arXiv subjects

Huangjun Zhu

Publications and source records attributed to Huangjun Zhu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Optimal Shadow Estimation with Minimal Measurement Settings

Shadow estimation is a powerful framework for predicting quantum properties from randomized measurements. While $3$-design protocols achieve optimal worst-case performance, the minimal number of measurement bases required for such optimality has remained open. Here we prove that $\Theta(d^2)$ measurement bases are both necessary and sufficient for worst-case optimal shadow estimation and construct an explicit basis family. In stark contrast, any state $2$-design already suffices for average-case optimality: the mean squared shadow norm of normalized observables is bounded by a universal constant, and we prove strong concentration for Haar-random states, yielding constant sample complexity for generic pure-state fidelity estimation. Easily implementable $2$-designs -- from mutually unbiased bases, cyclic measurements, or shallow $\mathcal{O}(\log n)$-depth circuits -- enable optimal average-case protocols with remarkably simple measurement strategies. Our results establish a fundamental complexity separation: worst-case estimation requires $\Theta(d^2)$ bases, whereas average-case performance requires only $\Theta(d)$ bases, with broad implications for quantum information theory and near-term experiments.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2026

A single programmable photonic circuit for universal quantum measurements

Programmable photonic quantum processors face a critical challenge: despite significant advances in quantum state preparation and manipulation, measurements remain limited to projective techniques. Here, we demonstrate a programmable measurement processor that overcomes this limitation by enabling arbitrary quantum measurements within a scalable circuit framework. Our large-scale integrated photonic architecture achieves precise coherent control of ancillary quantum systems, realizing a universal four-dimensional quantum measurement device. We benchmark the processor by performing measurement tomography on 100 randomly selected measurements, achieving an average fidelity of 97.7%. The processor's performance exceeds the theoretical limits of projective measurements in three key quantum information tasks: state discrimination (with 23 times lower error), state estimation (with 10.6% higher fidelity), and randomness generation (with 37% more randomness yield), demonstrating its high operational quality. This work establishes a fully programmable quantum measurement processor, advancing the development of universal quantum operations for photonic quantum information processing by providing the key missing component.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Optimal Quantum Measurements with respect to the Fidelity

Fidelity is the standard measure for quantifying the similarity between two quantum states. It is equal to the square of the minimum Bhattacharyya coefficient between the probability distributions induced by quantum measurements on the two states. Though established for over thirty years, the structure of fidelity-optimal quantum measurements remains unclear when the two density operators are singular (not invertible). Here we address this gap, with a focus on minimal optimal measurements, which admit no nontrivial coarse graining that is still optimal. We show that there exists either a unique minimal optimal measurement or infinitely many inequivalent choices. Moreover, the first case holds if and only if the two density operators satisfy a weak commutativity condition. In addition, we provide a complete characterization of all minimal optimal measurements when one state is pure, leveraging geometric insights from the Bloch-sphere representation. The connections with quantum incompatibility, operator pencils, and geometric means are highlighted.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

High-Precision Fidelity Estimation with Common Randomized Measurements

Efficient fidelity estimation of multiqubit quantum states is crucial to many applications in quantum information processing. However, to estimate the infidelity $\epsilon$ with multiplicative precision, conventional estimation protocols require (order) $1/\epsilon^2$ different circuits in addition to $1/\epsilon^2$ samples, which is quite resource-intensive for high-precision fidelity estimation. Here we introduce an efficient estimation protocol by virtue of common randomized measurements (CRM) integrated with shadow estimation based on the Clifford group, which only requires $1/\epsilon $ circuits. Moreover, in many scenarios of practical interest, in the presence of depolarizing or Pauli noise for example, our protocol only requires a constant number of circuits, irrespective of the infidelity $\epsilon$ and the qubit number. For large and intermediate quantum systems, quite often one circuit is already sufficient. In the course of study, we clarify the performance of CRM shadow estimation based on the Clifford group and 4-designs and highlight its advantages over standard and thrifty shadow estimation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Efficient certification of high-dimensional entanglement

High-dimensional entanglement (HDE) is a valuable resource in quantum information processing, and efficient certification of HDE is crucial to many applications. In this work, we propose a simple and general framework for certifying HDE in general bipartite pure states under restricted operations, such as local operations and classical communication (LOCC). On this basis we show that HDE in general bipartite pure states can be certified efficiently. Moreover, the sample cost for certifying a given degree of HDE even decreases monotonically with the local dimensions. In addition, for a general two-qubit pure state, we construct an optimal entanglement certification strategy based on separable operations, which can be realized by LOCC when the target state has sufficiently high entanglement. The core concept of our framework is versatile and can be extended to certify a wide range of critical resources under restricted operations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Random approximate quantum information masking

