qml.operation.CVObservable

class CVObservable(*params, wires=None, id=None)[source]

Bases: pennylane.operation.CV, pennylane.operation.Observable

Base class representing continuous-variable observables.

CV observables provide a special Heisenberg representation.

The class attribute ev_order can be defined to indicate to PennyLane whether the corresponding CV observable is a polynomial in the quadrature operators. If so,

  • ev_order = 1 indicates a first order polynomial in quadrature operators \((\x, \p)\).

  • ev_order = 2 indicates a second order polynomial in quadrature operators \((\x, \p)\).

If ev_order is not None, then the Heisenberg representation of the observable should be defined in the static method _heisenberg_rep(), returning an array of the correct dimension.

Parameters
  • params (tuple[tensor_like]) – trainable parameters

  • wires (Iterable[Any] or Any) – Wire label(s) that the operator acts on. If not given, args[-1] is interpreted as wires.

  • id (str) – custom label given to an operator instance, can be useful for some applications where the instance has to be identified

arithmetic_depth

Arithmetic depth of the operator.

batch_size

Batch size of the operator if it is used with broadcasted parameters.

ev_order

Order in (x, p) that a CV observable is a polynomial of.

has_adjoint

has_decomposition

has_diagonalizing_gates

has_generator

has_matrix

hash

Integer hash that uniquely represents the operator.

hyperparameters

Dictionary of non-trainable variables that this operation depends on.

id

Custom string to label a specific operator instance.

is_hermitian

All observables must be hermitian

name

String for the name of the operator.

ndim_params

Number of dimensions per trainable parameter of the operator.

num_params

Number of trainable parameters that the operator depends on.

num_wires

Number of wires the operator acts on.

parameters

Trainable parameters that the operator depends on.

pauli_rep

A PauliSentence representation of the Operator, or None if it doesn’t have one.

supports_heisenberg

wires

Wires that the operator acts on.

arithmetic_depth

Arithmetic depth of the operator.

batch_size

Batch size of the operator if it is used with broadcasted parameters.

The batch_size is determined based on ndim_params and the provided parameters for the operator. If (some of) the latter have an additional dimension, and this dimension has the same size for all parameters, its size is the batch size of the operator. If no parameter has an additional dimension, the batch size is None.

Returns

Size of the parameter broadcasting dimension if present, else None.

Return type

int or None

ev_order = None

Order in (x, p) that a CV observable is a polynomial of.

Type

None, int

has_adjoint = False
has_decomposition = False
has_diagonalizing_gates = False
has_generator = False
has_matrix = False
hash

Integer hash that uniquely represents the operator.

Type

int

hyperparameters

Dictionary of non-trainable variables that this operation depends on.

Type

dict

id

Custom string to label a specific operator instance.

is_hermitian

All observables must be hermitian

name

String for the name of the operator.

ndim_params

Number of dimensions per trainable parameter of the operator.

By default, this property returns the numbers of dimensions of the parameters used for the operator creation. If the parameter sizes for an operator subclass are fixed, this property can be overwritten to return the fixed value.

Returns

Number of dimensions for each trainable parameter.

Return type

tuple

num_params

Number of trainable parameters that the operator depends on.

By default, this property returns as many parameters as were used for the operator creation. If the number of parameters for an operator subclass is fixed, this property can be overwritten to return the fixed value.

Returns

number of parameters

Return type

int

num_wires = -1

Number of wires the operator acts on.

parameters

Trainable parameters that the operator depends on.

pauli_rep

A PauliSentence representation of the Operator, or None if it doesn’t have one.

supports_heisenberg = False
wires

Wires that the operator acts on.

