Non-unitary Variational Quantum Eigensolver with the Localized Active Space Method and Cost Mitigation

TL;DR

This paper introduces LAS-nuVQE, a quantum algorithm combining localized active space methods with non-unitary variational techniques, achieving accurate results with fewer resources for strongly correlated systems.

Contribution

It develops LAS-nuVQE, integrating LASSCF with non-unitary VQE, and demonstrates improved accuracy and efficiency in quantum chemistry simulations.

Findings

Achieves chemical accuracy with fewer than 70 gates.

Reduces measurement costs by up to two orders of magnitude.

Provides spin-pure results for complex molecules.

Abstract

Accurately describing strongly correlated systems with affordable quantum resources remains a central challenge for quantum chemistry applications on near and intermediate-term quantum computers. The localized active space self-consistent field (LASSCF) approximates the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) by generating active space-based wave functions within specific fragments while treating interfragment correlation with mean-field approach, hence is computationally less expensive. Hardware-efficient ansatzes (HEA) offer affordable and shallower circuits, yet they often fail to capture the necessary correlation. Previously, Jastrow-factor-inspired non-unitary qubit operators were proposed to use with HEA for variational quantum eigensolver (VQE) calculations (nuVQE), as they do not increase circuit depths and recover correlation beyond the mean-field level for Hartree-Fock initial states. Here, we explore running nuVQE with LASSCF as the initial state. The method, named LAS-nuVQE, is shown to recover interfragment correlations, reach chemical accuracy with a small number of gates (<70) in both H4 and square cyclobutadiene. To further address the inherent symmetry-breaking in HEA, we implemented spin-constrained LAS-nuVQE to extend the capabilities of HEA further and show spin-pure results for square cyclobutadiene. We mitigate the increased measurement overhead of nuVQE via Pauli grouping and shot-frugal sampling, reducing measurement costs by up to two orders of magnitude compared to ungrouped operator, and show that one can achieve better accuracy with a small number of shots (10^3-4) per one expectation value calculation compared to noiseless simulations with one or two orders of magnitude more shots. Finally, wall clock time estimates show that, with our measurement mitigation protocols, nuVQE becomes a cheaper and more accurate alternative than VQE with HEA.