Masking information into quantum correlations is a cornerstone of many quantum information applications. While there exist the no-hiding and no-masking theorems, approximate quantum information masking (AQIM) offers a promising means of circumventing the constraints. Despite its potential, AQIM still remains underexplored, and constructing explicit approximate maskers remains a challenge. In this work, we investigate AQIM from multiple perspectives and propose using random isometries to construct approximate maskers. First, different notions of AQIM are introduced and we find there are profound intrinsic connections among them. These relationships are characterized by a set of figures of merit, which are introduced to quantify the deviation of AQIM from exact QIM. We then explore the possibility of realizing AQIM via random isometries in bipartite and multipartite systems. In bipartite systems, we identify a fundamental lower bound for a key figure of merit, implying that almost all random isometries fail to realize AQIM. This surprising result generalizes the original no-masking theorem to the no-random-AQIM theorem for bipartite systems. In contrast, in multipartite systems, we show almost all random isometries can realize AQIM. Remarkably, the number of physical qubits required to randomly mask a single logical qubit scales only linearly. We further explore the implications of these findings. In particular, we show that, under certain conditions, approximate quantum error correction is equivalent to AQIM. Consequently, AQIM naturally gives rise to approximate quantum error correction codes with constant code rates and exponentially small correction inaccuracies. Overall, our results establish quantum information masking as a central concept in quantum information theory, bridging diverse notions across multiple domains.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Universal and Efficient Quantum State Verification via Schmidt Decomposition and Mutually Unbiased Bases

Efficient verification of multipartite quantum states is crucial to many applications in quantum information processing. By virtue of Schmidt decomposition and mutually unbiased bases, here we propose a universal protocol to verify arbitrary multipartite pure quantum states using adaptive local projective measurements. Moreover, we establish a universal upper bound on the sample complexity that is independent of the local dimensions. Numerical calculations further indicate that Haar-random pure states can be verified with a constant sample cost, irrespective of the qudit number and local dimensions, even in the adversarial scenario in which the source cannot be trusted. As alternatives, we provide several simpler variants that can achieve similar high efficiencies without using Schmidt decomposition. The simplest variant consists of only two distinct tests.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Experimental Verification of Entangled States in the Adversarial Scenario

Efficient verification of entangled states is crucial to many applications in quantum information processing. However, the effectiveness of standard quantum state verification (QSV) is based on the condition of independent and identical distribution (IID), which impedes its applications in many practical scenarios. Here we demonstrate a defensive QSV protocol, which is effective in all kinds of non-IID scenarios, including the extremely challenging adversarial scenario. To this end, we build a high-speed preparation-and-measurement apparatus controlled by quantum random-number generators. Our experiments clearly show that standard QSV protocols often provide unreliable fidelity certificates in non-IID scenarios. In sharp contrast, the defensive QSV protocol based on a homogeneous strategy can provide reliable and nearly tight fidelity certificates at comparable high efficiency, even under malicious attacks. Moreover, our scheme is robust against the imperfections in a realistic experiment, which is very appealing to practical applications.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Certifying entanglement dimensionality by $k$-reduction moments

In this paper, we combine the k-reduction map, the moment method, and the classical shadow method into a practical protocol for certifying the entanglement dimensionality. Our approach is based on the observation that a state with entanglement dimensionality at most k must stay positive under the action of the k-reduction map. The core of our protocol utilizes the moment method to determine whether the k-reduced operator, i.e., the operator obtained after applying the k-reduction map on a quantum state, contains negative eigenvalues or not. Notably, we propose a systematic method for constructing reduction moment criteria, which apply to a much wider range of states than fidelity-based methods. The performance of our approach gets better and better with the moment order employed, which is corroborated by extensive numerical simulation. To apply our approach, it suffices to implement a unitary 3-design instead of a 4-design, which is more feasible in practice than the correlation matrix method. In the course of study, we show that the k-reduction negativity, the absolute sum of the negative eigenvalues of the k-reduced operator, is monotonic under local operations and classical communication for pure states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Optimal estimation of three parallel spins with genuine and restricted collective measurements

