2024/03/05 by Jacob M. Leamer, Leamer, Jacob M., Magann, Alicia B. +4 · 3 citations
Computer Science · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture #Quantum Information and Cryptography #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum Physics (quant-ph)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2403.03350
openalex publication_date 2024/03/05 · openalex created_date 2024/03/08 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
We introduce a constructive method for mapping non-unitary dynamics to a weighted set of unitary operations. We utilize this construction to derive a new correspondence between real and imaginary time, which we term Imaginary Time Quantum Dynamical Emulation (ITQDE). This correspondence enables an imaginary time evolution to be constructed from the overlaps of states evolved in opposite directions. We develop ITQDE as a tool for estimating the ground and thermal state properties associated with a given Hamiltonian. We additionally provide a prescription for leveraging ITQDE to estimate the complete Hamiltonian spectrum. We go on to develop a quantum algorithm for computing Hamiltonian spectra based on ITQDE, which we validate through numerical simulations and quantum hardware implementations. We conclude with a discussion of how ITQDE can be utilized more broadly to derive novel thermodynamic results, including a generalisation of the Hubbard-Stratonovich transformation.