arXiv subjects

Francesco Petruccione

Publications and source records attributed to Francesco Petruccione.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2025

Generating Generalised Ground-State Ansatzes from Few-Body Examples

We introduce a method that generates ground-state ansatzes for quantum many-body systems which are both analytically tractable and accurate over wide parameter regimes. Our approach leverages a custom symbolic language to construct tensor network states (TNS) via an evolutionary algorithm. This language provides operations that allow the generated TNS to automatically scale with system size. Consequently, we can evaluate ansatz fitness for small systems, which is computationally efficient, while favouring structures that continue to perform well with increasing system size. This ensures that the ansatz captures robust features of the ground state structure. Remarkably, we find analytically tractable ansatzes with a degree of universality, which encode correlations, capture finite-size effects, accurately predict ground-state energies, and offer a good description of critical phenomena. We demonstrate this method on the Lipkin-Meshkov-Glick model (LMG) and the quantum transverse-field Ising model (TFIM), where the same ansatz was independently generated for both. The simple structure of the ansatz allows us to obtain exact expressions for the expectation values of local observables as well as for correlation functions. In addition, it permits symmetries that are broken in the ansatz to be restored, which provides a systematic means of improving the accuracy of the ansatz.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum kernel and HHL-based support vector machines for multi-class classification

We compare two quantum approaches that use support vector machines for multi-class classification on a reduced Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) dataset: the quantum kernel-based QSVM and the Harrow-Hassidim-Lloyd least-squares SVM (HHL LS-SVM). Both one-vs-rest and two-step hierarchical classification schemes were implemented. The QSVM involves angle encoding of ten features, two unitary operator blocks consisting of rotational operator gates, and a projective measurement that projects the final state to the zero state. The HHL-based method involves solving a system of linear equations using the HHL algorithm and using the solution in a support vector machine approach. The results indicate that the QSVM outperforms HHL LS-SVM in most cases. HHL LS-SVM performs somewhat competitively in selected cases, particularly when isolating galaxies (majority), however, it also performs poorly in others, especially when isolating QSOs (minority). Comparisons with classical SVMs confirm that quantum and classical methods achieve broadly similar performance, with classical models performing slightly ahead overall. Scaling analysis reveals a trade-off: QSVM performance suffers from quadratic scaling with the number of samples and features, but benefits from explicit feature representation during training, while HHL LS-SVM scales essentially constantly, with moderate fluctuations, but suffers from limited representative elements. The HHL-based method is also highly noise-sensitive. These results suggest that QSVM performs better overall and will perform better on current hardware as well, but that the more efficient scaling of HHL LS-SVM makes it a useful option for larger datasets with many samples, especially if we move past the NISQ era.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Spectral Clustering: Comparing Parameterized and Neuromorphic Quantum Kernels

We compare a parameterized quantum kernel (pQK) with a quantum leaky integrate-and-fire (QLIF) neuromorphic computing approach that employs either the Victor-Purpura or van Rossum kernel in a spectral clustering task, as well as the classical radial basis function (RBF) kernel. Performance evaluation includes label-based classification and clustering metrics, as well as optimal number of clusters predictions for each dataset based on an elbow-like curve as is typically used in $K$-means clustering. The pQK encodes feature vectors through angle encoding with rotation angles scaled parametrically. Parameters are optimized through grid search to maximize kernel-target alignment, producing a kernel that reflects distances in the feature space. The quantum neuromorphic approach uses population coding to transform data into spike trains, which are then processed using temporal distance metrics. Kernel matrices are used as input into a classical spectral clustering pipeline prior to performance evaluation. For the synthetic datasets and \texttt{Iris}, the QLIF kernel typically achieves better classification and clustering performance than pQK. However, on higher-dimensional datasets, such as a preprocessed version of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (\texttt{SDSS}), pQK performed better, indicating a possible advantage in higher-dimensional regimes.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Fool's gold: ligand-receptor interactions and the origins of life

The origins of life is a question that continues to intrigue scientists across disciplines. One theory - the iron-sulphur theory - suggests that reactions essential to the synthesis of biological materials got their catalytic 'spark' from mineral surfaces such as iron pyrite, commonly known as fool's gold. Additionally, the binding affinity of the ligands synthesised in this 'surface metabolism' acted as an early version of natural selection: more strongly-binding ligands were accumulated into further autocatalytic reactions and the aggregation of complex biological materials. Ligand-receptor binding is thus fundamental to the origins of life. In this paper, we use the iron-sulphur theory as a lens through which to review ligand-receptor interactions as they are more commonly understood today. In particular we focus on the electron tunnelling theory of receptor activation that has emerged from research into quantum biology. We revisit criticism against this theory, particularly the lack of evidence for electron transfer in receptors, to see what insights might be offered by ligand-receptor interactions mediated by iron pyrite at the origins of life. What emerges from this comparison is the central importance of redox activity in receptors, in particular with respect to the recurring presence of the disulphide bond. While the paper is a speculative exercise, we conclude that conductivity in biomolecules, particularly the selective conductivity conferred by appropriate ligand-receptor binding, is a powerful tool for understanding diverse phenomena such as pharmacological potency and viral infection. As such it deserves further investigation.

