Stochastic Approximation of Variational Quantum Imaginary Time Evolution

Understand

The imaginary-time evolution of quantum states is integral to various fields, ranging from natural sciences to classical optimization or machine learning.

• Since simulating quantum imaginary-time evolution generally requires storing an exponentially large wave function, quantum computers are emerging as a promising platform for this task.
• However, variational approaches, suitable for near-term quantum computers, struggle with a prohibitive number of measurements and impractical runtimes for relevant system sizes.
• Here, we suggest a stochastic approach to variational quantum imaginary-time evolution, which allows a significant reduction in runtimes.