Quantum simulation balances algorithm errors with hardware noise

Kelvin Yip of the University of California, Merced, and colleagues have digitally simulated bosonic systems on a cloud-based superconducting quantum processor using the Holstein-Primakoff transformation, a technique overcoming the historically large Hilbert space required for these simulations. The researchers realized the driven harmonic oscillator and the Jaynes-Cummings model on quantum hardware, systematically examining how algorithmic limitations, specifically, qubit count and time evolution steps, interact with hardware-induced errors like gate infidelity and decoherence. This work advances digital quantum simulation of systems with bosonic degrees of freedom and provides a framework applicable to more complex models. The Holstein-Primakoff transformation provides a pathway for representing a single bosonic mode using an ensemble of qubits, a technique that helps simulate complex quantum systems. This mapping allows quantum computers to emulate bosonic dynamics, a feat historically limited by the…