Returns

wires

Return type

Wires

adjoint()

Create an operation that is the adjoint of this one.

compare(other)

Compares with another Hamiltonian, Tensor, or Observable, to determine if they are equivalent.

compute_decomposition(*params[, wires])

Representation of the operator as a product of other operators (static method).

compute_diagonalizing_gates(*params, wires, …)

Sequence of gates that diagonalize the operator in the computational basis (static method).

compute_eigvals(*params, **hyperparams)

Eigenvalues of the operator in the computational basis (static method).

compute_matrix(*params, **hyperparams)

Representation of the operator as a canonical matrix in the computational basis (static method).

compute_sparse_matrix(*params, **hyperparams)

Representation of the operator as a sparse matrix in the computational basis (static method).

decomposition()

Representation of the operator as a product of other operators.

diagonalizing_gates()

Sequence of gates that diagonalize the operator in the computational basis.

eigvals()

Eigenvalues of the operator in the computational basis.

expand()

Returns a tape that contains the decomposition of the operator.

generator()

Generator of an operator that is in single-parameter-form.

heisenberg_expand(U, wire_order)

Expand the given local Heisenberg-picture array into a full-system one.

heisenberg_obs(wire_order)

Representation of the observable in the position/momentum operator basis.

label([decimals, base_label, cache])

A customizable string representation of the operator.

map_wires(wire_map)

Returns a copy of the current operator with its wires changed according to the given wire map.

matrix([wire_order])

Representation of the operator as a matrix in the computational basis.

pow(z)

A list of new operators equal to this one raised to the given power.

queue([context])

Append the operator to the Operator queue.

simplify()

Reduce the depth of nested operators to the minimum.

sparse_matrix([wire_order])

Representation of the operator as a sparse matrix in the computational basis.

terms()

Representation of the operator as a linear combination of other operators.

validate_subspace(subspace)

Validate the subspace for qutrit operations.

adjoint()

Create an operation that is the adjoint of this one.

Adjointed operations are the conjugated and transposed version of the original operation. Adjointed ops are equivalent to the inverted operation for unitary gates.

Returns

The adjointed operation.

compare(other)

Compares with another Hamiltonian, Tensor, or Observable, to determine if they are equivalent.

Observables/Hamiltonians are equivalent if they represent the same operator (their matrix representations are equal), and they are defined on the same wires.

Warning

The compare method does not check if the matrix representation of a Hermitian observable is equal to an equivalent observable expressed in terms of Pauli matrices. To do so would require the matrix form of Hamiltonians and Tensors be calculated, which would drastically increase runtime.

Returns

True if equivalent.

Return type

(bool)

Examples

>>> ob1 = qml.X(0) @ qml.Identity(1)
>>> ob2 = qml.Hamiltonian([1], [qml.X(0)])
>>> ob1.compare(ob2)
True
>>> ob1 = qml.X(0)
>>> ob2 = qml.Hermitian(np.array([[0, 1], [1, 0]]), 0)
>>> ob1.compare(ob2)
False
static compute_decomposition(*params, wires=None, **hyperparameters)

Representation of the operator as a product of other operators (static method).

\[O = O_1 O_2 \dots O_n.\]

Note

Operations making up the decomposition should be queued within the compute_decomposition method.

See also

decomposition().

Parameters
  • *params (list) – trainable parameters of the operator, as stored in the parameters attribute

  • wires (Iterable[Any], Wires) – wires that the operator acts on

  • **hyperparams (dict) – non-trainable hyperparameters of the operator, as stored in the hyperparameters attribute

Returns

decomposition of the operator

Return type

list[Operator]

static compute_diagonalizing_gates(*params, wires, **hyperparams)

Sequence of gates that diagonalize the operator in the computational basis (static method).

Given the eigendecomposition \(O = U \Sigma U^{\dagger}\) where \(\Sigma\) is a diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues, the sequence of diagonalizing gates implements the unitary \(U^{\dagger}\).

The diagonalizing gates rotate the state into the eigenbasis of the operator.

Parameters
  • params (list) – trainable parameters of the operator, as stored in the parameters attribute

  • wires (Iterable[Any], Wires) – wires that the operator acts on

  • hyperparams (dict) – non-trainable hyperparameters of the operator, as stored in the hyperparameters attribute

Returns

list of diagonalizing gates

Return type

list[Operator]

static compute_eigvals(*params, **hyperparams)

Eigenvalues of the operator in the computational basis (static method).

If diagonalizing_gates are specified and implement a unitary \(U^{\dagger}\), the operator can be reconstructed as

\[O = U \Sigma U^{\dagger},\]

where \(\Sigma\) is the diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues.

Otherwise, no particular order for the eigenvalues is guaranteed.

