Pith. sign in

REVIEW 6 cited by

Determining eigenstates and thermal states on a quantum computer using quantum imaginary time evolution

Not yet reviewed by Pith; the record is open.

This paper has not been read by Pith yet. Machine review is queued; the pith claim, tier, and objections will appear here once it completes.

SPECIMEN: schema-true, not a live event

T0 review · schema-true

One-sentence machine reading of the paper's core claim.

pith:XXXXXXXX · record.json · timestamp

arxiv 1901.07653 v3 pith:N6JKJRP3 submitted 2019-01-23 quant-ph

Determining eigenstates and thermal states on a quantum computer using quantum imaginary time evolution

classification quant-ph
keywords quantumalgorithmsclassicalstatestimecircuitsevolutionimaginary
verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal T4 reserved
0 comments
read the original abstract

The accurate computation of Hamiltonian ground, excited, and thermal states on quantum computers stands to impact many problems in the physical and computer sciences, from quantum simulation to machine learning. Given the challenges posed in constructing large-scale quantum computers, these tasks should be carried out in a resource-efficient way. In this regard, existing techniques based on phase estimation or variational algorithms display potential disadvantages; phase estimation requires deep circuits with ancillae, that are hard to execute reliably without error correction, while variational algorithms, while flexible with respect to circuit depth, entail additional high-dimensional classical optimization. Here, we introduce the quantum imaginary time evolution and quantum Lanczos algorithms, which are analogues of classical algorithms for finding ground and excited states. Compared to their classical counterparts, they require exponentially less space and time per iteration, and can be implemented without deep circuits and ancillae, or high-dimensional optimization. We furthermore discuss quantum imaginary time evolution as a subroutine to generate Gibbs averages through an analog of minimally entangled typical thermal states. Finally, we demonstrate the potential of these algorithms via an implementation using exact classical emulation as well as through prototype circuits on the Rigetti quantum virtual machine and Aspen-1 quantum processing unit.

discussion (0)

Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.

Forward citations

Cited by 6 Pith papers

Reviewed papers in the Pith corpus that reference this work. Sorted by Pith novelty score.

  1. Gauge-invariant QMETTS with mutually unbiased physical bases for $Z_2$ lattice gauge theories at finite temperature and density

    quant-ph 2026-03 conditional novelty 7.0

    Introduces gauge-invariant QMETTS using mutually unbiased physical bases derived from stabilizer formalism for Z2 LGT at finite T and density, with single-shot sampling shown near-optimal and numerical validation in 1+1D.

  2. Finite Imaginary-Time Evolution for Polynomial Unconstrained Binary Optimization

    quant-ph 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    FinITE gives an exact identity linking LCU success probability to ground-subspace fidelity for diagonal Pauli-Z Hamiltonians, yielding a closed-form imaginary-time threshold beta-star based on spectral gap and initial...

  3. Ground state preparation in $(2+1)$-dimensional pure $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory via deterministic quantum imaginary time evolution

    hep-lat 2026-04 unverdicted novelty 6.0

    Deterministic QITE made gauge-invariant via commuting Pauli operators achieves relative error below 0.1 percent for ground-state preparation in 2+1D Z2 LGT on systems up to twelve plaquettes, as shown by tensor-networ...

  4. Ground state preparation in $(2+1)$-dimensional pure $\mathbb{Z}_2$ lattice gauge theory via deterministic quantum imaginary time evolution

    hep-lat 2026-04 conditional novelty 6.0

    Deterministic QITE with a Gauss-law-reduced Pauli pool reproduces DMRG ground-state energies of (2+1)-D pure Z2 lattice gauge theory to within 0.1% for ladders of up to 32 qubits and coupling λ ∈ [0.5, 5].

  5. Unitaria: Quantum Linear Algebra via Block Encodings

    quant-ph 2026-05 accept novelty 4.0

    Unitaria is a new open-source Python library that provides a high-level, composable interface for block encodings in quantum computing, enabling automatic circuit generation and classical simulation-based verification.

  6. A Quantum Path to Partial Differential Equations

    quant-ph 2026-07 accept novelty 3.5

    Lecture notes that organize quantum PDE algorithms around block encodings of finite-difference and finite-element operators, tracking discretization, preparation, normalization, postselection, and measurement costs.