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arXiv:2307.12702 · Quantum

Improved simulation of quantum circuits dominated by free fermionic operations

Oliver Reardon-Smith, Michał Oszmaniec, Kamil Korzekwa

Published Dec 4, 2024• 14 citations
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Abstract

We present a classical algorithm for simulating universal quantum circuits composed of "free" nearest-neighbour matchgates or equivalently fermionic-linear-optical (FLO) gates, and "resourceful" non-Gaussian gates. We achieve the promotion of the efficiently simulable FLO subtheory to universal quantum computation by gadgetizing controlled phase gates with arbitrary phases employing non-Gaussian resource states. Our key contribution is the development of a novel phase-sensitive algorithm for simulating FLO circuits. This allows us to decompose the resource states arising from gadgetization into free states at the level of statevectors rather than density matrices. The runtime cost of our algorithm for estimating the Born-rule probability of a given quantum circuit scales polynomially in all circuit parameters, except for a linear dependence on the newly introduced FLO e x t e n t , which scales exponentially with the number of controlled-phase gates. More precisely, as a result of finding optimal decompositions of relevant resource states, the runtime doubles for every maximally resourceful (e.g., swap or CZ) gate added. Crucially, this cost compares very favourably with the best known prior algorithm, where each swap gate increases the simulation cost by a factor of approximately 9. For a quantum circuit containing arbitrary FLO unitaries and k controlled-Z gates, we obtain an exponential improvement O ( 4.5 k ) over the prior state-of-the-art.