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2024

Hybrid Quantum-Classical Feature Extraction approach for Image Classification using Autoencoders and Quantum SVMs

In order to leverage quantum computers for machine learning tasks such as image classification, careful consideration is required: NISQ-era quantum computers have limitations, which include noise, scalability, read-in and read-out times, and gate operation times. Therefore, strategies should be devised to mitigate the impact that complex datasets can have on the overall efficiency of a quantum machine learning pipeline. This may otherwise lead to excessive resource demands or increased noise. We apply a classical feature extraction method using a ResNet10-inspired convolutional autoencoder to both reduce the dimensionality of the dataset and extract abstract and meaningful features before feeding them into a quantum machine learning block. The quantum block of choice is a quantum-enhanced support vector machine (QSVM), as support vector machines typically do not require large sample sizes to identify patterns in data and have short-depth quantum circuits, which limits the impact of noise. The autoencoder is trained to extract meaningful features through image reconstruction, aiming to minimize the mean squared error across a training set. Three image datasets are used to illustrate the pipeline: HTRU-1, MNIST, and CIFAR-10. We also include a quantum-enhanced one-class support vector machine (QOCSVM) for the highly unbalanced HTRU-1 set, as well as classical machine learning results to serve as a benchmark. Finally, the HTRU-2 dataset is also included to serve as a benchmark for a dataset with well-correlated features. The autoencoder achieved near-perfect reconstruction and high classification accuracy for MNIST, while CIFAR-10 showed poorer performance due to image complexity, and HTRU-1 struggled because of dataset imbalance. This highlights the need for a balance between dimensionality reduction through classical feature extraction and prediction performance using quantum methods.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum evolution: terrestrial fine-tuning of magnetic parameters

For the first time in history, humankind might conceivably begin to imagine itself as a multi-planetary species. This goal will entail technical innovation in a number of contexts, including that of healthcare. All life on Earth shares an evolution that is coupled to specific environmental conditions, including gravitational and magnetic fields. While the human body may be able to adjust to short term disruption of these fields during space flights, any long term settlement would have to take into consideration the effects that different fields will have on biological systems, within the space of one lifetime, but also across generations. Magnetic fields, for example, influence the growth of stem cells in regenerative processes. Circadian rhythms are profoundly influenced by magnetic fields, a fact that will likely have an effect on mental as well as physical health. Even the brain responds to small perturbations of this field. One possible mechanism for the effects of weak magnetic fields on biological systems has been suggested to be the radical pair mechanism. The radical pair mechanism originated in the context of spin chemistry to describe how magnetic fields influence the yields of chemical reactions. This mechanism was subsequently incorporated into the field of quantum biology. Quantum biology, most generally, is the study of whether non-trivial quantum effects play any meaningful role in biological systems. The radical pair mechanism has been used most consistently in this context to describe the avian compass. Recently, however, a number of studies have investigated other biological contexts in which the radical pair might play a role, from the action of anaesthetics and antidepressants, to microtubule development and the proper function of the circadian clock... (full abstract in the manuscript)

physics.bio-ph↗

arXiv2024

Nonequilibrium quantum heat transport between structured environments

We apply the hierarchical equations of motion technique to analyzing nonequilibrium heat transport in a spin-boson type model, whereby heat transfer through a central spin is mediated by an intermediate pair of coupled harmonic oscillators. The coupling between each pair of oscillators is shown to introduce a localized gap into the effective spectral densities characterizing the system-oscillator-reservoir interactions. Compared to the case of a single mediating oscillator, we find the heat current to be drastically modified at weak system-bath coupling. In particular, a second-order treatment fails to capture the correct steady-state behavior in this regime, which stems from the $λ^4$-scaling of the energy transfer rate to lowest order in the coupling strength $λ$. This leads naturally to a strong suppression in the steady-state current in the asymptotically weak coupling limit. On the other hand, the current noise follows the same scaling as in the single oscillator case in accordance with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. Additionally, we find the heat current to be consistent with Fourier's law even at large temperature bias. Our analysis highlights a novel mechanism for controlling heat transport in nanoscale systems based on tailoring the spectral properties of thermal environments.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2024

