Qadence: a differentiable interface for digital and analog programs

In this work we present Qadence, a high-level programming interface for building complex digital and analog quantum programs. Digital-analog quantum computing (DAQC) is an alternative paradigm for universal quantum computation combining digital gates with global analog operations acting on a register of interacting qubits. Currently, no available open-source software is tailored to express, differentiate, and execute programs within the DAQC paradigm. Qadence addresses this shortfall by seamlessly allowing the user to combine digital and analog primitives. With a flexible interface and focus on native differentiability, Qadence aims to support research in variational algorithms in these hybrid computational models.