arXiv subjects

Mirko Consiglio

Publications and source records attributed to Mirko Consiglio.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Structured Parameterization and Non-Stabilizerness in Hypergraph QAOA

The quantum approximate optimization algorithm (QAOA) has emerged as a promising candidate for demonstrating quantum advantage on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices. While various QAOA parameterization schemes exist, ranging from the original single-angle approach to the more expressive multi-angle quantum approximate optimization algorithm (MA-QAOA) and automorphic-angle quantum approximate optimization algorithm (AA-QAOA), each presents distinct trade-offs between expressiveness and classical optimization complexity. In this work, we introduce the $k$-interaction-angle quantum approximate optimization algorithm ($k$A-QAOA), a parameterization scheme that groups cost function terms by their $k$-body interaction order, providing a natural middle ground between parameter efficiency and solution quality. This approach is particularly well-suited for combinatorial optimization problems defined on hypergraphs, where multi-body interactions naturally arise in applications such as Boolean satisfiability and resource allocation with multi-party constraints. We benchmark $k$A-QAOA against standard single-angle quantum approximate optimization algorithm (SA-QAOA), MA-QAOA, and AA-QAOA on two problem classes: 3-uniform cyclic sign-alternating hypergraphs and random coefficient hypergraphs. Our results demonstrate that $k$A-QAOA achieves approximation ratios comparable to MA-QAOA while requiring significantly fewer function evaluations, thereby reducing quantum resource consumption.

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arXiv2026

Variational Gibbs State Preparation on Trapped-Ion Devices

We implement a variational quantum algorithm for Gibbs state preparation of a transverse-field Ising model on IonQ's quantum computers. To this end, we train the variational parameters via classical simulation and perform state tomography on the quantum devices to evaluate the fidelity of the prepared Gibbs state. As a main result, we find that fidelity decreases (non-monotonically) as a function of the inverse temperature $\beta$ of the system. Fidelity also decreases as a function of the size of the system. Interestingly, we find that a Gibbs state prepared for a specified $\beta$ is a better representative of a Gibbs state prepared for a $\textit{lower}$ $\beta$; or in other words, thermal fluctuations in the quantum hardware lead to digital heating, that is, an increase in the temperature of the prepared Gibbs state above what was intended.

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arXiv2025

Achieving fast and robust perfect entangling gates via reinforcement learning

Noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers hold the promise of tackling complex and otherwise intractable computational challenges through the massive parallelism offered by qubits. Central to realizing the potential of quantum computing are perfect entangling (PE) two-qubit gates, which serve as a critical building block for universal quantum computation. In the context of quantum optimal control, shaping electromagnetic pulses to drive quantum gates is crucial for pushing gate performance toward theoretical limits. In this work, we leverage reinforcement learning (RL) techniques to discover near-optimal pulse shapes that yield PE gates. A collection of RL agents is trained within robust simulation environments, enabling the identification of effective control strategies even under noisy conditions. Selected agents are then validated on higher-fidelity simulations, illustrating how RL-based methods can reduce calibration overhead when compared to quantum optimal control techniques. Furthermore, the RL approach is hardware agnostic with the potential for broad applicability across various quantum computing platforms.

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arXiv2025

Variational Quantum Algorithms for Many-Body Systems

Variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) incorporate hybrid quantum-classical computation aimed at harnessing the power of noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) computers to solve challenging computational problems. In this thesis, three main VQAs are presented, each tackling a different facet of many-body physics.

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arXiv2025

Long-distance genuine multipartite Entanglement between Magnetic Defects in Spin Chains

We investigate the emergence and properties of long-distance genuine multipartite entanglement, induced via three localized magnetic defects, in a one-dimensional transverse-field XX spin-$1/2$ chain. Using both analytical and numerical techniques, we determine the conditions for the existence of bound states localized at the defects. We find that the reduced density matrix (RDM) of the defects exhibits long-distance genuine multipartite entanglement (GME) across the whole range of the Hamiltonian parameter space, including regions where the two-qubit concurrence is zero. We quantify the entanglement by using numerical lower bounds for the GME concurrence, as well as by analytically deriving the GME concurrence in regions where the RDM is of rank two. Our work provides insights into generating multipartite entanglement in many-body quantum systems via local control techniques.

