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Glossary

Quantum glossary

Shots

The number of times a circuit is run and measured to build up a histogram of outcomes.

Each shot yields a single bitstring, so probabilities are estimated statistically: the error shrinks like 1/√shots. Four times the shots halves the error bar.

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Related terms

  • Born rule — The rule that the probability of a measurement outcome is the squared magnitude of its amplitude.
  • Expectation value — The average result you would get measuring an observable on many copies of the same state.