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Algorithms · Quantum sampling algorithm

Thermal Gibbs state sampling

Prepare the thermal Gibbs state of an interacting quantum system on a quantum computer, and use that preparation to evaluate the system's partition function to a target accuracy.

Attested & literatureUpdated

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  • Record typeLiterature reference
  • Speedup class (secondary source)Superpolynomial
  • Primary source on the speedupNot stated by the primary source — abstract of arXiv:0905.2199 was read and makes no such claim
  • Reported costThe preparation sets a universal upper bound D^α on the thermalization time, where D is the Hilbert space dimension and α < 1/2 is proportional to the Helmholtz free energy density; the derived partition-function algorithm runs in time proportional to that thermalization time and inversely proportional to the targeted accuracy squared.
  • Papers1

Poulin and Wocjan's algorithm prepares the thermal Gibbs state of an interacting quantum system directly on the quantum register. The paper states that the algorithm sets a universal upper bound D^α on the thermalization time of a quantum system, with D the Hilbert space dimension and the exponent α < 1/2 proportional to the Helmholtz free energy density. A second algorithm derived from the same preparation evaluates the partition function, its running time proportional to the system's thermalization time and inversely proportional to the targeted accuracy squared. In the Zoo this sits among methods for approximating ground states, low energy states, and thermal states for some classes of Hamiltonians; the Zoo notes that simulating Hamiltonian time evolution, as well as some problems of preparing ground and thermal states, can all be done as special cases of the quantum singular value transformation. This record's speedup class, "Superpolynomial", is a secondary source's classification of the approximation and simulation algorithms it files this under — not a claim its primary paper makes. Not stated by the primary source — abstract of arXiv:0905.2199 was read and makes no such claim. Reported cost: The preparation sets a universal upper bound D^α on the thermalization time, where D is the Hilbert space dimension and α < 1/2 is proportional to the Helmholtz free energy density; the derived partition-function algorithm runs in time proportional to that thermalization time and inversely proportional to the targeted accuracy squared..

References

Attested & literature
  • Peer-reviewed paper
Method
Curation only. The problem statement was recorded from the literature; the speedup class is checked against the record's own primary paper, which does not state it; the primary reference's title, authors and submission year were read from its arXiv abs page; the complexity claim was taken from a clause of that paper's abstract (abstract of arXiv:0905.2199 (plain-text Greek names rendered as Unicode): "This algorithm sets a universal upper bound D^α on the thermalization time of a quantum system, where D is the system's Hilbert space dimension and α < 1/2 is proportional to the Helmholtz free energy density of the system", and "an algorithm to evaluate the partition function of a quantum system in a time proportional to the system's thermalization time and inversely proportional to the targeted accuracy squared". The Zoo entry for this section states no bound of its own; its "Superpolynomial" label is the Zoo's classification, not a measured comparison, and is recorded in the speedup field rather than here.). No circuit was constructed, simulated or run.
Result
Pass · the record's problem, speedup class and primary reference agree with the two sources named above.
Caveat
Nothing here was constructed, compiled, simulated, or benchmarked; this is a literature record. D^α is stated as a universal upper bound on thermalization time, not as an achieved cost for any named Hamiltonian, and the exponent α depends on the free energy density of the system in question, so it has to be bounded per system before the figure means anything operationally. The abstract gives no gate counts, ancilla counts, error-correction overhead, or hardware requirements, and gives no target accuracy or temperature range for a worked instance. The Zoo section collects many separate methods for eigenstates and thermal states; this record covers only the Poulin and Wocjan construction and does not establish which Hamiltonian classes admit efficient preparation.
Sampling from the thermal quantum Gibbs state and evaluating partition functions with a quantum computer ↗
Kind
curated reference
Reviewed by
Leona Quantum curation pass
License
Citation metadata only; source publication terms apply
gibbs statethermal statepartition functionquantum samplinghamiltonian

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