Collective measurements on identical and independent quantum systems can offer advantages in information extraction compared with individual measurements. However, little is known about the distinction between restricted collective measurements and genuine collective measurements in the multipartite setting. In this work we establish a rigorous performance gap based on a simple and old estimation problem, the estimation of a random spin state given three parallel spins. Notably, we derive an analytical formula for the maximum estimation fidelity of biseparable measurements and clarify its fidelity gap from genuine collective measurements. Moreover, we clarify the structure of optimal biseparable measurements. It turns out that the maximum estimation fidelity can be achieved by two- and one-copy measurements assisted by one-way communication in one direction, but not the other way. Our work reveals a rich landscape of multipartite nonclassicality in quantum measurements instead of quantum states and is expected to trigger further studies.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Nonstabilizerness Enhances Thrifty Shadow Estimation

Shadow estimation is a powerful approach for estimating the expectation values of many observables. Thrifty shadow estimation is a simple variant that is proposed to reduce the experimental overhead by reusing random circuits repeatedly. Although this idea is so simple, its performance is quite elusive. In this work we show that thrifty shadow estimation is effective on average whenever the unitary ensemble forms a 2-design, in sharp contrast with the previous expectation. In thrifty shadow estimation based on the Clifford group, the variance is inversely correlated with the degree of nonstabilizerness of the state and observable, which is a key resource in quantum information processing. For fidelity estimation, it decreases exponentially with the stabilizer 2-R\'{e}nyi entropy of the target state, which endows the stabilizer 2-R\'{e}nyi entropy with a clear operational meaning. In addition,we propose a simple circuit to enhance the efficiency, which requires only one layer of $T$ gates and is particularly appealing in the NISQ era.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Nearly query-optimal classical shadow estimation of unitary channels

Classical shadow estimation (CSE) is a powerful tool for learning the properties of quantum states and quantum processes. Here we consider the CSE task for quantum unitary channels. By querying an unknown unitary channel $\mathcal{U}$ multiple times in quantum experiments, the goal is to learn a classical description from which one can accurately predict many different linear properties of the channel, i.e., the expectation values of arbitrary observables measured on the output of $\mathcal{U}$ upon arbitrary input states. Based on collective measurements on multiple systems, we propose a query efficient protocol for this task, whose query complexity has a quadratic advantage over the previous best approach for this problem, and almost saturates the information-theoretic lower bound. To further enhance practicality, we also present a variant protocol using only single-copy measurements, which still offers much better query performance than previous protocols that do not use quantum memory, and can serve as a key subroutine for learning an arbitrary unknown Hamiltonian from dynamics. In addition to linear properties of unitary channels, our protocol can also be applied to simultaneously predict many non-linear properties, such as out-of-time-ordered correlators.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Third moments of qudit Clifford orbits and 3-designs based on magic orbits

When the local dimension $d$ is an odd prime, the qudit Clifford group is only a 2-design, but not a 3-design, unlike the qubit counterpart. This distinction and its extension to Clifford orbits have profound implications for many applications in quantum information processing. In this work we systematically delve into general qudit Clifford orbits with a focus on the third moments and potential applications in shadow estimation. First, we introduce the shadow norm to quantify the deviations of Clifford orbits from 3-designs and clarify its properties. Then, we show that the third normalized frame potential and shadow norm are both $\mathcal{O}(d)$ for any Clifford orbit, including the orbit of stabilizer states, although the operator norm of the third normalized moment operator may increase exponentially with the number $n$ of qudits when $d\neq 2\mod 3$. Moreover, we prove that the shadow norm of any magic orbit is upper bounded by the constant $15/2$, so a single magic gate can already eliminate the $\mathcal{O}(d)$ overhead in qudit shadow estimation and bridge the gap between qudit systems and qubit systems. Furthermore, we propose simple recipes for constructing approximate and exact 3-designs (with respect to three figures of merit simultaneously) from one or a few Clifford orbits. Notably, accurate approximate 3-designs can be constructed from only two Clifford orbits. For an infinite family of local dimensions, exact 3-designs can be constructed from two or four Clifford orbits. In the course of study, we clarify the key properties of the commutant of the third Clifford tensor power and the underlying mathematical structures.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Qudit Shadow Estimation Based on the Clifford Group and the Power of a Single Magic Gate

