Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
For FAQs specific to the execution modes, see the Qiskit Runtime execution modes FAQ guide.
How do I cite Qiskit in my research?
Cite Qiskit by using the included BibTeX file.
How do I cite an IBM Quantum computer in my research?
For research papers, we encourage authors to acknowledge IBM Quantum™ by using:
We acknowledge the use of IBM Quantum services for this work. The views expressed are those of the authors, and do not reflect the official policy or position of IBM or the IBM Quantum team.
Paper references should be cited as follows:
IBM Quantum. https://quantum.ibm.com/, 2021
Quantum processing units in the paper should be referenced by their unique name (for example, ibmq_vigo) and optionally
adding the version (for example, ibmq_vigo v1.0.2). We also encourage referencing the processor.
For example:
In this paper we used
ibmq_vigo, which is one of the IBM Quantum Canary processors.
Example of citing an IBM Quantum program:
IBM Quantum (2022). Estimator primitive (Version x.y.z) [computer software]. https://quantum.ibm.com/
How do I cite IBM Quantum Composer in my research?
Example of citing IBM Quantum Composer:
IBM Quantum Composer. 2023. url: https://quantum.ibm.com/composer
What happened to Qiskit Aer, Qiskit Nature, Qiskit Experiments, etc.?
Before the release of the Qiskit SDK v1.0, Qiskit was comprised of many different Python distributions such as: qiskit-terra, the compiler core; qiskit-aer, the high-performance simulator; the original IBM Quantum™ provider; and several now-obsolete packages providing particular exploratory algorithmic or experiment-running features.
These separate software packages were combined together into what was called the Qiskit metapackage which allowed users to install all of these components together through pip install qiskit. This metapackage architecture was removed with the release of the Qiskit SDK v1.0 and each of the individual software distributions need to be installed separately.
Check out the Qiskit ecosystem to find the package you may be looking for. You can also read the 1.0 migration guide for more information about why this change happened.
Why do I receive the error message "AttributeError: QuantumCircuit object has no attribute save_state" when using save_*method on a circuit?
The save_* instructions are part of Qiskit Aer project,
a high performance simulator for quantum circuits. These instructions do not
exist outside of Qiskit Aer and are added dynamically to the
QuantumCircuit class by Qiskit Aer on import. To
use these instructions you must first import
qiskit_aer in your program. Refer
to the qiskit_aer.library for details.
Why do my results from real devices differ from my results from the simulator?
The simulator models an ideal environment, without noise or decoherence. When jobs are run on the real devices, noise from the environment and decoherence cause the qubits to behave differently than in an ideal environment.
How do I delete my account and data?
To delete your account, go to your account page. Scroll to the Delete Account section, and click Delete your account and account data. You will receive an email with a link to delete your account.
Questions about cloud simulator retirement
See the migration guide for details on the retirement of cloud simulators, and how to migrate to local simulators.
Didn't find what you were looking for?
Visit the Support page for further guidance.