Work

Role of Coherence for Quantum Computational Advantage

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Quantifying the resources available to a quantum computer appears to be necessary to separate quantum from classical computation. Among them, entanglement, nonstabilizerness, and coherence are arguably of great significance. We introduce "path coherence" as a measure of the coherent path interferences arising in a quantum computation. Leveraging the sum-over-paths formalism, we obtain a classical algorithm for estimating quantum transition amplitudes, the complexity of which scales with path coherence. As path coherence relates to the hardness of classical estimation of quantum transition amplitudes, it provides a new perspective on the role of coherence in quantum computational advantage. Beyond their fundamental significance, our results have practical applications for simulating large classes of quantum computations with classical computers.

Source: Physical Review Letters

DOI: 10.1103/1csn-x1cx

Authors: Hugo Thomas, Pierre-Emmanuel Emeriau, Rawad Mezher, Elham Kashefi, Harold Ollivier, Ulysse Chabaud