Special Case: Simulating Stabilizer Circuits

We begin the discussion of quantum circuit simulation techniques with an in-depth analysis of a well-known technique which makes use of group theory to efficiently simulate a particular class of quantum circuits. The background material from Chapters 2, 3 and 4 will be combined to show how this class of quantum circuits, namely stabilizer circuits, and a corresponding compact representation, the stabilizer formalism, make up some key elements of a quantum circuit simulator. This special case study will set the stage for understanding the overall structure of a variety of other quantum circuit simulation techniques covered in the remainder of the book.