arXiv subjects

Nana Liu

Publications and source records attributed to Nana Liu.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2026

Beyond Benchmarks of IUGC: Rethinking Requirements of Deep Learning Methods for Intrapartum Ultrasound Biometry from Fetal Ultrasound Videos

A substantial proportion (45\%) of maternal deaths, neonatal deaths, and stillbirths occur during the intrapartum phase, with a particularly high burden in low- and middle-income countries. Intrapartum biometry plays a critical role in monitoring labor progression; however, the routine use of ultrasound in resource-limited settings is hindered by a shortage of trained sonographers. To address this challenge, the Intrapartum Ultrasound Grand Challenge (IUGC), co-hosted with MICCAI 2024, was launched. The IUGC introduces a clinically oriented multi-task automatic measurement framework that integrates standard plane classification, fetal head-pubic symphysis segmentation, and biometry, enabling algorithms to exploit complementary task information for more accurate estimation. Furthermore, the challenge releases the largest multi-center intrapartum ultrasound video dataset to date, comprising 774 videos (68,106 frames) collected from three hospitals, providing a robust foundation for model training and evaluation. In this study, we present a comprehensive overview of the challenge design, review the submissions from eight participating teams, and analyze their methods from five perspectives: preprocessing, data augmentation, learning strategy, model architecture, and post-processing. In addition, we perform a systematic analysis of the benchmark results to identify key bottlenecks, explore potential solutions, and highlight open challenges for future research. Although encouraging performance has been achieved, our findings indicate that the field remains at an early stage, and further in-depth investigation is required before large-scale clinical deployment. All benchmark solutions and the complete dataset have been publicly released to facilitate reproducible research and promote continued advances in automatic intrapartum ultrasound biometry.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2026

Quantum Neural Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations

We introduce a unified framework -- Quantum Neural Ordinary and Partial Differential Equations (QNODEs and QNPDEs) -- which extends the continuous-time formalism of classical neural ordinary and partial differential equations into quantum machine learning and quantum control. QNODEs denote the evolution of finite-dimensional quantum systems, whereas QNPDEs denote their infinite-dimensional (continuous-variable) counterparts; both are governed by generalised Schrödinger-type Hamiltonian dynamics, coupled with a corresponding loss function. This formalism permits gradient estimation via an adjoint-state method, facilitating efficient learning of quantum dynamics, and other dynamics that can be mapped (relatively easily) to quantum dynamics. Using this method, we present quantum algorithms for computing gradients with and without time discretisation, achieving efficient gradient computation that would otherwise be intractable on classical devices. We provide detailed resource estimates for these algorithms and investigate the local energy landscape for training. The formalism subsumes a wide array of applications, including quantum state preparation, Hamiltonian learning, learning dynamics in open systems, and the learning of both autonomous and non-autonomous classical ODEs and PDEs. In many cases of interest, the Hamiltonian is composed of a relatively small number of local operators, yet the corresponding classical simulation remains inefficient, making quantum approaches advantageous for gradient estimation. This continuous-time perspective can also serve as a blueprint for designing novel quantum neural network architectures, generalising discrete-layered models into continuous-depth models.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Efficient explicit circuit for quantum state preparation of piecewise continuous functions

Efficiently uploading data into quantum states is essential for many quantum algorithms to achieve advantage across various applications. In this paper, we address this challenge by developing a method to upload a polynomial function $f(x)$ on the interval $x \in [-1,1]$ into a pure quantum state consisting of qubits, where a discretized $f(x)$ is the amplitude of this state. The preparation cost has $\mathcal{O}(n\log n)$ scaling in the number of qubits $n$ and linear scaling with the degree of the polynomial $Q$. This efficiency allows the preparation of states whose amplitudes correspond to high-degree polynomials (up to $10^4$), enabling accurate approximation of functions that admit efficient polynomial series representations and whose amplitude profiles are not extremely localized. We provide a fully explicit circuit realization, based on four real polynomials that meet specific parity and boundedness conditions. We extend this construction to cover piece-wise polynomial functions, a case not previously addressed explicitly in the literature, the algorithm scaling linearly with the number of piecewise parts. Our method achieves efficient quantum circuit implementation and we present detailed gate counting and resource analysis.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

