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arXiv · 2008.06011

A simple method for sampling random Clifford operators

Ewout van den Berg
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Abstract

We describe a simple algorithm for sampling $n$-qubit Clifford operators uniformly at random. The algorithm outputs the Clifford operators in the form of quantum circuits with at most $5n + 2n^2$ elementary gates and a maximum depth of $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$ on fully connected topologies. The circuit can be output in a streaming fashion as the algorithm proceeds, and different parts of the circuit can be generated in parallel. The algorithm has an $\mathcal{O}(n^2)$ time complexity, which matches the current state of the art. The main advantage of the proposed algorithm, however, lies in its simplicity and elementary derivation.

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Ewout van den Berg. 2020-08-13. A simple method for sampling random Clifford operators. https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.06011

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