Quantum Differential Equation Solvers: Limitations and Fast-Forwarding
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220_2025_5358_ReferencePDF.pdf
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Author(s)
An, Dong
Liu, Jin-Peng
Wang, Daochen
Zhao, Qi
Date Issued
July 2, 2025
Journal
Communications in Mathematical Physics
Publisher
Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Citation
An, D., Liu, JP., Wang, D. et al. Quantum Differential Equation Solvers: Limitations and Fast-Forwarding. Commun. Math. Phys. 406, 189 (2025).
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
We study the limitations and fast-forwarding of quantum algorithms for linear ordinary differential equation (ODE) systems with a particular focus on non-quantum dynamics, where the coefficient matrix in the ODE is not anti-Hermitian or the ODE is inhomogeneous. On the one hand, for generic linear ODEs, by proving worst-case lower bounds, we show that quantum algorithms suffer from computational overheads due to two types of “non-quantumness”: real part gap and non-normality of the coefficient matrix. We then show that homogeneous ODEs in the absence of both types of “non-quantumness” are equivalent to quantum dynamics, and reach the conclusion that quantum algorithms for quantum dynamics work best. To obtain these lower bounds, we propose a general framework for proving lower bounds on quantum algorithms that are amplifiers, meaning that they amplify the difference between a pair of input quantum states. On the other hand, we show how to fast-forward quantum algorithms for solving special classes of ODEs which leads to improved efficiency. More specifically, we obtain exponential improvements in both T and the spectral norm of the coefficient matrix for inhomogeneous ODEs with efficiently implementable eigensystems, including various spatially discretized linear evolutionary partial differential equations. We give fast-forwarding algorithms that are conceptually different from existing ones in the sense that they neither require time discretization nor solving high-dimensional linear systems.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Theoretical Physics
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00220-025-05358-7