On the Schrödingerization method for linear non-unitary dynamics with optimal dependence on matrix queries

The Schrödingerization method converts linear partial and ordinary differential equations with non-unitary dynamics into systems of Schrödinger-type equations with unitary evolution. It does so via the so-called warped phase transformation that maps the original equation into a Schrödinger-type equation in one higher dimension \cite{Schrshort,JLY22SchrLong}. The original proposal used a particular initial function in the auxiliary space that did not achieve optimal scaling in precision. Here we show that, by choosing smoother initial functions in auxiliary space, Schrödingerization \textit{can} in fact achieve near optimal and even optimal scaling in matrix queries. We construct three necessary criteria that the initial auxiliary state must satisfy to achieve optimality. This paper presents detailed implementation of four smooth initializations for the Schrödingerization method: (a) the error function and related functions, (b) the cut-off function, (c) the higher-order polynomial interpolation, and (d) Fourier transform methods. Method (a) achieves optimality and methods (b), (c) and (d) can achieve near-optimality. A detailed analysis of key parameters affecting time complexity is conducted.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Improved Offline Reinforcement Learning via Quantum Metric Encoding

Reinforcement learning (RL) with limited samples is common in real-world applications. However, offline RL performance under this constraint is often suboptimal. We consider an alternative approach to dealing with limited samples by introducing the Quantum Metric Encoder (QME). In this methodology, instead of applying the RL framework directly on the original states and rewards, we embed the states into a more compact and meaningful representation, where the structure of the encoding is inspired by quantum circuits. For classical data, QME is a classically simulable, trainable unitary embedding and thus serves as a quantum-inspired module, on a classical device. For quantum data in the form of quantum states, QME can be implemented directly on quantum hardware, allowing for training without measurement or re-encoding. We evaluated QME on three datasets, each limited to 100 samples. We use Soft-Actor-Critic (SAC) and Implicit-Q-Learning (IQL), two well-known RL algorithms, to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach. From the experimental results, we find that training offline RL agents on QME-embedded states with decoded rewards yields significantly better performance than training on the original states and rewards. On average across the three datasets, for maximum reward performance, we achieve a 116.2% improvement for SAC and 117.6% for IQL. We further investigate the $Δ$-hyperbolicity of our framework, a geometric property of the state space known to be important for the RL training efficacy. The QME-embedded states exhibit low $Δ$-hyperbolicity, suggesting that the improvement after embedding arises from the modified geometry of the state space induced by QME. Thus, the low $Δ$-hyperbolicity and the corresponding effectiveness of QME could provide valuable information for developing efficient offline RL methods under limited-sample conditions.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Algorithm for Local-Volatility Option Pricing via the Kolmogorov Equation

The solution of option-pricing problems may turn out to be computationally demanding due to non-linear and path-dependent payoffs, the high dimensionality arising from multiple underlying assets, and sophisticated models of price dynamics. In this context, quantum computing has been proposed as a means to address these challenges efficiently. Prevailing approaches either simulate the stochastic differential equations governing the forward dynamics of underlying asset prices or directly solve the backward pricing partial differential equation. Here, we present an end-to-end quantum algorithmic framework that solves the Kolmogorov forward (Fokker-Planck) partial differential equation for local-volatility models by mapping it to a Hamiltonian-simulation problem via the Schrödingerisation technique. The algorithm specifies how to prepare the initial quantum state, perform Hamiltonian simulation, and how to efficiently recover the option price via a swap test. In particular, the efficiency of the final solution recovery is an important advantage of solving the forward versus the backward partial differential equation. Thus, our end-to-end framework offers a potential route toward quantum advantage for challenging option-pricing tasks. In particular, we obtain a polynomial advantage in grid size for the discretization of a single dimension. Nevertheless, the true power of our methodology lies in pricing high-dimensional systems, such as baskets of options, because the quantum framework admits an exponential speedup with respect to dimension, overcoming the classical curse of dimensionality.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Random Feature Method for Solving Partial Differential Equations

