Resolvent-based quantum phase estimation: Towards estimation of parametrized eigenvalues

Quantum algorithms for estimating the eigenvalues of matrices, including the phase estimation algorithm, serve as core subroutines in a wide range of quantum algorithms, including those in quantum chemistry and quantum machine learning. The standard quantum eigenvalue (phase) estimation algorithm accepts a Hermitian (unitary) matrix and a state in an unknown superposition of its eigenstates as input, and coherently records the estimates for real eigenvalues (eigenphases) in an ancillary register. Extension of quantum eigenvalue and phase estimation algorithms to the case of non-normal input matrices is obstructed by several factors such as non-orthogonality of eigenvectors, existence of generalized eigenvectors and the fact that eigenvalues may lie anywhere on the complex plane. In this work, we propose a novel approach for estimating the eigenvalues of non-normal matrices based on preparation of a state that we call the "resolvent state". We construct the first efficient algorithm for estimating the phases of the unimodular eigenvalues of a given non-unitary matrix. We then construct an efficient algorithm for estimating the real eigenvalues of a given non-Hermitian matrix, achieving complexities that match the best known results while operating under significantly relaxed assumptions on the non-real part of the spectrum. The resolvent-based approach that we introduce also extends to estimating eigenvalues that lie on a parametrized complex curve, subject to explicitly stated conditions, thereby paving the way for a new paradigm of parametric eigenvalue estimation.