qutip-virtual-lab

A virtual laboratory interface to QuTiP for learning and exploring quantum mechanics on tablets, phones and in the browser.

⚛ Go to QuTiP Virtual Lab ⚛

Building for Development

You will need to have installed:

• Node.js
• Yarn
• Docker

Clone the repo:

git clone https://github.com/qutip/qutip-virtual-lab && \
cd qutip-virtual-lab

Run yarn to install the Node.js dependencies:

yarn

Build the docker container, pack the QuTiP environment, and start development with:

yarn start:with_docker

Access the development build in your browser at localhost:8080

Implementation

Runtime

The application uses Emscripten compile QuTiP's Python code to WebAssembly, which can be run in the browser. The application uses the empack utility to build the runtime It converts a list of Python packages into two files:

• pyjs_runtime_browser.js
• pyjs_runtime_browser.wasm

The list of Python packages to be included in the runtime are specified in the web_environment.yml file.

Interface

As the user interacts with the Laboratory, the application translates the state of the Laboratory into valid Python source code and executes it. The logic for this translation is implemented Simulation.tsx and simulationUtils.ts. The generated Python source code ends with a series of print statements, which are used to pass the results back to Javascript. When the WebAssembly runtime has completed, the print statements pass the data back to the Javascript code as a stream of strings. This response is buffered and parsed as a JSON object, which then allows for the Javascript code to handle it.

UI

The UI is implemented in React and Typescript. For drawing the qubits, lasers, baths, and interactions, the application uses the react-konva library. The Bloch spheres in the Results tab are implemented use the react-three-fiber library.

Future Ideas

Plots of results:

• Hinton plots of results
• Wigner function of results

Testing:

• E2E testing

Performance:

• Load QuTiP in background using Web Workers

Styling:

• Responsiveness

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Credits:

• Made by Trent Fridey with help from Alex Pitchford and Simon Cross