Lightworks 2.1 Documentation

Introduction

Lightworks is an open-source Python SDK, designed for the encoding of linear optic circuits for application in photonic quantum computing. It features a set of components which allow for the configuration of a target QPU to be defined, with powerful parametrisation and visualization tools for easy display and modification of created circuits.

Structure

The core import of Lightworks is the SDK, which contains the components required to build and define a job, such as the PhotonicCircuit & State objects. There is then a number of sub-packages included which offer different functionality, these are:

  • emulator : Provides backends for local simulation of circuits, including the ability to implement complex photonic-specific error models.

  • qubit : For the programming of dual-rail encoded qubit gates onto photonic circuits, also contains protocols for conversion of circuits from other languages.

  • tomography : Routines for performing quantum tomography on a circuit.

  • interferometers : Replicates process of encoding a Lightworks circuit onto a QPU, and offers error modelling capability to examine the effect of errors within this.

Where To Begin

To get started, check out the Usage section for further information on how Lightworks can be utilised, including how to install the project.

Once setup, there is then a set of tutorials for familiarization with the module, and some Examples to demonstrate the different ways in which Lightworks can be applied.