Quantum computing holds significant promise for scientific computing due to its potential for polynomial to even exponential speedups over classical methods, which are often hindered by the curse of dimensionality. While neural networks present a mesh-free alternative to solve partial differential equations (PDEs), their accuracy is difficult to achieve since one needs to solve a high-dimensional non-convex optimization problem using the stochastic gradient descent method and its variants, the convergence of which is difficult to prove and cannot be guaranteed. The classical random feature method (RFM) effectively merges advantages from both classical numerical analysis and neural network based techniques, achieving spectral accuracy and a natural adaptability to complex geometries. In this work, we introduce a quantum random feature method (QRFM) that leverages quantum computing to accelerate the classical RFM framework. Our method constructs PDE solutions using quantum-generated random features and enforces the governing equations via a collocation approach. A complexity analysis demonstrates that this hybrid quantum-classical algorithm can achieve a quadratic speedup over the classical RFM.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Schrodingerization based quantum algorithms for the time-fractional heat equation

We develop a quantum algorithm for solving high-dimensional time-fractional heat equations. By applying the dimension extension technique from [FKW23], the $d+1$-dimensional time-fractional equation is reformulated as a local partial differential equation in $d+2$ dimensions. Through discretization along both the extended and spatial domains, a stable system of ordinary differential equations is obtained by a simple change of variables. We propose a quantum algorithm for the resulting semi-discrete problem using the Schrodingerization approach from [JLY24a,JLY23,JL24a]. The Schrodingerization technique transforms general linear partial and ordinary differential equations into Schrodinger-type systems--with unitary evolution, making them suitable for quantum simulation. This is accomplished via the warped phase transformation, which maps the equation into a higher-dimensional space. We provide detailed implementations of this method and conduct a comprehensive complexity analysis, demonstrating up to exponential advantage--with respect to the inverse of the mesh size in high dimensions~--~compared to its classical counterparts. Specifically, to compute the solution to time $T$, while the classical method requires at least $\mathcal{O}(N_t d h^{-(d+0.5)})$ matrix-vector multiplications, where $N_t $ is the number of time steps (which is, for example, $\mathcal{O}(Tdh^{-2})$ for the forward Euler method), our quantum algorithms requires $\widetilde{\mathcal{O}}(T^2d^4 h^{-8})$ queries to the block-encoding input models, with the quantum complexity being independent of the dimension $d$ in terms of the inverse mesh size $h^{-1}$. Numerical experiments are performed to validate our formulation.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Physics-informed neural network enhanced multispectral single-pixel imaging with a chip spectral sensor

Multispectral imaging (MSI) captures data across multiple spectral bands, offering enhanced informational depth compared to standard RGB imaging and benefiting diverse fields such as agriculture, medical diagnostics, and industrial inspection. Conventional MSI systems, however, suffer from high cost, complexity, and limited performance in low-light conditions. Moreover, data-driven MSI methods depend heavily on large, labeled training datasets and struggle with generalization. In this work, we present a portable multispectral single-pixel imaging (MS-SPI) method that integrates a chip-sized multispectral sensor for system miniaturization and leverages an untrained physics-informed neural network (PINN) to reconstruct high-quality spectral images without the need for labeled training data. The physics-informed structure of the network enables the self-corrected reconstruction of multispectral images directly with the input of raw measurements from the multispectral sensor. Our proof-of-concept prototype achieves the reconstruction of 12-channel high-quality spectral images at the sampling rate of 10%. We also experimentally validate its performance under varying sampling rate conditions, by comparing it with conventional compressive sensing algorithms. Furthermore, we demonstrate the application of this technique to an MSI-based image segmentation task, in which spatial regions are discriminated according to their characteristic spectral signatures. This compact, high-fidelity, and portable approach offers promising pathways to lightweight and cost-effective spectral imaging on mobile platforms.

