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arXiv:1403.3469 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Stability of the Trotter–Suzuki decomposition

Ish Dhand, Barry C. Sanders

Published Jun 17, 2014• 21 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

The Trotter-Suzuki decomposition is an important tool for the simulation and control of physical systems. We provide evidence for the stability of the Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. We model the error in the decomposition and determine sufficiency conditions that guarantee the stability of this decomposition under this model. We relate these sufficiency conditions to precision limitations of computing and control in both classical and quantum cases. Furthermore we show that bounded-error Trotter-Suzuki decomposition can be achieved by a suitable choice of machine precision.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8113/47/26/265206

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Accurately simulating long-time dynamics of many-body systems is a challenge in both classical and quantum computing due to the accumulation of Trotter errors. While low-order Trotter-Suzuki decompositions are straightforward to implement, their rapidly growing error limits access to long-time observables. We present a framework for constructing efficient high-order Trotter-Suzuki schemes by identifying their structure and directly optimizing their parameters over a high-dimensional space. This method enables the discovery of new schemes with significantly improved efficiency compared to traditional constructions, such as those by Suzuki and Yoshida. Based on the theoretical efficiency and practical performance, we recommend two novel highly efficient schemes at $4^{\textrm{th}}$ and $6^{\textrm{th}}$ order. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of these decompositions on the Heisenberg model and the quantum harmonic oscillator, and find that for a fixed final time they perform better across the computational cost. Even when using large time steps, they surpass established low-order schemes like the Leapfrog. Finally, we investigate the in-practice performance of different Trotter schemes and find the decompositions with more uniform coefficients tend to feature improved error accumulation over long times. We have included this observation into our choice of recommended schemes.

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The Trotter-Suzuki decomposition is an important tool for the simulation and control of physical systems. We provide evidence for the stability of the Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. We model the error in the decomposition and determine sufficiency conditions that guarantee the stability of this decomposition under this model. We relate these sufficiency conditions to precision limitations of computing and control in both classical and quantum cases. Furthermore we show that bounded-error Trotter-Suzuki decomposition can be achieved by a suitable choice of machine precision.
Accurately simulating long-time dynamics of many-body systems is a challenge in both classical and quantum computing due to the accumulation of Trotter errors. While low-order Trotter-Suzuki decompositions are straightforward to implement, their rapidly growing error limits access to long-time observables. We present a framework for constructing efficient high-order Trotter-Suzuki schemes by identifying their structure and directly optimizing their parameters over a high-dimensional space. This method enables the discovery of new schemes with significantly improved efficiency compared to traditional constructions, such as those by Suzuki and Yoshida. Based on the theoretical efficiency and practical performance, we recommend two novel highly efficient schemes at 4th4^{\textrm{th}}4th and 6th6^{\textrm{th}}6th order. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of these decompositions on the Heisenberg model and the quantum harmonic oscillator, and find that for a fixed final time they perform better across the computational cost. Even when using large time steps, they surpass established low-order schemes like the Leapfrog. Finally, we investigate the in-practice performance of different Trotter schemes and find the decompositions with more uniform coefficients tend to feature improved error accumulation over long times. We have included this observation into our choice of recommended schemes.
Abstract Suzuki–Trotter decompositions of exponential operators like exp ( H t ) are required in almost every branch of numerical physics. Often the exponent under consideration has to be split into more than two operators H = ∑ k A k , for instance as local gates on quantum computers. We demonstrate how highly optimised schemes originally derived for exactly two operators A 1 , 2 can be applied to such generic Suzuki–Trotter decompositions, providing a formal proof of correctness as well as numerical evidence of efficiency. A comprehensive review of existing symmetric decomposition schemes up to order n ⩽ 4 is presented and complemented by a number of novel schemes, including both real and complex coefficients. We derive the theoretically most efficient unitary and non-unitary 4th order decompositions. The list is augmented by several exceptionally efficient schemes of higher order n ⩽ 8 . Furthermore we show how Taylor expansions can be used on classical devices to reach machine precision at a computational effort at which state of the art Trotterization schemes do not surpass a relative precision of 10 −4 . Finally, a short and easily understandable summary explains how to choose the optimal decomposition in any given scenario.
Hamiltonian formulations of lattice field theories provide access to real-time dynamics, but their simulation is difficult to implement efficiently. Trotter-Suzuki decompositions are at the center of time evolution computation, either on quantum hardware or classically, for instance with the use of tensor networks. While low-order Trotterizations remain the standard choice due to their simplicity, higher-order schemes offer the potential for improved efficiency. In this work we outline a short guide to Trotter-Suzuki schemes and their implementations in general. To help with this, we highlight new efficient schemes found by our optimization framework, and demonstrate their performance on the Heisenberg model.
Abstract The potential of employing higher orders of the Trotter-Suzuki decomposition of the evolution operator for more effective simulations of quantum systems on a noisy quantum computer is explored. By examining the transverse-field Ising model and the XY model, it is demonstrated that when the gate error is decreased by approximately an order of magnitude relative to typical modern values, higher-order Trotterization becomes advantageous. This form of Trotterization yields a global minimum of the overall simulation error, comprising both the mathematical error of Trotterization and the physical error arising from gate execution.
(Suzuki-)Trotter decompositions, splitting methods, (Lie) product formulae... The most common numerical methods for the time evolution of quantum systems come with many names. And they are used practically everywhere with applications ranging from the solution of classical equations of motion and various Monte Carlo simulations to the real and imaginary time evolution on classical as well as quantum computers. Here we review the state of the art of said methods, focussing especially on the progress made over the last few years. We highlight recently discovered efficient time evolution algorithms and explain how best to use them in practice. A central part of this work is the estimation of error bounds that has improved greatly within the past decade. The relevance of time evolution methods for quantum computing is discussed with a focus on noisy hardware. Finally, a comprehensive overview of generalisations, related methods and alternatives to Trotterization is provided. This includes time-dependent Hamiltonian dynamics, processed methods, multi-product formulae, symplectic integrators, TDVP for tensor networks, quantum signal processing, Crouch-Grossman methods and more. The overall perspective in this work is that of a theoretical physicist. All mathematical proofs as well as some technical details are omitted for easier readability. Instead, this review serves as a hands-on guide and, of course, as a starting point for references that provide further details.
Hamiltonian formulations of lattice field theories provide access to real-time dynamics, but their simulation is difficult to implement efficiently. Trotter-Suzuki decompositions are at the center of time evolution computation, either on quantum hardware or classically, for instance with the use of tensor networks. While low-order Trotterizations remain the standard choice due to their simplicity, higher-order schemes offer the potential for improved efficiency. In this work we outline a short guide to Trotter-Suzuki schemes and their implementations in general. To help with this, we highlight new efficient schemes found by our optimization framework, and demonstrate their performance on the Heisenberg model.