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arXiv2024

Detecting quasi-degenerate ground states in topological models via variational quantum eigensolver

We study the exact ground states of the Su--Schrieffer--Heeger open chain and of the Kitaev open chain, using the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) algorithm. These models host symmetry-protected topological phases, characterized by edge modes with vanishing single-particle energy in the thermodynamic limit. The same fact prevents the standard VQE algorithm from converging to the correct ground state for finite chains, since it is quasi-degenerate in energy with other many-body states. Notably, this quasi-degeneracy cannot be removed by small perturbations, as in typical spin systems. We address this issue by imposing appropriate constraints on the VQE evolution and constructing appropriate variational circuits, to restrict the probed portion of the Hilbert space along the same evolution. These constraints stem from both general properties of the topological phases and of the studied Hamiltonians. In this way, the improved VQE algorithm achieves an accurate convergence to the exact ground states in each phase. The present approach promises large applicability, also to realistic systems with different topologies and/or not easily removable degeneracies, thanks to the very high fidelity achievable also on systems with a relatively high number of qubits.

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arXiv2024

Variational Gibbs State Preparation on NISQ devices

The preparation of an equilibrium thermal state of a quantum many-body system on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices is an important task in order to extend the range of applications of quantum computation. Faithful Gibbs state preparation would pave the way to investigate protocols such as thermalization and out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics, as well as providing useful resources for quantum algorithms, where sampling from Gibbs states constitutes a key subroutine. We propose a variational quantum algorithm (VQA) to prepare Gibbs states of a quantum many-body system. The novelty of our VQA consists in implementing a parameterized quantum circuit acting on two distinct, yet connected (via CNOT gates), quantum registers. The VQA evaluates the Helmholtz free energy, where the von Neumann entropy is obtained via post-processing of computational basis measurements on one register, while the Gibbs state is prepared on the other register, via a unitary rotation in the energy basis. Finally, we benchmark our VQA by preparing Gibbs states of the transverse field Ising and Heisenberg XXZ models and achieve remarkably high fidelities across a broad range of temperatures in statevector simulations. We also assess the performance of the VQA on IBM quantum computers, showcasing its feasibility on current NISQ devices.

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arXiv2024

Many-body thermal states on a quantum computer: a variational approach

{Many-body quantum states at thermal equilibrium are ubiquitous in nature. Investigating their dynamical properties is a formidable task due to the complexity of the Hilbert space they live in. Quantum computers may have the potential to effectively simulate quantum systems, provided that the many-body state under scrutiny can be faithfully prepared via an efficient algorithm. With this aim, we present a hybrid quantum--classical variational quantum algorithm for the preparation of the Gibbs state of the quantum $XY$ model. Our algorithm is based on the Grover and Rudolph parametrized quantum circuit for the preparation of the Boltzmann weights of the Gibbs state, and on a parity-preserving ansatz for the allocation of the eigenenergy basis to their respective Boltzmann weight. We explicitly show, with a paradigmatic few-body case instance, how the symmetries of a many-body system can be exploited to significantly reduce the exponentially increasing number of variational parameters needed in the Grover and Rudolph algorithm. Finally, we show that the density matrix, of the Gibbs state of the $XY$ model, obtained by statevector simulations for different parameters, exhibits a fidelity close to unity with the exact Gibbs state; this highlights the potential use of our protocol on current quantum computers.

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arXiv2024

Distribution of Fidelity in Quantum State Transfer Protocols

Quantum state transfer protocols are a major toolkit in many quantum information processing tasks, from quantum key distribution to quantum computation. To assess performance of a such a protocol, one often relies on the average fidelity between the input and the output states. Going beyond this scheme, we analyze the entire probability distribution of fidelity, providing a general framework to derive it for the transfer of single- and two-qubit states. Starting from the delta-like shape of the fidelity distribution, characteristic to perfect transfer, we analyze its broadening and deformation due to realistic features of the process, including non-perfect read-out timing. Different models of quantum transfer, sharing the same value of the average fidelity, display different distributions of fidelity, providing thus additional information on the protocol, including the minimum fidelity.

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arXiv2023

Variational Quantum Algorithms for Gibbs State Preparation

Preparing the Gibbs state of an interacting quantum many-body system on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices is a crucial task for exploring the thermodynamic properties in the quantum regime. It encompasses understanding protocols such as thermalization and out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics, as well as sampling from faithfully prepared Gibbs states could pave the way to providing useful resources for quantum algorithms. Variational quantum algorithms (VQAs) show the most promise in effciently preparing Gibbs states, however, there are many different approaches that could be applied to effectively determine and prepare Gibbs states on a NISQ computer. In this paper, we provide a concise overview of the algorithms capable of preparing Gibbs states, including joint Hamiltonian evolution of a system-environment coupling, quantum imaginary time evolution, and modern VQAs utilizing the Helmholtz free energy as a cost function, among others. Furthermore, we perform a benchmark of one of the latest variational Gibbs state preparation algorithms, developed by Consiglio et al. (arXiv:2303.11276), by applying it to the spin 1/2 one-dimensional $XY$ model.

