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arXiv:2304.12240 · Physical Review Letters

Gaussian Boson Sampling with Pseudo-Photon-Number-Resolving Detectors and Quantum Computational Advantage

Yu‐Hao Deng, Yi-Chao Gu, Hua-Liang Liu, Si-Qiu Gong, Hao Su, Zhi-Jiong Zhang, Haoyang Tang, Meng-Hao Jia, Jiamin Xu, Ming-Cheng Chen, Jian Qin, Lichao Peng, Jiarong Yan, Yi Hu, Jia Huang, Hao Li, Yuxuan Li, Yaojian Chen, Xiao Jiang, Lin Gan, Guangwen Yang, Lixing You, Li Li, Han-Sen Zhong, Hui Wang, Nai-Le Liu, Jelmer J. Renema, Chao‐Yang Lu, Jian-Wei Pan

Published Oct 10, 2023• 155 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We report new Gaussian boson sampling experiments with pseudo-photon-number-resolving detection, which register up to 255 photon-click events. We consider partial photon distinguishability and develop a more complete model for the characterization of the noisy Gaussian boson sampling. In the quantum computational advantage regime, we use Bayesian tests and correlation function analysis to validate the samples against all current classical spoofing mockups. Estimating with the best classical algorithms to date, generating a single ideal sample from the same distribution on the supercomputer Frontier would take $\ensuremath{\sim}600\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{yr}$ using exact methods, whereas our quantum computer, Ji\ifmmode \check{u}\else \v{u}\fi{}zh\ifmmode \bar{a}\else \={a}\fi{}ng 3.0, takes only $1.27\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}\mathrm{s}$ to produce a sample. Generating the hardest sample from the experiment using an exact algorithm would take $\mathrm{Frontier}\ensuremath{\sim}3.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{10}\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{yr}$.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.131.150601

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Abstract An important challenge with the current generation of noisy, large-scale quantum computers is the question of validation. Does the hardware generate correct answers? If not, what are the errors? This issue is often combined with questions of computational advantage, but it is a fundamentally distinct issue. In current experiments, complete validation of the output statistics is generally not possible because it is exponentially hard to do so. Here, we apply phase-space simulation methods to partially verify recent experiments on Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) implementing photon-number resolving detectors. The positive-P phase-space distribution is employed, as it uses probabilistic sampling to reduce complexity. It is ∼ 10 18 times faster than direct classical simulation for experiments on 288 modes where quantum computational advantage is claimed. When combined with binning and marginalization to improve statistics, multiple validation tests are efficiently computable, of which some tests can be carried out on experimental data. We show that the data as a whole has discrepancies with theoretical predictions for perfect squeezing. However, a modification of the GBS parameters greatly improves agreement for some tests. We suggest that such validation tests could form the basis of feedback methods to improve GBS experiments.
The creation of large-scale, high-fidelity quantum computers is not only a fundamental scientific endeavour in itself, but also provides increasingly robust proofs of quantum computational advantage (QCA) in the presence of unavoidable noise and the dynamic competition with classical algorithm improvements. To overcome the biggest challenge of photon-based QCA experiments, photon loss, we report new Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) experiments with 1024 high-efficiency squeezed states injected into a hybrid spatial-temporal encoded, 8176-mode, programmable photonic quantum processor, Jiuzhang 4.0, which produces up to 3050 photon detection events. Our experimental results outperform all classical spoofing algorithms, particularly the matrix product state (MPS) method, which was recently proposed to utilise photon loss to reduce the classical simulation complexity of GBS. Using the state-of-the-art MPS algorithm on the most powerful supercomputer EI Capitan, it would take > 104210^{42}1042 years to construct the required tensor network for simulation, while our Jiuzhang 4.0 quantum computer takes 25.6 μμμs to produce a sample. This work establishes a new frontier of QCA and paves the way to fault-tolerant photonic quantum computing hardware.
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Gaussian boson sampling (GBS), a computational problem conjectured to be hard to simulate on a classical machine, has been at the forefront of recent years' experimental and theoretical efforts to demonstrate quantum advantage. The classical intractability of the sampling task makes validating these experiments a challenging and essential undertaking. In this paper, we propose binned-detector probability distributions as a suitable quantity to statistically validate GBS experiments employing photon-number-resolving detectors. We show how to compute such distributions by leveraging their connection with their respective characteristic function. The latter may be efficiently and analytically computed for squeezed input states as well as for relevant classical hypothesis like squashed states. Our scheme encompasses other validation methods based on marginal distributions and correlation functions. Additionally, it can accommodate various sources of noise, such as losses and partial distinguishability, a feature that have received limited attention within the GBS framework so far. We also illustrate how binned-detector probability distributions behave when Haar-averaged over all possible interferometric networks, extending known results for Fock boson sampling.
Gaussian boson sampling constitutes a prime candidate for an experimental demonstration of quantum advantage within reach with current technological capabilities. The original proposal employs photon-number-resolving detectors, however, these are not widely available. Nevertheless, inexpensive threshold detectors can be combined into a single click-counting detector to achieve approximate photon-number resolution. We investigate the problem of sampling from a general multimode Gaussian state using click-counting detectors and show that the probability of obtaining a given outcome is related to a matrix function which is dubbed as the Kensingtonian. We show how the Kensingtonian relates to the Torontonian and the Hafnian, thus bridging the gap between known Gaussian boson sampling variants. We then prove that, under standard complexity-theoretical conjectures, the model cannot be simulated efficiently. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Quantum computers solve intractable problems which classically require an exponentially long time to compute. With the development of large-scale experiments that claim quantum advantage, a vital issue has now emerged. What are the errors, and how do they affect the complexity of the problem solved? Large-scale Gaussian boson sampling (GBS) experiments give an example in which random numbers are generated. Despite classical hardness, these have computable benchmarks for checking data validity. While there are other quantum computing architectures, Gaussian boson sampling is uniquely testable at all scales. Several large, pioneering quantum computing (QC) experiments have been carried out to investigate quantum advantage. Here, we introduce a highly scalable but classical algorithm that can solve GBS approximately. Our numerical simulation of the output count data is closer to the exact solution than current experiments up to 1152 modes. This algorithm outperforms all previous classical, approximate algorithms and scales efficiently to larger experiments. Our results show that effects beyond losses can cause the errors that allow classical simulability. This work will lead to more precise algorithms and is a step towards understanding how QC quantum advantage is affected by the underlying physics.