arXiv subjects

Nathan Wiebe

Publications and source records attributed to Nathan Wiebe.

153 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

arXiv2012

Robust Online Hamiltonian Learning

In this work we combine two distinct machine learning methodologies, sequential Monte Carlo and Bayesian experimental design, and apply them to the problem of inferring the dynamical parameters of a quantum system. We design the algorithm with practicality in mind by including parameters that control trade-offs between the requirements on computational and experimental resources. The algorithm can be implemented online (during experimental data collection), avoiding the need for storage and post-processing. Most importantly, our algorithm is capable of learning Hamiltonian parameters even when the parameters change from experiment-to-experiment, and also when additional noise processes are present and unknown. The algorithm also numerically estimates the Cramer-Rao lower bound, certifying its own performance.

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arXiv2012

Quantum Data Fitting

We provide a new quantum algorithm that efficiently determines the quality of a least-squares fit over an exponentially large data set by building upon an algorithm for solving systems of linear equations efficiently (Harrow et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 103}, 150502 (2009)). In many cases, our algorithm can also efficiently find a concise function that approximates the data to be fitted and bound the approximation error. In cases where the input data is a pure quantum state, the algorithm can be used to provide an efficient parametric estimation of the quantum state and therefore can be applied as an alternative to full quantum state tomography given a fault tolerant quantum computer.

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arXiv2012

Hamiltonian Simulation Using Linear Combinations of Unitary Operations

We present a new approach to simulating Hamiltonian dynamics based on implementing linear combinations of unitary operations rather than products of unitary operations. The resulting algorithm has superior performance to existing simulation algorithms based on product formulas and, most notably, scales better with the simulation error than any known Hamiltonian simulation technique. Our main tool is a general method to nearly deterministically implement linear combinations of nearby unitary operations, which we show is optimal among a large class of methods.

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arXiv2011

Improved Error-Scaling for Adiabatic Quantum State Transfer

We present a technique that dramatically improves the accuracy of adiabatic state transfer for a broad class of realistic Hamiltonians. For some systems, the total error scaling can be quadratically reduced at a fixed maximum transfer rate. These improvements rely only on the judicious choice of the total evolution time. Our technique is error-robust, and hence applicable to existing experiments utilizing adiabatic passage. We give two examples as proofs-of-principle, showing quadratic error reductions for an adiabatic search algorithm and a tunable two-qubit quantum logic gate.

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arXiv2011

Simulating Quantum Dynamics On A Quantum Computer

We present efficient quantum algorithms for simulating time-dependent Hamiltonian evolution of general input states using an oracular model of a quantum computer. Our algorithms use either constant or adaptively chosen time steps and are significant because they are the first to have time-complexities that are comparable to the best known methods for simulating time-independent Hamiltonian evolution, given appropriate smoothness criteria on the Hamiltonian are satisfied. We provide a thorough cost analysis of these algorithms that considers discretizion errors in both the time and the representation of the Hamiltonian. In addition, we provide the first upper bounds for the error in Lie-Trotter-Suzuki approximations to unitary evolution operators, that use adaptively chosen time steps.

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arXiv2011

Improved Error Bounds for the Adiabatic Approximation

Since the discovery of adiabatic quantum computing, a need has arisen for rigorously proven bounds for the error in the adiabatic approximation. We present in this paper, a rigorous and elementary derivation of upper and lower bounds on the error incurred from using the adiabatic approximation for quantum systems. Our bounds are often asymptotically tight in the limit of slow evolution for fixed Hamiltonians, and are used to provide sufficient conditions for the application of the adiabatic approximation. We show that our sufficiency criteria exclude the Marzlin--Sanders counterexample from the class of Hamiltonians that obey the adiabatic approximation. Finally, we demonstrate the existence of classes of Hamiltonians that resemble the Marzlin--Sanders counterexample Hamiltonian, but also obey the adiabatic approximation.

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arXiv2009

Parameter scaling in a novel measure of quantum-classical difference for decohering chaotic systems

In this paper we introduce a diagnostic for measuring the quantum-classical difference for open quantum systems, which is the normalized size of the quantum terms in the Master equation for Wigner function evolution. For a driven Duffing oscillator, this measure shows remarkably precise scaling over long time-scales with the parameter $ζ_0=\hbar^2/D$. We also see that, independent of $ζ_0$ the dynamics follows a similar pattern. For small $ζ_0$ all of our curves collapses to essentially a single curve when scaled by the maximum value of the quantum-classical difference. In both limits of large and small $ζ_0$ we see a saturation effect in the size of the quantum-classical difference; that is, the instantaneous difference between quantum and classical evolutions cannot be either too small or too large.

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arXiv2008

Higher Order Decompositions of Ordered Operator Exponentials

We present a decomposition scheme based on Lie-Trotter-Suzuki product formulae to represent an ordered operator exponential as a product of ordinary operator exponentials. We provide a rigorous proof that does not use a time-displacement superoperator, and can be applied to non-analytic functions. Our proof provides explicit bounds on the error and includes cases where the functions are not infinitely differentiable. We show that Lie-Trotter-Suzuki product formulae can still be used for functions that are not infinitely differentiable, but that arbitrary order scaling may not be achieved.

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arXiv2005

The Quantum Mechanics of Hyperion

This paper is motivated by the suggestion [W. Zurek, Physica Scripta, T76, 186 (1998)] that the chaotic tumbling of the satellite Hyperion would become non-classical within 20 years, but for the effects of environmental decoherence. The dynamics of quantum and classical probability distributions are compared for a satellite rotating perpendicular to its orbital plane, driven by the gravitational gradient. The model is studied with and without environmental decoherence. Without decoherence, the maximum quantum-classical (QC) differences in its average angular momentum scale as hbar^{2/3} for chaotic states, and as hbar^2 for non-chaotic states, leading to negligible QC differences for a macroscopic object like Hyperion. The quantum probability distributions do not approach their classical limit smoothly, having an extremely fine oscillatory structure superimposed on the smooth classical background. For a macroscopic object, this oscillatory structure is too fine to be resolved by any realistic measurement. Either a small amount of smoothing (due to the finite resolution of the apparatus) or a very small amount of environmental decoherence is sufficient ensure the classical limit. Under decoherence, the QC differences in the probability distributions scale as (hbar^2/D)^{1/6}, where D is the momentum diffusion parameter. We conclude that decoherence is not essential to explain the classical behavior of macroscopic bodies.

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