Hybrid algorithms to solve linear systems of equations with limited qubit resources

TL;DR

This paper introduces three hybrid iterative phase estimation algorithms that reduce qubit resource requirements for solving linear systems of equations on quantum computers, enabling more practical applications.

Contribution

The paper proposes novel hybrid algorithms that lower qubit demands and store solutions classically, expanding quantum computing applicability for linear systems solving.

Findings

Reduced qubit requirements compared to traditional algorithms

Exact unnormalized solutions stored in classical registers

Flexible ancillary qubit configurations for different scenarios

Abstract

The solution of linear systems of equations is a very frequent operation and thus important in many fields. The complexity using classical methods increases linearly with the size of equations. The HHL algorithm proposed by Harrow et al. achieves exponential acceleration compared with the best classical algorithm. However, it has a relatively high demand for qubit resources and the solution $\left| x \right\rangle $ is in a normalized form. Assuming that the eigenvalues of the coefficient matrix of the linear systems of equations can be represented perfectly by finite binary number strings, three hybrid iterative phase estimation algorithms (HIPEA) are designed based on the iterative phase estimation algorithm in this paper. The complexity is transferred to the measurement operation in an iterative way, and thus the demand of qubit resources is reduced in our hybrid algorithms. Moreover, the solution is stored in a classical register instead of a quantum register, so the exact unnormalized solution can be obtained. The required qubit resources in the three HIPEA algorithms are different. HIPEA-1 only needs one single ancillary qubit. The number of ancillary qubits in HIPEA-2 is equal to the number of nondegenerate eigenvalues of the coefficient matrix of linear systems of equations. HIPEA-3 is designed with a flexible number of ancillary qubits. The HIPEA algorithms proposed in this paper broadens the application range of quantum computation in solving linear systems of equations by avoiding the problem that quantum programs may not be used to solve linear systems of equations due to the lack of qubit resources.