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arXiv:2502.07670 · Physical Review Research

Interplay of resources for universal continuous-variable quantum computing

Varun Upreti, Ulysse Chabaud

Published Jun 26, 2026• 0 citations
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Abstract

Quantum resource theories identify the features of quantum computers that provide their computational advantage over classical systems. We investigate the resources driving the complexity of classical simulation in the standard model of continuous-variable quantum computing, and their interplay enabling computational universality. Specifically, we uncover a new property in continuous-variable circuits, analogous to coherence in discrete-variable systems, termed , defined as the ability of Gaussian gates to mix position and momentum operators. Using quadrature propagation across multiple computational paths, we develop an efficient classical simulation algorithm for continuous-variable computations with symplectic coherence constant in the size of the circuit. This establishes symplectic coherence as a necessary resource for universality in continuous-variable quantum computing, alongside non-Gaussianity and entanglement. Via the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill encoding, we show that the interplay of these three continuous-variable quantum resources mirrors the discrete-variable relationship between coherence, magic, and entanglement.

DOI
10.1103/2str-dhrg

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Quantum resource theories identify the features of quantum computers that provide their computational advantage over classical systems. We investigate the resources driving the complexity of classical simulation in the standard model of continuous-variable quantum computing, and their interplay enabling computational universality. Specifically, we uncover a new property in continuous-variable circuits, analogous to coherence in discrete-variable systems, termed , defined as the ability of Gaussian gates to mix position and momentum operators. Using quadrature propagation across multiple computational paths, we develop an efficient classical simulation algorithm for continuous-variable computations with symplectic coherence constant in the size of the circuit. This establishes symplectic coherence as a necessary resource for universality in continuous-variable quantum computing, alongside non-Gaussianity and entanglement. Via the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill encoding, we show that the interplay of these three continuous-variable quantum resources mirrors the discrete-variable relationship between coherence, magic, and entanglement.
Analyzing the impact of noise is of fundamental importance to understand the advantages provided by quantum systems. While the classical simulability of noisy discrete-variable systems is increasingly well understood, noisy bosonic circuits are more challenging to simulate and analyze. Here, we address this gap by introducing the displacement propagation\textit{displacement propagation}displacement propagation algorithm, a continuous-variable analogue of Pauli propagation for simulating noisy bosonic circuits. By exploring the interplay of noise and quantum resources, we identify several computational phase transitions, revealing regimes where even modest noise levels render bosonic circuits efficiently classically simulable. In particular, our analysis reveals a surprising phenomenon: computational resources usually associated with bosonic quantum advantage, namely non-Gaussianity and symplectic coherence, can make the system easier to classically simulate in presence of noise.
Continuous-variable bosonic systems stand as prominent candidates for implementing quantum computational tasks. While various necessary criteria have been established to assess their resourcefulness, sufficient conditions have remained elusive. We address this gap by focusing on promoting circuits that are otherwise simulatable to computational universality. The class of simulatable, albeit non-Gaussian, circuits that we consider is composed of Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) states, Gaussian operations, and homodyne measurements. Based on these circuits, we first introduce a general framework for mapping a continuous-variable state into a qubit state. Subsequently, we cast existing maps into this framework, including the modular and stabilizer subsystem decompositions. By combining these findings with established results for discrete-variable systems, we formulate a sufficient condition for achieving universal quantum computation. Leveraging this, we evaluate the computational resourcefulness of a variety of states, including Gaussian states, finite-squeezing GKP states, and cat states. Furthermore, our framework reveals that both the stabilizer subsystem decomposition and the modular subsystem decomposition (of position-symmetric states) can be constructed in terms of simulatable operations. This establishes a robust resource-theoretical foundation for employing these techniques to evaluate the logical content of a generic continuous-variable state, which can be of independent interest. Published by the American Physical Society 2024
Quantum computers promise to dramatically outperform their classical counterparts. However, the nonclassical resources enabling such computational advantages are challenging to pinpoint, as it is not a single resource but the subtle interplay of many that can be held responsible for these potential advantages. In this Letter, we show that every bosonic quantum computation can be recast into a continuous-variable sampling computation where all computational resources are contained in the input state. Using this reduction, we derive a general classical algorithm for the strong simulation of bosonic computations, whose complexity scales with the non-Gaussian stellar rank of both the input state and the measurement setup. We further study the conditions for an efficient classical simulation of the associated continuous-variable sampling computations and identify an operational notion of non-Gaussian entanglement based on the lack of passive separability, thus clarifying the interplay of bosonic quantum computational resources such as squeezing, non-Gaussianity, and entanglement.
Universal quantum computation requires non-Gaussianity in continuous-variable systems and non-stabilizerness in discrete-variable systems. Yet, mapping a Gaussian state into the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill logical subspace can yield a logical qubit with non-stabilizer resources. To understand how the continuous-variable structure determines logical resources, we characterize the image of single-mode Gaussian states under the corresponding extraction channel, known as the stabilizer subsystem decomposition. Specifically, we derive series expressions for the logical Bloch vector and characterize the resulting reachable set, enabling an analytical treatment of the robustness of magic of the logical states. We then turn this geometric framework into a certification tool: by mapping a discrete-variable qubit witness to a continuous-variable squeezing witness, we obtain lower bounds on the squeezing of prepared states. We also show that ensembles of Gaussian states can violate both stabilizer and classical bounds. Violation of the stabilizer bound certifies the relational resource known as "set-magic," while violation of the classical bound enables the certification of cryptographic randomness at moderate squeezing.
Although the similarity between nonstabilizer states—also known as magic states—in discrete-variable systems and non-Gaussian states in continuous-variable systems has widely been recognized, the precise connections between these two notions have still been unclear. We establish a fundamental link between these two quantum resources via the Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) encoding. We show that the negativity of the continuous-variable Wigner function for an encoded GKP state coincides with a magic measure we introduce, which matches the negativity of the discrete Wigner function for odd dimensions. We also provide a continuous-variable representation of the stabilizer Rényi entropy—a recent proposal for a magic measure for multiqubit states. We further provide the magic measure with an operational interpretation as a runtime of a classical simulation algorithm. In addition, we employ our results to prove that implementing a multiqubit logical non-Clifford operation in the GKP code subspace requires a non-Gaussian operation even at the limit of perfect encoding, despite the fact that the ideal GKP states already come with a large amount of non-Gaussianity.
We introduce a framework for simulating hybrid oscillator-qubit quantum processors on qubit-only systems through position encoding. By encoding continuous-variable position and momentum wave functions into qubit amplitudes, our method efficiently simulates all Gaussian and conditional Gaussian operations -- encompassing the phase-space instruction set (beam splitter, single-qubit rotation, conditional displacement) and extending to squeezing, conditional squeezing, conditional rotation, and conditional beam splitter -- using O ⁣(log⁡2 ⁣(Γ+log⁡(1/ε)))O\!\left(\log^2\!\left(Γ+ \log(1/ε)\right)\right)O(log2(Γ+log(1/ε))) qubit gates per hybrid gate, where ΓΓΓ is the Fock-level bound and εεε is the target precision. This polylogarithmic per-gate complexity represents an exponential improvement over Fock basis encoding approaches, which require exponential quantum or classical resources in the number of qubits per mode. We provide rigorous numerical characterization of quantum Fourier transform errors for Fock-bounded states, enabling precise resource estimation for practical implementations. This work establishes that hybrid oscillator-qubit algorithms can be implemented on qubit processors with polynomial overhead, providing new insights into the computational power trade-offs between discrete-variable and hybrid continuous-discrete-variable quantum computing.