Variational quantum algorithms, inspired by neural networks, have become a novel approach in quantum computing. However, designing efficient parameterized quantum circuits remains a challenge. Quantum architecture search tackles this by adjusting circuit structures along with gate parameters to automatically discover high-performance circuit structures. In this study, we propose an end-to-end distributed quantum architecture search framework, where we aim to automatically design distributed quantum circuit structures for interconnected quantum processing units with specific qubit connectivity. We devise a circuit generation algorithm which incorporates TeleGate and TeleData methods to enable nonlocal gate implementation across quantum processing units. While taking into account qubit connectivity, we also incorporate qubit assignment from logical to physical qubits within our quantum architecture search framework. A two-stage progressive training-free strategy is employed to evaluate extensive circuit structures without circuit training costs. Through numerical experiments on three VQE tasks, the efficacy and efficiency of our scheme is demonstrated. Our research into discovering efficient structures for distributed quantum circuits is crucial for near-term quantum computing where a single quantum processing unit has a limited number of qubits. Distributed quantum circuits allow for breaking down complex computations into manageable parts that can be processed across multiple quantum processing units.

• Received 4 April 2024
• Accepted 8 July 2024

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.110.022403