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arXiv2023

Entangled States are Harder to Transfer than Product States

The distribution of entangled states is a key task of utmost importance for many quantum information processing protocols. A commonly adopted setup for distributing quantum states envisages the creation of the state in one location, which is then sent to (possibly different) distant receivers through some quantum channels. While it is undoubted and, perhaps, intuitively expected that the distribution of entangled quantum states is less efficient than that of product states, a thorough quantification of this inefficiency (namely, of the difference between the quantum-state transfer fidelity for entangled and factorized states) has not been performed. To this end, in this work, we consider $n$-independent amplitude-damping channels, acting in parallel, i.e., each, locally, on one part of an $n$-qubit state. We derive exact analytical results for the fidelity decrease, with respect to the case of product states, in the presence of entanglement in the initial state, for up to four qubits. Interestingly, we find that genuine multipartite entanglement has a more detrimental effect on the fidelity than two-qubit entanglement. Our results hint at the fact that, for larger $n$-qubit states, the difference in the average fidelity between product and entangled states increases with increasing single-qubit fidelity, thus making the latter a less trustworthy figure of merit.

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arXiv2022

A Variational Approach to the Quantum Separability Problem

We present the variational separability verifier (VSV), which is a novel variational quantum algorithm (VQA) that determines the closest separable state (CSS) of an arbitrary quantum state with respect to the Hilbert-Schmidt distance (HSD). We first assess the performance of the VSV by investigating the convergence of the optimization procedure for Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger (GHZ) states of up to seven qubits, using both statevector and shot-based simulations. We also numerically determine the (CSS) of maximally entangled multipartite $X$-states ($X$-MEMS), and subsequently use the results of the algorithm to surmise the analytical form of the aforementioned (CSS). Our results indicate that current noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices may be useful in addressing the $NP$-hard full separability problem using the VSV, due to the shallow quantum circuit imposed by employing the destructive SWAP test to evaluate the (HSD). The (VSV) may also possibly lead to the characterization of multipartite quantum states, once the algorithm is adapted and improved to obtain the closest $k$-separable state ($k$-CSS) of a multipartite entangled state.

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arXiv2022

Quantum transfer of interacting qubits

The transfer of quantum information between different locations is key to many quantum information processing tasks. Whereas, the transfer of a single qubit state has been extensively investigated, the transfer of a many-body system configuration has insofar remained elusive. We address the problem of transferring the state of n interacting qubits. Both the exponentially increasing Hilbert space dimension, and the presence of interactions significantly scale-up the complexity of achieving high-fidelity transfer. By employing tools from random matrix theory and using the formalism of quantum dynamical maps, we derive a general expression for the average and the variance of the fidelity of an arbitrary quantum state transfer protocol for n interacting qubits. Finally, by adopting a weak-coupling scheme in a spin chain, we obtain the explicit conditions for high-fidelity transfer of 3 and 4 interacting qubits.

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arXiv2022

Variational Quantum Eigensolver for SU($N$) Fermions

Variational quantum algorithms aim at harnessing the power of noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers, by using a classical optimizer to train a parameterized quantum circuit to solve tractable quantum problems. The variational quantum eigensolver is one of the aforementioned algorithms designed to determine the ground-state of many-body Hamiltonians. Here, we apply the variational quantum eigensolver to study the ground-state properties of $N$-component fermions. With such knowledge, we study the persistent current of interacting SU($N$) fermions, which is employed to reliably map out the different quantum phases of the system. Our approach lays out the basis for a current-based quantum simulator of many-body systems that can be implemented on noisy intermediate-scale quantum computers.

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arXiv2021

The Role of Localizable Concurrence in Quantum Teleportation Protocols

Teleporting an unknown qubit state is a paradigmatic quantum information processing task revealing the advantage of quantum communication protocols over their classical counterpart. For a teleportation protocol using a Bell state as quantum channel, the resource has been identified to be the concurrence. However, for mixed multi-partite states the lack of computable entanglement measures has made the identification of the quantum resource responsible for this advantage more challenging. Here, by building on previous results showing that localizable concurrence is the necessary resource for controlled quantum teleportation, we show that any teleportation protocol using an arbitrary multi-partite state, that includes a Bell measurement, requires a non-vanishing localizable concurrence between two of its parties in order to perform better than the classical protocol. By first analyzing the GHZ channel and GHZ measurement teleportation protocol, in the presence of GHZ-symmetric-preserving noise, we compare different multi-partite entanglement measures with the fidelity of teleportation, and we find that the protocol performs better than the classical protocol when all multi-partite entanglement measures vanish, except for the localizable concurrence. Finally, we extend our proof to an arbitrary teleportation protocol with an arbitrary multi-partite entangled channel.

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