Loading functions into quantum computers represents an essential step in several quantum algorithms, such as quantum partial differential equation solvers. Therefore, the inefficiency of this process leads to a major bottleneck for the application of these algorithms. Here, we present and compare two efficient methods for the amplitude encoding of real polynomial functions on n qubits. This case holds special relevance, as any continuous function on a closed interval can be uniformly approximated with arbitrary precision by a polynomial function. The first approach relies on the matrix product state representation (MPS). We study and benchmark the approximations of the target state when the bond dimension is assumed to be small. The second algorithm combines two subroutines. Initially we encode the linear function into the quantum registers either via its MPS or with a shallow sequence of multi-controlled gates that loads the linear function's Hadamard-Walsh series, and we explore how truncating the Hadamard-Walsh series of the linear function affects the final fidelity. Applying the inverse discrete Hadamard-Walsh transform converts the state encoding the series coefficients into an amplitude encoding of the linear function. Thus, we use this construction as a building block to achieve an exact block encoding of the amplitudes corresponding to the linear function on k0 qubits and apply the quantum singular value transformation that implements a polynomial transformation to the block encoding of the amplitudes. This unitary together with the Amplitude Amplification algorithm will enable us to prepare the quantum state that encodes the polynomial function on k0 qubits. Finally we pad n−k0 qubits to generate an approximated encoding of the polynomial on n qubits, analyzing the error depending on k0 . In this regard, our methodology proposes a method to improve the state-of-the-art complexity by introducing controllable errors.
Loading functions into quantum computers represents an essential step in several quantum algorithms, such as quantum partial differential equation solvers. Therefore, the inefficiency of this process leads to a major bottleneck for the application of these algorithms. Here, we present and compare two efficient methods for the amplitude encoding of real polynomial functions on n qubits. This case holds special relevance, as any continuous function on a closed interval can be uniformly approximated with arbitrary precision by a polynomial function. The first approach relies on the matrix product state representation (MPS). We study and benchmark the approximations of the target state when the bond dimension is assumed to be small. The second algorithm combines two subroutines. Initially we encode the linear function into the quantum registers either via its MPS or with a shallow sequence of multi-controlled gates that loads the linear function's Hadamard-Walsh series, and we explore how truncating the Hadamard-Walsh series of the linear function affects the final fidelity. Applying the inverse discrete Hadamard-Walsh transform converts the state encoding the series coefficients into an amplitude encoding of the linear function. Thus, we use this construction as a building block to achieve an exact block encoding of the amplitudes corresponding to the linear function on k0 qubits and apply the quantum singular value transformation that implements a polynomial transformation to the block encoding of the amplitudes. This unitary together with the Amplitude Amplification algorithm will enable us to prepare the quantum state that encodes the polynomial function on k0 qubits. Finally we pad n−k0 qubits to generate an approximated encoding of the polynomial on n qubits, analyzing the error depending on k0 . In this regard, our methodology proposes a method to improve the state-of-the-art complexity by introducing controllable errors.
Implementing polynomial functions of Hermitian matrices on quantum hardware is a foundational task in quantum computing, critical for accurate Hamiltonian simulation, quantum linear system solving, high-fidelity state preparation, machine learning kernels, and other advanced quantum algorithms. Existing state-of-the-art techniques, including Qubitization, Quantum Singular Value Transformation (QSVT), and Quantum Signal Processing (QSP), rely heavily on block-encoding the Hermitian matrix. These methods are often constrained by the complexity of preparing the block-encoded state, the overhead associated with the required ancillary qubits, or the challenging problem of angle synthesis for the polynomial's phase factors, which limits the achievable circuit depth and overall efficiency. In this work, we propose a novel and resource-efficient approach to implement arbitrary polynomials of a Hermitian matrix by leveraging the Generalized Quantum Signal Processing (GQSP) framework. Our method circumvents the need for block-encoding and avoids the compounding post-selection overheads characteristic of LCU-based constructions, achieving a stable, degree-independent success probability. We derive closed-form expressions for symmetric polynomial expansions and demonstrate how linear combinations of GQSP circuits can realize the desired transformation. This approach reduces resource overhead and opens new pathways for quantum algorithm design for functions of Hermitian matrices, particularly in settings where the Hermitian operator arises naturally from symmetric combinations of unitaries.
Modern quantum algorithms are increasingly formulated as coherent procedures for implementing polynomial transformations of operators and singular values. This perspective provides a powerful and unifying language for quantum algorithm design, connecting a wide range of distinct problems through five closely related key tools: block-encoding, qubitization, QSP, QSVT and GQSP. Block-encoding embeds non-unitary matrices into larger unitaries; qubitization converts block-encodings into structured operators; QSP, QSVT and GQSP enable polynomial transformations with near-optimal query complexity. Together, these techniques form a general toolkit for transforming matrix functions into implementable quantum circuits. This paper develops these techniques from first principles as a unified framework for constructing quantum algorithms. We apply this framework to representative applications to highlight design principles and demonstrate how distinct algorithms can be constructed from a unified sequence of operator transformations.