Parameters
  • *params (list) – trainable parameters of the operator, as stored in the parameters attribute

  • **hyperparams (dict) – non-trainable hyperparameters of the operator, as stored in the hyperparameters attribute

Returns

eigenvalues

Return type

tensor_like

static compute_matrix(*params, **hyperparams)

Representation of the operator as a canonical matrix in the computational basis (static method).

The canonical matrix is the textbook matrix representation that does not consider wires. Implicitly, this assumes that the wires of the operator correspond to the global wire order.

Parameters
  • *params (list) – trainable parameters of the operator, as stored in the parameters attribute

  • **hyperparams (dict) – non-trainable hyperparameters of the operator, as stored in the hyperparameters attribute

Returns

matrix representation

Return type

tensor_like

static compute_sparse_matrix(*params, **hyperparams)

Representation of the operator as a sparse matrix in the computational basis (static method).

The canonical matrix is the textbook matrix representation that does not consider wires. Implicitly, this assumes that the wires of the operator correspond to the global wire order.

See also

sparse_matrix()

Parameters
  • *params (list) – trainable parameters of the operator, as stored in the parameters attribute

  • **hyperparams (dict) – non-trainable hyperparameters of the operator, as stored in the hyperparameters attribute

Returns

sparse matrix representation

Return type

scipy.sparse._csr.csr_matrix

decomposition()

Representation of the operator as a product of other operators.

\[O = O_1 O_2 \dots O_n\]

A DecompositionUndefinedError is raised if no representation by decomposition is defined.

Returns

decomposition of the operator

Return type

list[Operator]

diagonalizing_gates()

Sequence of gates that diagonalize the operator in the computational basis.

Given the eigendecomposition \(O = U \Sigma U^{\dagger}\) where \(\Sigma\) is a diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues, the sequence of diagonalizing gates implements the unitary \(U^{\dagger}\).

The diagonalizing gates rotate the state into the eigenbasis of the operator.

A DiagGatesUndefinedError is raised if no representation by decomposition is defined.

Returns

a list of operators

Return type

list[Operator] or None

eigvals()

Eigenvalues of the operator in the computational basis.

If diagonalizing_gates are specified and implement a unitary \(U^{\dagger}\), the operator can be reconstructed as

\[O = U \Sigma U^{\dagger},\]

where \(\Sigma\) is the diagonal matrix containing the eigenvalues.

Otherwise, no particular order for the eigenvalues is guaranteed.

Note

When eigenvalues are not explicitly defined, they are computed automatically from the matrix representation. Currently, this computation is not differentiable.

A EigvalsUndefinedError is raised if the eigenvalues have not been defined and cannot be inferred from the matrix representation.

Returns

eigenvalues

Return type

tensor_like

expand()

Returns a tape that contains the decomposition of the operator.

Returns

quantum tape

Return type

QuantumTape

generator()

Generator of an operator that is in single-parameter-form.

For example, for operator

\[U(\phi) = e^{i\phi (0.5 Y + Z\otimes X)}\]

we get the generator

>>> U.generator()
  (0.5) [Y0]
+ (1.0) [Z0 X1]

The generator may also be provided in the form of a dense or sparse Hamiltonian (using Hermitian and SparseHamiltonian respectively).

The default value to return is None, indicating that the operation has no defined generator.

heisenberg_expand(U, wire_order)

Expand the given local Heisenberg-picture array into a full-system one.

Parameters
  • U (array[float]) – array to expand (expected to be of the dimension 1+2*self.num_wires)

  • wire_order (Wires) – global wire order defining which subspace the operator acts on

Raises

ValueError – if the size of the input matrix is invalid or num_wires is incorrect

Returns

expanded array, dimension 1+2*num_wires

Return type

array[float]

heisenberg_obs(wire_order)[source]

Representation of the observable in the position/momentum operator basis.

Returns the expansion \(q\) of the observable, \(Q\), in the basis \(\mathbf{r} = (\I, \x_0, \p_0, \x_1, \p_1, \ldots)\).

  • For first-order observables returns a real vector such that \(Q = \sum_i q_i \mathbf{r}_i\).

  • For second-order observables returns a real symmetric matrix such that \(Q = \sum_{ij} q_{ij} \mathbf{r}_i \mathbf{r}_j\).