physics.ins-det↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Framework for Simulating Linear PDEs with Robin Boundary Conditions

We propose an explicit, oracle-free quantum framework for numerically simulating general linear partial differential equations (PDEs), extending previous work to incorporate (a) Robin boundary conditions - which include Neumann and Dirichlet conditions as special cases - (b) inhomogeneous terms, and (c) variable coefficients in space and time. Our approach begins with a general finite-difference discretization and applies the Schrodingerisation technique to transform the resulting system into one that admits unitary quantum evolution, enabling quantum simulation. For the Schrodinger equation corresponding to the discretized PDE, we construct an efficient block-encoding of the Hamiltonian $H$ that scales polylogarithmically with the number of grid points $N$. This encoding is compatible with quantum signal processing and allows for the implementation of the evolution operator $e^{-iHt}$. The oracle-free nature of our method permits complexity to be measured in fundamental gate units-namely, CNOT gates and single-qubit rotations-bypassing the inefficiencies of oracle queries. Consequently, the overall algorithm scales polynomially with $N$ and linearly with the spatial dimension $d$, achieving a polynomial speedup in $N$ and an exponential advantage in $d$, thereby mitigating the classical curse of dimensionality. The validity and efficiency of the proposed approach are further substantiated by numerical simulations. By explicitly defining the quantum operations and quantifying their resource requirements, our approach offers a practical alternative for numerically solving PDEs, distinct from others that rely on oracle queries and purely asymptotic scaling methods.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum Algorithms for Stochastic Differential Equations: A Schrödingerisation Approach

Quantum computers are known for their potential to achieve up-to-exponential speedup compared to classical computers for certain problems. To exploit the advantages of quantum computers, we propose quantum algorithms for linear stochastic differential equations, utilizing the Schrödingerisation method for the corresponding approximate equation by treating the noise term as a (discrete-in-time) forcing term. Our algorithms are applicable to stochastic differential equations with both Gaussian noise and $α$-stable Lévy noise. The gate complexity of our algorithms exhibits an $\mathcal{O}(d\log(Nd))$ dependence on the dimensions $d$ and sample sizes $N$, where its corresponding classical counterpart requires nearly exponentially larger complexity in scenarios involving large sample sizes. In the Gaussian noise case, we show the strong convergence of first order in the mean square norm for the approximate equations. The algorithms are numerically verified for the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes, geometric Brownian motions, and one-dimensional Lévy flights.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum algorithms for matrix geometric means

Matrix geometric means between two positive definite matrices can be defined from distinct perspectives - as solutions to certain nonlinear systems of equations, as points along geodesics in Riemannian geometry, and as solutions to certain optimisation problems. We devise quantum subroutines for the matrix geometric means, and construct solutions to the algebraic Riccati equation - an important class of nonlinear systems of equations appearing in machine learning, optimal control, estimation, and filtering. Using these subroutines, we present a new class of quantum learning algorithms, for both classical and quantum data, called quantum geometric mean metric learning, for weakly supervised learning and anomaly detection. The subroutines are also useful for estimating geometric Rényi relative entropies and the Uhlmann fidelity, in particular achieving optimal dependence on precision for the Uhlmann and Matsumoto fidelities. Finally, we provide a BQP-complete problem based on matrix geometric means that can be solved by our subroutines.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

