{
  "id": 17336137,
  "title": "Ask the Circuit and Exact Dicke State Preparation at DuQuantum",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/31/ask-the-circuit-and-exact-dicke-state-preparation-at-duquantum",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-31T04:19:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/islama_4/ask-the-circuit-and-exact-dicke-state-preparation-at-duquantum-1k4g"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "At DuQuantum, Duke's quantum computing hackathon, a team crafted an efficient circuit to prepare an exact Dicke state for Google's Willow processor. A Dicke state evenly distributes a fixed number of excitations across every possible arrangement of qubits. For a six-qubit, three-excitation Dicke state, it involves creating a superposition of all 20 bitstrings containing exactly three ones. The team built a circuit preparation function called create_dicke_state_adaptive, utilizing CZ and single qubit gates. The function had to respect the processor's connectivity and stay within a 1750 moment limit. The circuit's performance was evaluated using real hardware calibration data, making gate errors and routing costs integral to the assessment. The team's GitHub code and website provided further information on the project. The hackathon saw the team place 3rd in the Google Quantum AI Challenge Standard Track, with Ask the Circuit winning MLH Best Use of Gemini API. Ask the Circuit, built using the Gemini API, connected natural language questions to circuit metrics, offering a conversational way to inspect the circuit's performance. The team's collaborative approach, testing different methods and comparing results, proved valuable in catching mistakes and identifying improvements.",
  "summary": "This is a submission for the MLH x DEV Writing Challenge What I Built At DuQuantum, Duke’s quantum computing hackathon, my team had 24 hours to solve a deceptively simple problem. Prepare an exact Dicke state for Google’s Willow processor, using as few gates and as little circuit depth as possible. A Dicke state spreads a fixed number of excitations evenly across every possible arrangement of…",
  "key_points": [
    "Team at DuQuantum created efficient circuit for exact Dicke state preparation",
    "Dicke state evenly distributes 3 excitations across 20 bitstrings for 6-qubit system",
    "Circuit created using CZ and single qubit gates, evaluated with hardware calibration data"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Integrating natural language interfaces with hardware-aware circuit design streamlines the process of inspecting complex quantum state preparation for developers working on specialized processors like Google's Willow.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}