We propose a direct and stable circuit compiling algorithm that explicitly and exactly constructs block encodings of matrix polynomials for Hermitian matrices. In a unified framework, our algorithm is directly applicable to both standard input models: block encoding and Hamiltonian simulation. For a target polynomial of degree $d$, our classical algorithm achieves a near-optimal time complexity of $\mathcal{O}(d\log d)$. Numerical results confirm this asymptotic scaling for polynomial degrees up to $10^7$ in about a minute on a standard CPU. We achieve this by developing a general-purpose diagonal block encoding of function values, which bridges standard quantum-state preparation techniques with an interpolation-based QSP framework.
We propose a direct and stable circuit compiling algorithm that explicitly and exactly constructs block encodings of matrix polynomials for Hermitian matrices. In a unified framework, our algorithm is directly applicable to both standard input models: block encoding and Hamiltonian simulation. For a target polynomial of degree d, our classical algorithm achieves a near-optimal time complexity of O(dlogd). Numerical results confirm this asymptotic scaling for polynomial degrees up to 107 in about a minute on a standard CPU. We achieve this by developing a general-purpose diagonal block encoding of function values, which bridges standard quantum-state preparation techniques with an interpolation-based QSP framework.
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.
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.
Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) and Quantum Singular Value Transformation (QSVT) provide an efficient framework for implementing polynomials of block-encoded matrices, and thus offer a systematic approach to quantum algorithm design. However, despite a number of recent advances, important limitations remain. In particular, QSP can only transform unitary matrices, by applying a polynomial to their eigenvalues, while QSVT is a singular-value transformation and thus one can only obtain the polynomial of Hermitian matrices. As a consequence, these techniques do not directly apply to an arbitrary non-Hermitian matrix that is not diagonalizable. In this work, we propose a simple yet powerful method to extend these ideas to arbitrary square matrices by acting on their eigenvalues. To this end, we introduce the notion of an n-regular block encoding, namely, a block encoding whose k-th power reproduces the k-th power of the encoded matrix for every 0<k<n. We show that applying QSP to any unitary with this property is equivalent to applying a polynomial of degree at most n to the block-encoded matrix, independently of its internal structure. Moreover, we provide a simple construction that transforms any block encoding into an n-regular one using only O(logn) ancillary qubits and operations. Finally, we show that this construction induces the desired transformation on the eigenvalues associated with the Jordan normal form of the matrix; for non-diagonalizable matrices this yields the full matrix function P(A), whose action on each Jordan block involves the derivatives of P, and not merely the map λ↦P(λ).
Quantum circuits naturally implement unitary operations on input quantum states. However, non-unitary operations can also be implemented through "block encodings", where additional ancilla qubits are introduced and later measured. While block encoding underlies a host of well-established theoretical applications, its implementation in practice has been prohibitively expensive for current quantum hardware. In this paper, we present practical and explicit block encoding circuits implementing matrix polynomial transformations of a target matrix. With standard approaches, block-encoding a degree-d matrix polynomial requires a circuit depth scaling as d times the depth for block-encoding the original matrix alone. By leveraging the recently introduced Fast One-Qubit Controlled Select Linear Combination of Unitaries (FOQCS-LCU) framework, we show that the additional circuit-depth overhead required for encoding matrix polynomials can be reduced to scale linearly in d with no dependence on system size or the cost of block encoding the original matrix. Moreover, we demonstrate that the FOQCS-LCU circuits and their associated matrix polynomial transformations can be controlled with negligible overhead, enabling efficient applications such as Hadamard tests. Finally, we provide explicit hardware-efficient circuits for representative non-unitary operators, namely quantum spin models, together with detailed non-asymptotic gate counts and circuit depths.
Significant developments made in quantum hardware and error correction recently have been driving quantum computing towards practical utility. However, gaps remain between abstract quantum algorithmic development and practical applications in computational sciences. In this Perspective article, we propose several properties that scalable quantum computational science methods should possess. We further discuss how block-encodings and polynomial transformations can potentially serve as a unified framework with the desired properties. Recent advancements on these topics are presented including construction and assembly of block-encodings, and various generalizations of quantum signal processing (QSP) algorithms to perform polynomial transformations. The scalability of QSP methods on parallel and distributed quantum architectures is also highlighted. Promising applications in simulation and observable estimation in chemistry, physics, and optimization problems are presented. We hope this Perspective serves as a gentle introduction of state-of-the-art quantum algorithms to the computational science community, and inspires future development on scalable quantum computational science methodologies that bridge theory and practice.
Polynomial transformations are basic primitives in quantum algorithms: quantum signal processing and singular value transformation compile univariate polynomials into circuits with query complexity essentially set by degree. Multivariable transformations of noncommuting matrices, however, lack a comparable synthesis theory. We develop a complete constructive theory under joint block access for all polynomials contractive on the prescribed matrix domain. Given a compact finite-state description of a degree-D polynomial P and 0<τ<1, we synthesize P with (1+τ)-optimal normalization using O(D/τ) queries, and exactly D under row-block access, matching a degree lower bound. The complete circuit realization is classically computable in polynomial time with polylogarithmic dependence on accuracy. The key to our construction is a finite algorithmic Schur--Agler theorem: the coefficient recurrence defines a polynomial-dimensional continuation space supporting a complete semidefinite certificate for contractivity on the prescribed domain. Factoring this certificate yields the contractive realization underlying the query algorithm.
Beyond matrix transformations, our framework lifts multivariable polynomial synthesis to quantum channel transformations. Given coherent Kraus access K={Ka}a, we synthesize any finite jointly contractive family of noncommutative polynomial maps K↦{Fb(K)}b as completely positive operations, allowing coherent interference among Kraus histories. Furthermore, channel-level transformations specified by causal Choi data can be synthesized explicitly as fixed-order quantum combs. Collectively, these results point to a broader program: multivariable approximation as a language for multi-operator quantum algorithms and higher-order quantum information processing.