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arXiv:2404.07115 · Quantum

Classical simulation and quantum resource theory of non-Gaussian optics

Oliver Hahn, Ryuji Takagi, Giulia Ferrini, Hayata Yamasaki

Published Oct 13, 2025• 7 citations
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Abstract

We propose efficient algorithms for classically simulating Gaussian unitaries and measurements applied to non-Gaussian initial states. The constructions are based on decomposing the non-Gaussian states into linear combinations of Gaussian states. We use an extension of the covariance matrix formalism to efficiently track relative phases in the superpositions of Gaussian states. We get an exact simulation algorithm, which costs quadratically with the number of Gaussian states required to represent the initial state, and an approximate simulation algorithm, which costs linearly with the l 1 norm of the coefficients associated with the superposition. We define measures of non-Gaussianity quantifying this simulation cost, which we call the Gaussian rank and the Gaussian extent. From the perspective of quantum resource theories, we investigate the properties of this type of non-Gaussianity measure and compute optimal decompositions for states relevant to continuous-variable quantum computing.

DOI
10.22331/q-2025-10-13-1881

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We propose efficient algorithms for classically simulating Gaussian unitaries and measurements applied to non-Gaussian initial states. The constructions are based on decomposing the non-Gaussian states into linear combinations of Gaussian states. We use an extension of the covariance matrix formalism to efficiently track relative phases in the superpositions of Gaussian states. We get an exact simulation algorithm, which costs quadratically with the number of Gaussian states required to represent the initial state, and an approximate simulation algorithm, which costs linearly with the l 1 norm of the coefficients associated with the superposition. We define measures of non-Gaussianity quantifying this simulation cost, which we call the Gaussian rank and the Gaussian extent. From the perspective of quantum resource theories, we investigate the properties of this type of non-Gaussianity measure and compute optimal decompositions for states relevant to continuous-variable quantum computing.
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.
We introduce a framework for simulating quantum optics by decomposing the system into a finite rank (number of terms) superposition of coherent states. This allows us to define a resource theory, where linear optical operations are “free” (i.e., do not increase the rank), and the simulation complexity for an m -mode system scales quadratically in m , in stark contrast to the Hilbert space dimension. We outline this approach explicitly in the Fock basis, relevant in particular for Boson sampling, where the simulation time (space) complexity for computing output amplitudes, to arbitrary accuracy, scales as O ( m 2 2 n ) [ O ( m 2 n )] for n photons distributed among m modes. We additionally demonstrate that linear optical simulations with the n photons initially in the same mode scales efficiently, as O ( m 2 n ). This paradigm provides a practical notion of “non-classicality,” i.e., the classical resources required for simulation. Moreover, by making connections to the stellar rank formalism, we show this comes from two independent contributions, the number of single-photon additions and the amount of squeezing.
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.
Continuous-variable systems realized in quantum optics play a major role in quantum information processing, and it is also one of the promising candidates for a scalable quantum computer. We introduce a resource theory for continuous-variable systems relevant to universal quantum computation. In our theory, easily implementable operations---Gaussian operations combined with feed-forward---are chosen to be the free operations, making the convex hull of the Gaussian states the natural free states. Since our free operations and free states cannot perform universal quantum computation, genuine non-Gaussian states---states not in the convex hull of Gaussian states---are the necessary resource states for universal quantum computation together with free operations. We introduce a monotone to quantify the genuine non-Gaussianity of resource states, in analogy to the stabilizer theory. A direct application of our resource theory is to bound the conversion rate between genuine non-Gaussian states. Finally, we give a protocol that probabilistically distills genuine non-Gaussianity---increases the genuine non-Gaussianity of resource states---only using free operations and postselection on Gaussian measurements, where our theory gives an upper bound for the distillation rate. In particular, the same protocol allows the distillation of cubic phase states, which enable universal quantum computation when combined with free operations.