Low-gate-count block encodings for second-quantized fermionic Hamiltonians

Abstract:Efficient block encoding of many-body Hamiltonians is a central requirement for quantum algorithms in scientific computing, particularly in the early fault-tolerant era. In this work, we introduce new explicit constructions for block encoding second-quantized Hamiltonians that substantially reduce Clifford+T gate complexity and ancilla overhead. By utilizing a data lookup strategy based on the SWAP architecture for the sparsity oracle $O_C$, and a direct sampling method for the amplitude oracle $O_A$ with SELECT-SWAP architecture, we achieve a T count that scales as $\mathcal{\tilde{O}}(\sqrt{L})$ with respect to the number of interaction terms $L$ in general second-quantized Hamiltonians. We also achieve an improved constant factor in the Clifford gate count of our oracle. Furthermore, we design a block encoding that directly targets the $\eta$-particle subspace, thereby reducing the subnormalization factor from $\mathcal{O}(L)$ to $\mathcal{O}(\sqrt{L})$, and improving fault-tolerant efficiency when simulating systems with fixed particle numbers. Building on the block encoding framework developed for general many-body Hamiltonians, we extend our approach to electronic Hamiltonians whose coefficient tensors exhibit translation invariance or possess decaying structures. Our results provide a practical path toward early fault-tolerant quantum simulation of many-body systems, substantially lowering resource overheads compared to previous methods.

Quantum Physics (quant-ph); Numerical Analysis (math.NA)

arXiv:2510.08644 [quant-ph]

(or arXiv:2510.08644v2 [quant-ph] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2510.08644 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite

arXivLabs is a framework that allows collaborators to develop and share new arXiv features directly on our website.

Both individuals and organizations that work with arXivLabs have embraced and accepted our values of openness, community, excellence, and user data privacy. arXiv is committed to these values and only works with partners that adhere to them.

Have an idea for a project that will add value for arXiv's community? Learn more about arXivLabs.