend ISAs, and hardware topologies.

6 pages, 8 figures; Open-sourced on GitHub; A conference paper at DAC 2025

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