Key Takeaways
- Quantum circuit papers appear across arXiv, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Nature — each platform requires a slightly different citation format.
- Always include the arXiv identifier (e.g.,
arXiv:quant-ph/9605043) when citing preprints, and add a DOI if the paper has been formally published. - IEEE format dominates quantum computing conference venues such as QIP, IEEE Quantum Week, and ISCA.
- BibTeX entries should use the
eprintfield to store arXiv identifiers, ensuring version traceability for reproducibility. - Auto-citation tools like Zotero and Mendeley save time but frequently require manual corrections for author names and version numbers.
- When citing a specific quantum circuit diagram or algorithm, always reference the exact figure or section number within the source paper.
Why Getting Your Quantum Circuit Citations Right Matters
Citing a quantum circuit paper incorrectly can undermine your credibility before a reviewer reads a single equation. In a field where foundational results — like the Solovay-Kitaev theorem or Shor's factoring algorithm — are cited hundreds of times per year, even small errors in attribution can cascade into confusion about versioning, notation, and intellectual priority. Quantum computing literature is unusually complex to navigate because the same result often exists as an arXiv preprint, a conference proceedings paper, and a revised journal article, each with potentially different circuit definitions.
The stakes are especially high in 2026, as quantum hardware has matured enough that circuit-level papers now carry direct engineering consequences. A misattributed gate decomposition or an uncited noise model can affect reproducibility in ways that pure theory papers do not. Whether you are writing a PhD thesis, a conference submission to IEEE Quantum Week, or a technical report for an open-source quantum SDK, mastering citation conventions is a professional necessity.
Where Quantum Circuit Papers Live: The Four Major Sources
Before you can cite a quantum circuit paper, you need to know where to find authoritative versions of it. The four primary repositories are arXiv, IEEE Xplore, the ACM Digital Library, and Nature Publishing Group. Each has its own metadata standards, and the citation format you use will depend on which version you are actually referencing.
arXiv: The Preprint Home of Quantum Computing
The vast majority of quantum circuit research appears on arXiv.org before — and sometimes instead of — formal publication. The quantum physics section (quant-ph) and the emerging quantum computing cross-listings under cs.ET are the two most active categories. When you cite a quantum circuit paper from arXiv, the identifier is a mandatory component of your citation, not an optional supplement.
arXiv identifiers come in two formats: the legacy format used before April 2007 (e.g., quant-ph/9605043 for Shor's 1996 paper) and the current format introduced in 2007 (e.g., arXiv:2401.12345). Always use the identifier that matches the version you actually read, and specify the version number (v1, v2, etc.) if you are citing a specific revision. This matters because authors frequently update circuit diagrams, correct gate counts, or revise complexity claims between versions.
IEEE Xplore and ACM Digital Library
IEEE Xplore hosts the proceedings of IEEE Quantum Week (QCE), the International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA), and dozens of other venues where quantum circuit papers appear. The ACM Digital Library covers ASPLOS, PLDI, and STOC, all of which increasingly publish quantum compilation and circuit optimization work. Both platforms provide DOIs, which should always be included in your citation when available.
A key practical point: IEEE and ACM both offer export buttons that generate citations in their preferred formats. However, these auto-exports frequently truncate author lists using "et al." in ways that violate the style guides for formal submission. Always verify that all authors are listed correctly, particularly for landmark papers with large collaborative teams such as those from Google Quantum AI or IBM Quantum.
Nature and High-Impact Journals
Experimental quantum circuit results — particularly those demonstrating quantum advantage or error correction milestones — often appear in Nature, Nature Physics, or Science. These journals use author-date citation styles internally, but when you cite them in a computer science or engineering paper, you will typically convert them to IEEE or ACM format. Always retrieve the DOI from the journal's official page rather than from a secondary aggregator, as DOIs can occasionally be recorded incorrectly on third-party sites.
IEEE Citation Format for Quantum Circuit Papers
IEEE format is the de facto standard for citing quantum circuit papers in computer science and electrical engineering contexts. It uses numbered references in square brackets and a reference list ordered by appearance in the text. The general structure for a conference paper is: Author Initials and Last Name, "Title of Paper," in Proceedings of Conference Name, City, Country, Year, pp. X–Y, doi: 10.XXXX/XXXXX.
Here is a concrete example for Peter Shor's foundational quantum circuit paper on polynomial-time algorithms for prime factorization, as it appeared in the FOCS 1994 proceedings:
P. W. Shor, "Algorithms for quantum computation: Discrete logarithms and factoring," in Proc. 35th Annu. Symp. Foundations of Computer Science (FOCS), Santa Fe, NM, USA, 1994, pp. 124–134, doi: 10.1109/SFCS.1994.365700.For a journal article, replace the proceedings information with the journal name, volume, issue, and page range. When the paper exists on arXiv and in a journal, cite the journal version as the primary reference and note the arXiv identifier parenthetically or in a footnote, depending on the venue's style guide. IEEE itself recommends including the DOI as the final element of every reference where one exists.
ACM Citation Format for Quantum Circuit Papers
The ACM citation style, used in venues like ASPLOS and CCS, differs from IEEE in its use of author last names and the placement of the year. ACM's current preferred format (based on ACM Master Article Template 2026) places the year immediately after the author list. For a conference paper, the structure is: Last Name, First Initial., et al. Year. Title. In Proceedings of Conference Acronym (City, Country). ACM, New York, NY, Pages X–Y. DOI.
