Defining Standard Strategies for Quantum Benchmarks

Abstract: As quantum computers grow in size and scope, a question of great importance is how best to benchmark performance. Here we define a set of characteristics that any benchmark should follow -- randomized, well-defined, holistic, device independent -- and make a distinction between benchmarks and diagnostics. We use Quantum Volume (QV) [1] as an example case for clear rules in benchmarking, illustrating the implications for using different success statistics, as in Ref. [2]. We discuss the issue of benchmark optimizations, detail when those optimizations are appropriate, and how they should be reported. Reporting the use of quantum error mitigation techniques is especially critical for interpreting benchmarking results, as their ability to yield highly accurate observables comes with exponential overhead, which is often omitted in performance evaluations. Finally, we use application-oriented and mirror benchmarking techniques to demonstrate some of the highlighted optimization principles, and introduce a scalable mirror quantum volume benchmark. We elucidate the importance of simple optimizations for improving benchmarking results, and note that such omissions can make a critical difference in comparisons. For example, when running mirror randomized benchmarking, we observe a reduction in error per qubit from 2% to 1% on a 26-qubit circuit with the inclusion of dynamic decoupling.