DOI
10.22331/q-2024-12-04-1549

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We present a classical algorithm for simulating universal quantum circuits composed of "free" nearest-neighbour matchgates or equivalently fermionic-linear-optical (FLO) gates, and "resourceful" non-Gaussian gates. We achieve the promotion of the efficiently simulable FLO subtheory to universal quantum computation by gadgetizing controlled phase gates with arbitrary phases employing non-Gaussian resource states. Our key contribution is the development of a novel phase-sensitive algorithm for simulating FLO circuits. This allows us to decompose the resource states arising from gadgetization into free states at the level of statevectors rather than density matrices. The runtime cost of our algorithm for estimating the Born-rule probability of a given quantum circuit scales polynomially in all circuit parameters, except for a linear dependence on the newly introduced FLO e x t e n t , which scales exponentially with the number of controlled-phase gates. More precisely, as a result of finding optimal decompositions of relevant resource states, the runtime doubles for every maximally resourceful (e.g., swap or CZ) gate added. Crucially, this cost compares very favourably with the best known prior algorithm, where each swap gate increases the simulation cost by a factor of approximately 9. For a quantum circuit containing arbitrary FLO unitaries and k controlled-Z gates, we obtain an exponential improvement O ( 4.5 k ) over the prior state-of-the-art.
Fermionic Gaussian circuits can be simulated efficiently on a classical computer, but become universal when supplemented with non-Gaussian operations. Similar to stabilizer circuits augmented with non-stabilizer resources, these non-Gaussian circuits can be simulated classically using rank- or extent-based methods. These methods decompose non-Gaussian states or operations into Gaussian ones, with runtimes that scale polynomially with measures of non-Gaussianity such as the rank and the extent -- quantities that typically grow exponentially with the number of non-Gaussian resources. Current fermionic rank- and extent-based simulators have mostly been limited to Gaussian circuits with magic-state injection. Extending them to mixed states and non-unitary channels has been hindered by the lack of known extent-optimized decompositions for physically relevant gates and noisy channels. In this work, we address this gap. First, we derive analytic decompositions for key non-Gaussian gates and channels, including decompositions for arbitrary two-qubit fermionic gates which are provably optimal for diagonal gates or those acting on Jordan-Wigner-adjacent qubit pairs. Second, we show that stochastic Pauli noise can reduce the effective extent of non-Gaussian rotation gates, but that fermionic magic is substantially more robust to such noise than stabilizer magic. Finally, we demonstrate how these decompositions can accelerate classical sampling from the output distribution of a quantum circuit. This involves a generalization of existing sparsification methods, previously limited to convex-unitary channels, to circuits involving intermediate measurements and feed-forward. Our decompositions also yield speedups for emulating noisy Pauli rotations with quasiprobability simulators in the large-angle/arbitrary-strength-noise and small-angle/low-noise parameter regimes.
Magic states are essential for universal quantum computation and are widely viewed as a key source of quantum advantage, yet in realistic devices they are inevitably noisy. In this work, we characterize how noise on injected magic resources changes the classical simulability of quantum circuits and when it induces a transition from classically intractable behavior to efficient classical simulation. We adopt a resource-centric noise model in which only the injected magic components are noisy, while the baseline states, operations, and measurements belong to an efficiently simulable family. Within this setting, we develop an approximate classical sampling algorithm with controlled error and prove explicit noise-dependent conditions under which the algorithm runs in polynomial time. Our framework applies to both qubit circuits with Clifford baselines and fermionic circuits with matchgate baselines, covering representative noise channels such as dephasing and particle loss. We complement the analysis with numerical estimates of the simulation cost, providing concrete thresholds and runtime scaling across practically relevant parameter regimes.
Matchgates are a family of parity-preserving two-qubit gates, nearest-neighbour circuits of which are known to be classically simulable in polynomial time. In this work, we present a simulation method to classically simulate an n\boldsymbol{n}n-qubit circuit containing N\boldsymbol{N}N gates, m\boldsymbol{m}m of which are universality-enabling gates and N−m\boldsymbol{N-m}N−m of which are matchgates, in the setting of single-qubit Pauli measurements and product state inputs. The universality-enabling gates we consider include the SWAP, CZ, and CPhase gates. For fixed m\boldsymbol{m}m as n→∞\boldsymbol{n} \rightarrow \boldsymbol{\infty}n→∞, the resource cost, T\boldsymbol{T}T, scales as O((enm+1)2m+2)\boldsymbol{\mathcal{O}\left(\left(\frac{en}{m+1}\right)^{2m+2}\right)}O((m+1en​)2m+2). For m\boldsymbol{m}m scaling as a linear function of n\boldsymbol{n}n, however, T\boldsymbol{T}T scale as O(22nH(m+1n))\boldsymbol{\mathcal{O}\left(2^{2nH\left(\frac{m+1}{n}\right)}\right)}O(22nH(nm+1​)), where H(λ)\boldsymbol{H}(λ)H(λ) is the binary entropy function.
We propose efficient algorithms for classically simulating fermionic linear optics operations applied to non-Gaussian initial states. By gadget constructions, this provides algorithms for fermionic linear optics with non-Gaussian operations. We argue that this problem is analogous to that of simulating Clifford circuits with non-stabilizer initial states: Algorithms for the latter problem immediately translate to the fermionic setting. Our construction is based on an extension of the covariance matrix formalism which permits to efficiently track relative phases in superpositions of Gaussian states. It yields simulation algorithms with polynomial complexity in the number of fermions, the desired accuracy, and certain quantities capturing the degree of non-Gaussianity of the initial state. We study one such quantity, the fermionic Gaussian extent, and show that it is multiplicative on tensor products when the so-called fermionic Gaussian fidelity is. We establish this property for the tensor product of two arbitrary pure states of four fermions with positive parity.
The classical cost of simulating free-fermion (matchgate) circuits depends on both the input state and the computational task. We develop classical algorithms for circuits with non-Gaussian inputs, addressing exact sampling and both additive-error and exact estimation of expectation values. For inputs consisting of nnn copies of the four-mode magic state, we give exact sampling algorithms, generalizing the Clifford and Clifford algorithm for Boson sampling, for passive and active free-fermion dynamics with worst-case arithmetic cost O(2n)O(2^n)O(2n) per sample, without any multiplicative polynomial prefactor. The passive algorithm enables an exact simulation of the non-interacting regime of a recent trapped-ion experiment. We also extend recently developed additive-error estimation of number correlators and related observables from passive to active dynamics with runtime polynomial in nnn and the inverse additive-error, for input states formed by products of nnn four-mode even parity states. Our estimator uses a Gaussian-state decomposition adapted to each sampled state to control its second moment. This includes estimation of individual output probabilities. Finally, we show that for even-parity product inputs composed of constant-size blocks, expectation values of Majorana monomials of logarithmic weight can be computed exactly in polynomial time, improving on prior Majorana propagation-style algorithms with quasi-polynomial runtime. The exact algorithm processes the input blocks by dynamic programming, sharing calculations across subsets of Majorana factors. Our suite of algorithms provide classical benchmarks for fermionic quantum simulations across a broad spectrum of computational tasks.
Fermionic Gaussian states (FGSs) and the associated matchgate circuits play a central role in quantum information theory and condensed matter physics. Despite being possibly highly entangled, they can still be efficiently simulated on classical computers. We address the question of how to optimally create such states when using matchgate circuits acting on product states. To this end, we derive lower bounds on the number of gates required to prepare an arbitrary pure FGS: We establish both an asymptotic bound on the minimal gate count over general nearest-neighbor gate sets and an exact bound for circuits composed solely of matchgates. We present explicit algorithms whose constructions saturate these bounds, thereby proving their optimality. We furthermore determine when an FGS can be prepared with a circuit of any given depth, and derive an algorithm that constructs such a circuit whenever this condition is satisfied, either exactly or approximately. Our results have direct applications to (approximate) state preparation and to disentangling procedures. Moreover, we introduce a new classical simulation algorithm for matchgate circuits, based entirely on manipulating the generating circuits of the FGSs. Finally, we briefly study an extension of our framework for ttt-doped Gaussian states and circuits.