Algorithms · Block encoding · LCU
Linear combination of unitaries
A block-encoding primitive that turns a weighted sum of unitary operations into one larger unitary circuit.
Strong empiricalUpdated
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3 steps across 2 wires. Hover a step, or press play to go through them in order.
Expected outcomes
- Success ancilla = 075%
- Other branch25%
- Steps3
- Wires2
- Terms2 in the toy circuit
- Coefficientsα₀ = 0.75, α₁ = 0.25
- SuccessAncilla postselection on |0⟩
- Papers1
Many quantum algorithms need a non-unitary object such as a Hamiltonian or matrix polynomial. LCU supplies it indirectly: an ancilla prepares coefficients, a SELECT operation chooses each unitary, and unpreparation exposes the weighted sum in a success block.
TakesNothingWhat joins here
No input port at this edge: the record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read one off — and unlike a declared hole, nothing has been recorded about what belongs here.
Nothing in the Atlas meets this end.
ReturnsNothingWhat joins here
No output port at this edge: the record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read one off — and unlike a declared hole, nothing has been recorded about what belongs here.
Nothing in the Atlas meets this end.
This record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read an interface off. Absent rather than empty. See all 152 →
LCU represents H = Σₗ αₗUₗ using a normalized ancilla state and a SELECT oracle. After PREPARE†–SELECT–PREPARE, the desired operator appears in a block with amplitude 1/λ. The normalization and success probability are part of the algorithm, not bookkeeping details. A complete resource estimate must include the cost of preparing the coefficient state, implementing every controlled Uₗ, and amplifying or postselecting the success block.
TakesNothingWhat joins here
No input port at this edge: the record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read one off — and unlike a declared hole, nothing has been recorded about what belongs here.
Nothing in the Atlas meets this end.
ReturnsNothingWhat joins here
No output port at this edge: the record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read one off — and unlike a declared hole, nothing has been recorded about what belongs here.
Nothing in the Atlas meets this end.
This record publishes no gate sequence and no register, so there is nothing here to read an interface off. Absent rather than empty. See all 152 →
- Terms
- 2 in the toy circuit
- Coefficients
- α₀ = 0.75, α₁ = 0.25
- Success
- Ancilla postselection on |0⟩
- Operator
- 0.75 I + 0.25 X
- Normalization
- λ = Σ αₗ
- Primitive
- PREPARE → SELECT → PREPARE†
PREPAREon ancillaSELECT(I,X)on ancilla, targetPREPARE†on ancilla
Quantum vs classical
Classical baseline
Classically, a weighted operator sum is formed directly; the cost is matrix dimension and sparsity rather than ancilla success probability.
Quantum claim
LCU exposes a normalized operator block using controlled unitary queries, but coefficient normalization and amplitude amplification can dominate the practical circuit cost.
How to compare
Report λ, postselection probability, SELECT cost, and amplification overhead beside any claimed simulation advantage.
Nobody has reviewed this record for gaps yet.
from math import acos, sqrt
from qiskit import QuantumCircuit
alpha0, alpha1 = 0.75, 0.25
qc = QuantumCircuit(2, 1)
qc.ry(2 * acos(sqrt(alpha0)), 0) # PREPARE
qc.cx(0, 1) # SELECT: U0=I, U1=X
qc.ry(-2 * acos(sqrt(alpha0)), 0) # PREPARE†
qc.measure(0, 0) # retain the ancilla=0 branch
FINAL_CIRCUIT = qcWhere this sits
This record is named by the layer graph at:
- LCHS — linear combination of Hamiltonian simulation Method
Takes A block-encoding of with a normalization , preparation unitaries for and , the evolution time , and an error tolerance . Returns A state proportional to , or a history state, together with separately stated matrix-query and initial-state-query complexity.
- LCHS with the improved kernel Method
Takes A block-encoding of with a normalization , preparation unitaries for and , the evolution time , and an error tolerance . Returns A state proportional to , or a history state, together with separately stated matrix-query and initial-state-query complexity.
- Kernel-weighted combination of unitary propagators Method
Takes The generator with no Hermiticity assumed, the interval , and an error tolerance . Returns A Hermitian generator or a family of them, the enlargement of the space that carrying them cost, and the map that reads the original solution back — with the weight that map applies stated, because that weight is where the non-unitarity was moved to rather than removed.
- Chebyshev series by linear combination of unitaries Method
Takes A block-encoding of together with its subnormalisation ; a target function on ; an error budget . Returns A circuit implementing a block-encoding of to error , together with the query count in and .
- Block-encoding from a Pauli decomposition Method
Takes An access model for — sparse-access oracles, a Pauli or LCU decomposition, a purification, or an explicit arithmetic description — plus a target precision . Returns A unitary on qubits, its subnormalization , and its ancilla/flag count . Because , Gilyén, Su, Low and Wiebe's Definition 43 forces .
- Truncated-Taylor LCU simulation Method
Takes An access model for — a sum of efficiently exponentiable terms, sparse-access oracles, or a block-encoding — plus an evolution time and a target error . Returns A circuit approximating to within , with a stated query or gate count, an ancilla count, and the norm parameter — sparsity times , or the LCU 1-norm — that the cost is measured against.
Related entries
- Transverse-field Ising simulation
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- Quantum singular value transformation
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- Quantum imaginary-time evolution
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References
- Hamiltonian Simulation Using Linear Combinations of Unitary Operations
Andrew M. Childs, Nathan Wiebe · 2012
Introduces the LCU approach and its near-deterministic implementation and amplification structure.