A central contribution is a systematic decision workflow for selecting the appropriate approach according to the operator structure and the desired transformation polynomial. This perspective clarifies when direct GQSP or through qubitization, or Laurent expansion, or QSVT is most appropriate. We organize algorithmic design into an end-to-end pipeline: identifying the target matrix function, constructing an appropriate block-encoding, determining the relevant spectral domain, designing a polynomial or Laurent-polynomial approximation, synthesizing the phase factors, and translating the transformation into an executable quantum circuit. By applying this unified framework to example applications, we showcase a practical methodology for reasoning, designing, and implementing quantum algorithms based on polynomial transformations.
Quantum algorithms for basic numerical linear algebraic tasks have proven essential for translating diverse problems to a unified quantum computational context. Many of these tasks---e.g., applying a function to the spectrum of a matrix embedded in a unitary process (a so-called block encoding), or taking linear combinations of block encodings---are well-addressed by techniques like quantum singular value transformation or linear combination of unitaries. However, there exist useful matrix transforms whose realization is unclear or inefficient. In this work we construct improved quantum algorithms for some of these transforms, the simplest of which is a polynomial function applied element-wise. We show the space required to compute quantum element-wise transforms (QEWTs) can be reduced exponentially in the degree of the applied function compared to prior work, and rectify errors in previous constructions. We prove novel space and query lower bounds for QEWTs, construct useful function families nearly saturating these bounds, and establish the hardness of QEWT dequantization. This represents the first sound theoretical treatment of QEWTs, and brings their resource requirements on par with other practical block encoding techniques. We present our algorithms alongside concrete applications to machine learning inference and signal processing.
Quantum algorithms manipulate the amplitudes of quantum states to find solutions to computational problems. In this work, we present a framework for applying a general class of non-linear functions to the amplitudes of quantum states, with up-to an exponential improvement over the previous work. Our framework accepts a state preparation unitary (or block-encoding), specified as a quantum circuit, defining an N-dimensional quantum state. We then construct a diagonal block-encoding of the amplitudes of the quantum state, building on and simplifying previous work. Techniques from the QSVT literature are then used to process this block-encoding. The source of our exponential speedup comes from the quantum analog of importance sampling. We then derive new error-bounds relevant for end-to-end applications, giving the error in terms of ℓ2-norm error. We demonstrate the power of this framework with four key applications. First, our algorithm can apply the important function tanh(x) to the amplitudes of an arbitrary quantum state with at most an ℓ2-norm error of ε, with worst-case query complexity of O(log(N/ε)), in comparison to the O(Nlog(N/ε)) of prior work. Second, we present an algorithm solving a new formulation of maximum finding in the unitary input model. Third, we prove efficient end-to-end complexities in applying a number of common non-linear functions to arbitrary quantum states. Finally, we generalize and unify existing quantum arithmetic-free state-preparation techniques. Our work provides an important and efficient algorithmic building block with potentially numerous applications in areas such as optimization, state preparation, quantum chemistry, and machine learning.
Quantum state preparation is a central primitive in many quantum algorithms, yet it is generally resource intensive, with efficient constructions known only for structured families of states. This work introduces a method for preparing quantum states whose amplitudes are given by a degree−d polynomial, using circuits with logarithmic depth in the number n of qubits and only O(n) ancilla qubits, improving previous approaches that required linear-depth circuits. The construction first relies on a block-encoding of an affine diagonal operator based on its Pauli-basis decomposition, which involves only n terms. A modified linear-combination-of-unitaries (LCU) technique is introduced to implement this decomposition in logarithmic depth, together with a novel circuit for the EXACT-one oracle that flags basis states in which exactly one qubit is in the state ∣1⟩. It then uses a generalized quantum eigenvalue transformation (GQET) to promote this affine operator to an arbitrary degree polynomial. Theoretical analysis and numerical simulations are reported along with a proof-of-principle implementation on a trapped-ion quantum processor using 14 qubits and more than 500 primitive quantum gates. Because polynomial approximations are ubiquitous in scientific computing, this construction provides a scalable and resource-efficient approach to quantum state preparation, further improving the potential of quantum algorithms in fields such as chemistry, physics, engineering, and finance.
The amplitude encoding of an arbitrary n-qubit state vector requires Ω(2n) gate operations, owing to the exponential dimension of the Hilbert space. We can, however, form dimensionality-reduced representations of quantum states using matrix product states (MPS). In this article, we illustrate that MPS techniques enable the preparation of quantum states representative of functions with complexity up to low-degree piecewise polynomials via shallow-depth quantum circuits with accuracy exceeding 99.99\%. We extend these results to the approximate amplitude encoding of pixel values. We showcase this approach by efficiently preparing a 128×128 ChestMNIST medical image (https://medmnist.com/) on 14 qubits with fidelity exceeding 99.2\% on a circuit with a total depth of just 425 single-qubit rotation and CNOT gates.