An invitation to the sample complexity of quantum hypothesis testing

Quantum hypothesis testing (QHT) has been traditionally studied from the information-theoretic perspective, wherein one is interested in the optimal decay rate of error probabilities as a function of the number of samples of an unknown state. In this paper, we study the sample complexity of QHT, wherein the goal is to determine the minimum number of samples needed to reach a desired error probability. By making use of the wealth of knowledge that already exists in the literature on QHT, we characterize the sample complexity of binary QHT in the symmetric and asymmetric settings, and we provide bounds on the sample complexity of multiple QHT. In more detail, we prove that the sample complexity of symmetric binary QHT depends logarithmically on the inverse error probability and inversely on the negative logarithm of the fidelity. As a counterpart of the quantum Stein's lemma, we also find that the sample complexity of asymmetric binary QHT depends logarithmically on the inverse type II error probability and inversely on the quantum relative entropy, provided that the type II error probability is sufficiently small. We then provide lower and upper bounds on the sample complexity of multiple QHT, with it remaining an intriguing open question to improve these bounds. The final part of our paper outlines and reviews how sample complexity of QHT is relevant to a broad swathe of research areas and can enhance understanding of many fundamental concepts, including quantum algorithms for simulation and search, quantum learning and classification, and foundations of quantum mechanics. As such, we view our paper as an invitation to researchers coming from different communities to study and contribute to the problem of sample complexity of QHT, and we outline a number of open directions for future research.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Quantum thermodynamics and semi-definite optimization

In quantum thermodynamics, a system is described by a Hamiltonian and a list of non-commuting charges representing conserved quantities like particle number or electric charge, and an important goal is to determine the system's minimum energy in the presence of these conserved charges. In optimization theory, a semi-definite program (SDP) involves a linear objective function optimized over the cone of positive semi-definite operators intersected with an affine space. These problems arise from differing motivations in the physics and optimization communities and are phrased using very different terminology, yet they are essentially identical mathematically. By adopting Jaynes' mindset motivated by quantum thermodynamics, we observe that minimizing free energy in the aforementioned thermodynamics problem, instead of energy, leads to an elegant solution in terms of a dual chemical potential maximization problem that is concave in the chemical potential parameters. As such, one can employ standard (stochastic) gradient ascent methods to find the optimal values of these parameters, and these methods are guaranteed to converge quickly. At low temperature, the minimum free energy provides an excellent approximation for the minimum energy. We then show how this Jaynes-inspired gradient-ascent approach can be used in both first- and second-order classical and hybrid quantum-classical algorithms for minimizing energy, and equivalently, how it can be used for solving SDPs, with guarantees on the runtimes of the algorithms. The approach discussed here is well grounded in quantum thermodynamics and, as such, provides physical motivation underpinning why algorithms published fifty years after Jaynes' seminal work, including the matrix multiplicative weights update method, the matrix exponentiated gradient update method, and their quantum algorithmic generalizations, perform well at solving SDPs.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

Schrödingerization based quantum algorithms for the fractional Poisson equation

We develop a quantum algorithm for solving high-dimensional fractional Poisson equations. By applying the Caffarelli-Silvestre extension, the $d$-dimensional fractional equation is reformulated as a local partial differential equation in $d+1$ dimensions. We propose a quantum algorithm for the finite element discretization of this local problem, by capturing the steady-state of the corresponding differential equations using the Schrödingerization approach from \cite{JLY22SchrShort, JLY22SchrLong, analogPDE}. The Schrödingerization technique transforms general linear partial and ordinary differential equations into Schrödinger-type systems, making them suitable for quantum simulation. This is achieved through the warped phase transformation, which maps the equation into a higher-dimensional space. We provide detailed implementations of the method and conduct a comprehensive complexity analysis, which can show up to exponential advantage -- with respect to the inverse of the mesh size in high dimensions -- compared to its classical counterpart. Specifically, while the classical method requires $\widetilde{\mathcal{O}}(d^{1/2} 3^{3d/2} h^{-d-2})$ operations, the quantum counterpart requires $\widetilde{\mathcal{O}}(d 3^{3d/2} h^{-2.5})$ queries to the block-encoding input models, with the quantum complexity being independent of the dimension $d$ in terms of the inverse mesh size $h^{-1}$. Numerical experiments are conducted to verify the validity of our formulation.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

