Quantum Algorithms for Simulating the Lattice Schwinger Model
Alexander F. Shaw, Pavel Lougovski, Jesse R. Stryker, Nathan Wiebe
Abstract
The Schwinger model (quantum electrodynamics in 1+1 dimensions) is a testbed for the study of quantum gauge field theories. We give scalable, explicit digital quantum algorithms to simulate the lattice Schwinger model in both NISQ and fault-tolerant settings. In particular, we perform a tight analysis of low-order Trotter formula simulations of the Schwinger model, using recently derived commutator bounds, and give upper bounds on the resources needed for simulations in both scenarios. In lattice units, we find a Schwinger model on<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>N</mml:mi><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>/</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:math>physical sites with coupling constant<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msup><mml:mi>x</mml:mi><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>/</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup></mml:math>and electric field cutoff<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:msup><mml:mi>x</mml:mi><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>−</mml:mo><mml:mn>1</mml:mn><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>/</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mml:mi></mml:math>can be simulated on a quantum computer for time<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mn>2</mml:mn><mml:mi>x</mml:mi><mml:mi>T</mml:mi></mml:math>using a number of<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi>T</mml:mi></mml:math>-gates or CNOTs in<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mover><mml:mi>O</mml:mi><mml:mo>~</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:mrow><mml:mo stretchy="false">(</mml:mo><mml:msup><mml:mi>N</mml:mi><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>/</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:msup><mml:mi>T</mml:mi><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mn>3</mml:mn><mml:mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"><mml:mo>/</mml:mo></mml:mrow><mml:mn>2</mml:mn></mml:mrow></mml:msup><mml:msqrt><mml:mi>x</mml:mi></mml:msqrt><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mml:mi><mml:mo stretchy="false">)</mml:mo></mml:math>for fixed operator error. This scaling with the truncation<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mi mathvariant="normal">Λ</mml:mi></mml:math>is better than that expected from algorithms such as qubitization or QDRIFT. Furthermore, we give scalable measurement schemes and algorithms to estimate observables which we cost in both the NISQ and fault-tolerant settings by assuming a simple target observable–the mean pair density. Finally, we bound the root-mean-square error in estimating this observable via simulation as a function of the diamond distance between the ideal and actual CNOT channels. This work provides a rigorous analysis of simulating the Schwinger model, while also providing benchmarks against which subsequent simulation algorithms can be tested.