A Quantum Leaky Integrate-and-Fire Spiking Neuron and Network

Quantum machine learning is in a period of rapid development and discovery, however it still lacks the resources and diversity of computational models of its classical complement. With the growing difficulties of classical models requiring extreme hardware and power solutions, and quantum models being limited by noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware, there is an emerging opportunity to solve both problems together. Here we introduce a new software model for quantum neuromorphic computing -- a quantum leaky integrate-and-fire (QLIF) neuron, implemented as a compact high-fidelity quantum circuit, requiring only 2 rotation gates and no CNOT gates. We use these neurons as building blocks in the construction of a quantum spiking neural network (QSNN), and a quantum spiking convolutional neural network (QSCNN), as the first of their kind. We apply these models to the MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, and KMNIST datasets for a full comparison with other classical and quantum models. We find that the proposed models perform competitively, with comparative accuracy, with efficient scaling and fast computation in classical simulation as well as on quantum devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

QAOA Performance in Noisy Devices: The Effect of Classical Optimizers and Ansatz Depth

The Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) is a variational quantum algorithm for Near-term Intermediate-Scale Quantum computers (NISQ) providing approximate solutions for combinatorial optimiz\-ation problems. The QAOA utilizes a quantum-classical loop, consisting of a quantum ansatz and a classical optimizer, to minimize some cost function, computed on the quantum device. This paper presents an investigation into the impact of realistic noise on the classical optimizer and the determination of optimal circuit depth for the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) in the presence of noise. We find that, while there is no significant difference in the performance of classical optimizers in a state vector simulation, the Adam and AMSGrad optimizers perform best in the presence of shot noise. Under the conditions of real noise, the SPSA optimizer, along with ADAM and AMSGrad, emerge as the top performers. The study also reveals that the quality of solutions to some 5 qubit minimum vertex cover problems increases for up to around six layers in the QAOA circuit, after which it begins to decline. This analysis shows that increasing the number of layers in the QAOA in an attempt to increase accuracy may not work well in a noisy device.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Petz recovery maps for qudit quantum channels

This study delves into the efficacy of the Petz recovery map within the context of two paradigmatic quantum channels: dephasing and amplitude-damping. While prior investigations have predominantly focused on qubits, our research extends this inquiry to higher-dimensional systems. We introduce a novel, state-independent framework based on the Choi-Jamiołkowski isomorphism to evaluate the performance of the Petz map. By analyzing different channels and the (non-)unital nature of these processes, we emphasize the pivotal role of the reference state selection in determining the map's effectiveness. Furthermore, our analysis underscores the considerable impact of suboptimal choices on performance, prompting a broader consideration of factors such as system dimensionality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Quantum Optical Approach to the $K$ Nearest Neighbour Algorithm

We construct a hybrid quantum-classical approach for the $K$-Nearest Neighbour algorithm, where the information is embedded in a phase-distributed multimode coherent state with the assistance of a single photon. The task of finding the closeness between the data points is delivered by the quantum optical computer, while the sorting and class assignment are performed by a classical computer. We provide the quantum optical architecture corresponding to our algorithm. The subordinate optical network is validated by numerical simulation. We also optimize the computational resources of the algorithm in the context of space, energy requirements and gate complexity. Applications are presented for diverse and well-known public benchmarks and synthesized data sets.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Markovian Noise Modelling and Parameter Extraction Framework for Quantum Devices

In recent years, Noisy Intermediate Scale Quantum (NISQ) computers have been widely used as a test bed for quantum dynamics. This work provides a new hardware-agnostic framework for modelling the Markovian noise and dynamics of quantum systems in benchmark procedures used to evaluate device performance. As an accessible example, the application and performance of this framework is demonstrated on IBM Quantum computers. This framework serves to extract multiple calibration parameters simultaneously through a simplified process which is more reliable than previously studied calibration experiments and tomographic procedures. Additionally, this method allows for real-time calibration of several hardware parameters of a quantum computer within a comprehensive procedure, providing quantitative insight into the performance of each device to be accounted for in future quantum circuits. The framework proposed here has the additional benefit of highlighting the consistency among qubit pairs when extracting parameters, which leads to a less computationally expensive calibration process than evaluating the entire device at once.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Entanglement and coherence in pure and doped Posner molecules