Parameters

wire_order (Wires) – global wire order defining which subspace the operator acts on

Returns

\(q\)

Return type

array[float]

label(decimals=None, base_label=None, cache=None)

A customizable string representation of the operator.

Parameters
  • decimals=None (int) – If None, no parameters are included. Else, specifies how to round the parameters.

  • base_label=None (str) – overwrite the non-parameter component of the label

  • cache=None (dict) – dictionary that carries information between label calls in the same drawing

Returns

label to use in drawings

Return type

str

Example:

>>> op = qml.RX(1.23456, wires=0)
>>> op.label()
"RX"
>>> op.label(base_label="my_label")
"my_label"
>>> op = qml.RX(1.23456, wires=0, id="test_data")
>>> op.label()
"RX("test_data")"
>>> op.label(decimals=2)
"RX\n(1.23,"test_data")"
>>> op.label(base_label="my_label")
"my_label("test_data")"
>>> op.label(decimals=2, base_label="my_label")
"my_label\n(1.23,"test_data")"

If the operation has a matrix-valued parameter and a cache dictionary is provided, unique matrices will be cached in the 'matrices' key list. The label will contain the index of the matrix in the 'matrices' list.

>>> op2 = qml.QubitUnitary(np.eye(2), wires=0)
>>> cache = {'matrices': []}
>>> op2.label(cache=cache)
'U(M0)'
>>> cache['matrices']
[tensor([[1., 0.],
 [0., 1.]], requires_grad=True)]
>>> op3 = qml.QubitUnitary(np.eye(4), wires=(0,1))
>>> op3.label(cache=cache)
'U(M1)'
>>> cache['matrices']
[tensor([[1., 0.],
        [0., 1.]], requires_grad=True),
tensor([[1., 0., 0., 0.],
        [0., 1., 0., 0.],
        [0., 0., 1., 0.],
        [0., 0., 0., 1.]], requires_grad=True)]
map_wires(wire_map)

Returns a copy of the current operator with its wires changed according to the given wire map.

Parameters

wire_map (dict) – dictionary containing the old wires as keys and the new wires as values

Returns

new operator

Return type

Operator

matrix(wire_order=None)

Representation of the operator as a matrix in the computational basis.

If wire_order is provided, the numerical representation considers the position of the operator’s wires in the global wire order. Otherwise, the wire order defaults to the operator’s wires.

If the matrix depends on trainable parameters, the result will be cast in the same autodifferentiation framework as the parameters.

A MatrixUndefinedError is raised if the matrix representation has not been defined.

See also

compute_matrix()

Parameters

wire_order (Iterable) – global wire order, must contain all wire labels from the operator’s wires

Returns

matrix representation

Return type

tensor_like

pow(z)

A list of new operators equal to this one raised to the given power.

Parameters

z (float) – exponent for the operator

Returns

list[Operator]

queue(context=<class 'pennylane.queuing.QueuingManager'>)

Append the operator to the Operator queue.

simplify()

Reduce the depth of nested operators to the minimum.

Returns

simplified operator

Return type

Operator

sparse_matrix(wire_order=None)

Representation of the operator as a sparse matrix in the computational basis.

If wire_order is provided, the numerical representation considers the position of the operator’s wires in the global wire order. Otherwise, the wire order defaults to the operator’s wires.

A SparseMatrixUndefinedError is raised if the sparse matrix representation has not been defined.

Parameters

wire_order (Iterable) – global wire order, must contain all wire labels from the operator’s wires

Returns

sparse matrix representation

Return type

scipy.sparse._csr.csr_matrix

terms()

Representation of the operator as a linear combination of other operators.

\[O = \sum_i c_i O_i\]

A TermsUndefinedError is raised if no representation by terms is defined.

Returns

list of coefficients \(c_i\) and list of operations \(O_i\)

Return type

tuple[list[tensor_like or float], list[Operation]]

static validate_subspace(subspace)

Validate the subspace for qutrit operations.

This method determines whether a given subspace for qutrit operations is defined correctly or not. If not, a ValueError is thrown.

Parameters

subspace (tuple[int]) – Subspace to check for correctness

Warning

Operator.validate_subspace(subspace) has been relocated to the qml.ops.qutrit.parametric_ops module and will be removed from the Operator class in an upcoming release.