ACM Digital Library's export tool generates BibTeX, RIS, and formatted citations automatically, but the formatted output sometimes omits the full conference location or uses an outdated edition of the style guide. Cross-check any auto-generated ACM citation against the ACM Reference Formatting guidelines before submission. This is especially common for papers from newer venues like the ACM Symposium on Quantum Computing (SQC), which was established relatively recently and may not yet be fully indexed with complete metadata.
How to Cite a Quantum Circuit Paper from arXiv in BibTeX
BibTeX is the backbone of citation management for LaTeX documents, which remain the standard in quantum computing research. When you cite a quantum circuit paper that exists only as an arXiv preprint, use the @misc entry type and include the eprint and archivePrefix fields. These fields are recognized by modern BibTeX processors and by the hyperref and biblatex packages to generate clickable arXiv links automatically.
@misc{shor1996polynomial,
author = {Shor, Peter W.},
title = {Polynomial-Time Algorithms for Prime Factorization and Discrete Logarithms on a Quantum Computer},
year = {1996},
eprint = {quant-ph/9508027},
archivePrefix= {arXiv},
primaryClass = {quant-ph},
note = {Version 2, revised January 1996}
}If the preprint has since been formally published, switch to the appropriate entry type (@article or @inproceedings) and add a doi field. Retain the eprint field even in the published entry — this is strongly recommended by the quantum computing community because the arXiv version is often the one most accessible to readers worldwide, and the two versions may differ in circuit notation or appendix content.
Version Traceability: A Critical Detail
One of the most common mistakes researchers make when they cite a quantum circuit paper is failing to specify which version of an arXiv preprint they used. As of 2026, arXiv supports permanent versioned URLs in the format https://arxiv.org/abs/XXXX.XXXXXv2. Including the version number in your BibTeX note field or your formatted citation protects you if a subsequent revision changes the circuit design or corrects an error in the gate count. Reviewers and reproducibility checkers increasingly expect this level of precision.
Citing Specific Quantum Circuit Diagrams and Algorithms
When your work directly builds on a specific quantum circuit — a particular CNOT ladder, a T-gate synthesis routine, or a quantum error-correcting code circuit — citing the paper at the section or figure level is both more accurate and more useful to your readers. Most style guides allow for pinpoint citations using page numbers or figure references. In IEEE format, this looks like: [3, Fig. 4] or [7, Sec. III-B].
This practice is especially important in quantum circuit compilation and optimization papers, where the exact gate sequence matters for comparing results. If you are referencing the surface code circuit from Fowler et al. (2012), for example, you should cite the specific figure in their Physical Review A paper that defines the syndrome extraction circuit, not just the paper in general. Vague citations of landmark papers are a common reviewer complaint in quantum computing submissions.
Citation Management Tools: What Works and What Needs Fixing
Zotero and Mendeley are the two most widely used citation managers among quantum computing researchers. Both can import references directly from arXiv, IEEE Xplore, and the ACM Digital Library via browser extensions. The NASA Astrophysics Data System (NASA ADS), while primarily designed for astrophysics, also indexes a significant portion of quantum computing literature and provides high-quality BibTeX exports.
Despite their convenience, all three tools have known limitations when used to cite quantum circuit papers. Zotero frequently imports arXiv author names in the wrong order when authors use non-Western naming conventions, a significant issue given the global nature of quantum computing research. Mendeley sometimes fails to capture the version number of an arXiv preprint, defaulting to the most recent version rather than the one you actually accessed. Always manually verify the author list, the arXiv version, and the DOI after any auto-import before incorporating a citation into your manuscript.
Using Google Scholar with Caution
Google Scholar is a popular starting point for finding quantum circuit papers, and its "Cite" button generates formatted citations in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles. However, it does not natively support IEEE or ACM format, and its metadata for arXiv preprints is notoriously inconsistent — it sometimes lists the arXiv submission date as the publication year and omits the journal publication entirely. Use Google Scholar to discover papers, then retrieve the authoritative citation from the publisher's official page or from the paper's arXiv abstract page.
Checking Whether a Preprint Has Been Formally Published
One of the most consequential steps when you cite a quantum circuit paper is verifying whether the arXiv version you found has since been published in a peer-reviewed venue. The arXiv abstract page for a paper will often include a "Journal-ref" field if the authors have linked a formal publication. You can also search the DOI or title on Google Scholar or Semantic Scholar to find the published version.
The difference between an arXiv preprint and its published counterpart can be substantial in quantum circuit research. Peer review frequently results in revised circuit definitions, corrected complexity bounds, or updated experimental parameters. Citing the preprint when a published version exists is generally acceptable in most venues, but you should note the published version in your reference and use its DOI. Citing only the preprint of a paper that has been formally retracted or significantly corrected is a serious academic error that citation management tools will not catch for you.
Conclusion: Cite Quantum Circuit Papers with Precision and Confidence
Knowing how to cite a quantum circuit paper correctly is not a bureaucratic formality — it is a fundamental part of scientific communication in a field where precision is everything. The right citation tells your readers exactly which version of a circuit you used, where to find it, and how it has evolved through the publication process. In 2026, as quantum computing research accelerates and reproducibility standards tighten, rigorous citation practices are increasingly a marker of professional credibility.
Start by identifying the authoritative source — arXiv, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, or a journal — and use the citation format appropriate for your target venue. Build clean BibTeX entries with eprint fields and version notes. Verify auto-generated citations from Zotero or Mendeley against the original source. And when your work depends on a specific circuit diagram or algorithm, cite it at the figure or section level. These habits will distinguish your work in peer review and make your papers easier to build upon.
Ready to go deeper into the field? Explore quantum computing fundamentals, circuit design patterns, and the latest research at QuantumComputer.dev — your resource for staying at the frontier of quantum development.