On Schrödingerization based quantum algorithms for linear dynamical systems with inhomogeneous terms

We analyze the Schrödingerization method for quantum simulation of a general class of non-unitary dynamics with inhomogeneous source terms. The Schrödingerization technique, introduced in [31], transforms any linear ordinary and partial differential equations with non-unitary dynamics into a system under unitary dynamics via a warped phase transition that maps the equations into a higher dimension, making them suitable for quantum simulation. This technique can also be applied to these equations with inhomogeneous terms modeling source or forcing terms, or boundary and interface conditions, and discrete dynamical systems such as iterative methods in numerical linear algebra, through extra equations in the system. Difficulty arises with the presence of inhomogeneous terms since they can change the stability of the original system. In this paper, we systematically study-both theoretically and numerically-the important issue of recovering the original variables from the Schrödingerized equations, even when the evolution operator contains unstable modes. We show that, even with unstable modes, one can still construct a stable scheme; however, to recover the original variable, one needs to use suitable data in the extended space. We analyze and compare both the discrete and continuous Fourier transforms used in the extended dimension and derive corresponding error estimates, which allow one to use the more appropriate transform for specific equations. We also provide a smoother initialization for the Schrödingerized system to gain higher-order accuracy in the extended space. We homogenize the inhomogeneous terms with a stretch transformation, making it easier to recover the original variable. Our recovery technique also provides a simple and generic framework to solve general ill-posed problems in a computationally stable way.

math.NA↗

arXiv2025

Efficient explicit gate construction of block-encoding for Hamiltonians needed for simulating partial differential equations

One of the most promising applications of quantum computers is solving partial differential equations (PDEs). By using the Schrodingerisation technique - which converts non-conservative PDEs into Schrodinger equations - the problem can be reduced to Hamiltonian simulations. The particular class of Hamiltonians we consider is shown to be sufficient for simulating almost any linear PDE. In particular, these Hamiltonians consist of discretizations of polynomial products and sums of position and momentum operators. This paper addresses an important gap by efficiently loading these Hamiltonians into the quantum computer through block-encoding. The construction is explicit and efficient in terms of one- and two-qubit operations, forming a fundamental building block for constructing the unitary evolution operator for that class of Hamiltonians. The proposed algorithm demonstrates a squared logarithmic scaling with respect to the spatial partitioning size, offering a polynomial speedup over classical finite-difference methods in the context of spatial partitioning for PDE solving. Furthermore, the algorithm is extended to the multi-dimensional case, achieving an exponential acceleration with respect to the number of dimensions, alleviating the curse of dimensionality problem. This work provides an essential foundation for developing explicit and efficient quantum circuits for PDEs, Hamiltonian simulations, and ground state and thermal state preparation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2025

The Quantum Internet (Technical Version)

Following the emergence of quantum computing, the subsequent quantum revolution will be that of interconnecting individual quantum computers at global level. In the same way that classical computers only realised their full potential with the emergence of the internet, a fully realised quantum internet is the next stage of evolution for quantum computation. This work examines in detail how the quantum internet would evolve in practice, focusing not only on the technology itself but also on the implications it will have economically and politically. We present both original ideas, as well as an extensive review of relevant and related background material. This work begins with a description of classical networks before introducing the key concepts behind quantum networks, such as quantum internet protocols, quantum cryptography, and cloud quantum computing. The work is divided into technical sections (requiring only a basic knowledge of the notation of quantum mechanics), for those interested in mathematical details, as well as non-technical sections for those seeking a more general understanding. We target this work very broadly at quantum and classical computer scientists, classical computer systems, software and network engineers, physicists, economists, artists, musicians, and those just generally curious about the future of quantum technologies and what they might bring to humanity.

quant-ph↗