Shadow estimation is a sample-efficient protocol for learning the properties of a quantum system using randomized measurements, but the current understanding of qudit shadow estimation is quite limited compared with the qubit setting. Here we clarify the sample complexity of qudit shadow estimation based on the Clifford group, where the local dimension $d$ is an odd prime. Notably, we show that the overhead of qudit shadow estimation over the qubit counterpart is only $\mathcal{O}(d)$, independent of the qudit number $n$, although the set of stabilizer states may deviate exponentially from a 3-design with respect to the third moment operator. Furthermore, by adding one layer of magic gates, we propose a simple circuit that can significantly boost the efficiency. Actually, a single magic gate can already eliminate the $\mathcal{O}(d)$ overhead in qudit shadow estimation and bridge the gap from the qubit setting.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Auxiliary-Free Replica Shadows: Efficient Estimation of Multiple Nonlinear Quantum Properties

Efficient estimation of nonlinear properties is a significant yet challenging task from quantum information processing to many-body physics. Current methodologies often suffer from an exponential sampling cost or require auxiliary qubits and deep quantum circuits. To address these limitations, we propose an efficient auxiliary-free replica shadow (AFRS) framework, which leverages the power of the joint entangling operation on a few input replicas while integrating the mindset of shadow estimation. We rigorously prove that AFRS can offer exponential improvements in estimation accuracy compared with the conventional shadow method, and facilitate the simultaneous estimation of various nonlinear properties, unlike the destructive swap test. Additionally, we introduce an advanced local-AFRS variant tailored to estimating local observables with constant-depth quantum circuits, significantly simplifying the experimental implementation. Our work paves the way for efficient and practical estimation of nonlinear properties on near-term quantum devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Efficient molecular conformation generation with quantum-inspired algorithm

Conformation generation, also known as molecular unfolding (MU), is a crucial step in structure-based drug design, remaining a challenging combinatorial optimization problem. Quantum annealing (QA) has shown great potential for solving certain combinatorial optimization problems over traditional classical methods such as simulated annealing (SA). However, a recent study showed that a 2000-qubit QA hardware was still unable to outperform SA for the MU problem. Here, we propose the use of quantum-inspired algorithm to solve the MU problem, in order to go beyond traditional SA. We introduce a highly-compact phase encoding method which can exponentially reduce the representation space, compared with the previous one-hot encoding method. For benchmarking, we tested this new approach on the public QM9 dataset generated by density functional theory (DFT). The root-mean-square deviation between the conformation determined by our approach and DFT is negligible (less than about 0.5 Angstrom), which underpins the validity of our approach. Furthermore, the median time-to-target metric can be reduced by a factor of five compared to SA. Additionally, we demonstrate a simulation experiment by MindQuantum using quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) to reach optimal results. These results indicate that quantum-inspired algorithms can be applied to solve practical problems even before quantum hardware become mature.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2024

Efficient Verification of Ground States of Frustration-Free Hamiltonians

Ground states of local Hamiltonians are of key interest in many-body physics and also in quantum information processing. Efficient verification of these states are crucial to many applications, but very challenging. Here we propose a simple, but powerful recipe for verifying the ground states of general frustration-free Hamiltonians based on local measurements. Moreover, we derive rigorous bounds on the sample complexity by virtue of the quantum detectability lemma (with improvement) and quantum union bound. Notably, the number of samples required does not increase with the system size when the underlying Hamiltonian is local and gapped, which is the case of most interest. As an application, we propose a general approach for verifying Affleck-Kennedy-Lieb-Tasaki (AKLT) states on arbitrary graphs based on local spin measurements, which requires only a constant number of samples for AKLT states defined on various lattices. Our work is of interest not only to many tasks in quantum information processing, but also to the study of many-body physics.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2023

Experimental Realization of Genuine Three-copy Collective Measurements for Optimal Information Extraction

Nonclassical phenomena tied to entangled states are the focus of foundational studies and powerful resources in many applications. By contrast, the counterparts in quantum measurements are still poorly understood. Notably, genuine multipartite nonclassicality is barely discussed, let alone its experimental realization. Here we experimentally demonstrate the power of genuine tripartite nonclassicality in quantum measurements based on a simple estimation problem. To this end we realize an optimal genuine three-copy collective measurement via a nine-step two-dimensional photonic quantum walk with 30 elaborately designed coin operators. Then we realize an optimal estimation protocol and achieve an unprecedented high estimation fidelity, which can beat all strategies based on restricted collective measurements by more than 11 standard deviations. These results clearly demonstrate that genuine collective measurements can extract more information than local measurements and restricted collective measurements. Our work opens the door for exploring genuine multipartite nonclassical measurements and their power in quantum information processing.

quant-ph↗