The potential role of spin in biological systems is a primary topic in quantum biology. However, much of this research focuses on electron spin. A recent hypothesis suggests that nuclear spin may be better suited to biological processes, being less sensitive to decoherence. The hypothesis details how phosphorus nuclei might be prepared in a spin-entangled state, how this entanglement is protected by assembly into calcium phosphate (Posner) molecules, and how this entanglement might modulate calcium ion production and concomitant neural activation. In this paper, we investigate the robustness of quantum effects such as coherence and entanglement in Posner molecules. We investigate how these effects are directly dependent on specific parameters such as spin-spin coupling strengths and Posner molecule symmetry. We also investigate how lithium isotope-doped Posner molecules differentially modulate quantum resources such as coherence and entanglement and whether this is a viable explanation for lithium's mechanism of action in bipolar disease. Finally, we illustrate how entanglement might possibly be preserved through the exploitation of the biological environment.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Noninvertibility and non-Markovianity of quantum dynamical maps

We identify two broad types of noninvertibilities in quantum dynamical maps, one necessarily associated with CP indivisibility and one not so. We study the production of (non-)Markovian, invertible maps by the process of mixing noninvertible Pauli maps, and quantify the fraction of the same. The memory kernel perspective appears to be less transparent on the issue of invertibility than the approaches based on maps or master equations. Here we consider a related and potentially helpful issue: the identification of criteria of parameterized families of maps leading to the existence of a well-defined semigroup limit.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Pulsar Classification: Comparing Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks and Quantum Support Vector Machines

Well-known quantum machine learning techniques, namely quantum kernel assisted support vector machines (QSVMs) and quantum convolutional neural networks (QCNNs), are applied to the binary classification of pulsars. In this comparitive study it is illustrated with simulations that both quantum methods successfully achieve effective classification of the HTRU-2 data set that connects pulsar class labels to eight separate features. QCNNs outperform the QSVMs with respect to time taken to train and predict, however, if the current NISQ era devices are considered and noise included in the comparison, then QSVMs are preferred. QSVMs also perform better overall compared to QCNNs when performance metrics are used to evaluate both methods. Classical methods are also implemented to serve as benchmark for comparison with the quantum approaches.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Cyclic quantum engines enhanced by strong bath coupling

While strong system-bath coupling produces rich and interesting phenomena, applications to quantum thermal engines have been so far pointing mainly at detrimental effects. The delicate trade-off between efficiency loss due to strong coupling and power increase due to faster equilibration, while acknowledged, remained largely unexplored owing to the challenge of assessing precisely the equilibration time. Here, we overcome this obstacle by exploiting exact numerical simulations based on the hierarchical equations of motion (HEOM) formalism. We show that a quantum Otto cycle can perform better at strong (but not ultrastrong) coupling in that the product of the efficiency times the output power is maximized in this regime. In particular, we show that strong coupling allows one to obtain engines with larger efficiency than their weakly coupled counterparts, while sharing the same output power. Conversely, one can design strongly coupled engines with larger power than their weakly coupled counterparts, while sharing the same efficiency. Overall, our results provide situations where strong coupling can directly enhance the performance of thermodynamic operations, re-enforcing the importance of studying quantum thermal engines beyond standard configurations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Conservation Laws for a Thermal Reservoir Model in Open Quantum Systems

We construct Lie point symmetries, a closed-form solution and conservation laws using a non-Noetherian approach for a specific case of the Gorini-Kossakowski-Sudarshan-Lindblad equation that has been recast for the study of non-relativistic free particles in a thermal reservoir environment. Conservation laws are constructed subsequently using the Ibragimov method via a solution to the adjoint form of the equation of motion via its corresponding scalaing symmetry. A general computational framework for obtaining all conserved vectors is exhibited some triplets of conserved quantities are calculated in full.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Soliton Solutions and Conservation Laws for a Self-interacting Scalar Field in $ϕ^{4}$ Theory

We calculate soliton solutions to the scalar field equation of motion that arises for the 4th-order extended Lagrangian ($ϕ^{4}$ theory) in quantum field theory using the extended hyperbolic tangent and the sine-cosine methods. Using the former technique, ten complex soliton waves are obtained; we graphically represent three of these profiles using density plots. In the latter case, two real soliton solutions are obtained, of which, we demonstrate the wave profile for the positive case. Using the multiplier method, we calculate conservation laws in $(1 + 1)$-, $(2 + 1)$-, and $(3 + 1)$-dimensions producing three, six, and ten conservation laws respectively. Lastly, we reflect on the application of conservation laws in particle physics and phenomenology.

hep-ph↗