Polynomial-time certification of fidelity for many-body mixed states and mixed-state universality classes

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liu, Yuhan, Zou, Yijian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Liu, Yuhan
Zou, Yijian
author_facet Liu, Yuhan
Zou, Yijian
contents Computation of Uhlmann fidelity between many-body mixed states generally involves full diagonalization of exponentially large matrices. In this work, we introduce a polynomial-time algorithm to compute certified lower and upper bounds for the fidelity between matrix product density operators (MPDOs). Our method maps the fidelity estimation problem to a variational optimization of sequential quantum circuits, allowing for systematic improvement of the lower bounds by increasing the circuit depth. Complementarily, we obtain certified upper bounds on fidelity by variational lower bounds on the trace distance through the same framework. We demonstrate the power of this approach with two examples: fidelity correlators in critical mixed states, and codeword distinguishability in an approximate quantum error-correcting code. Remarkably, the variational lower bound accurately track the universal scaling behavior of the fidelity with a size-consistent relative error, allowing for the extraction of previously unknown critical exponents. Our results offer an exponential improvement in precision over known moment-based bounds and establish a scalable framework for the verification of many-body quantum systems.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_13333
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Polynomial-time certification of fidelity for many-body mixed states and mixed-state universality classes
Liu, Yuhan
Zou, Yijian
Quantum Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
Computation of Uhlmann fidelity between many-body mixed states generally involves full diagonalization of exponentially large matrices. In this work, we introduce a polynomial-time algorithm to compute certified lower and upper bounds for the fidelity between matrix product density operators (MPDOs). Our method maps the fidelity estimation problem to a variational optimization of sequential quantum circuits, allowing for systematic improvement of the lower bounds by increasing the circuit depth. Complementarily, we obtain certified upper bounds on fidelity by variational lower bounds on the trace distance through the same framework. We demonstrate the power of this approach with two examples: fidelity correlators in critical mixed states, and codeword distinguishability in an approximate quantum error-correcting code. Remarkably, the variational lower bound accurately track the universal scaling behavior of the fidelity with a size-consistent relative error, allowing for the extraction of previously unknown critical exponents. Our results offer an exponential improvement in precision over known moment-based bounds and establish a scalable framework for the verification of many-body quantum systems.
title Polynomial-time certification of fidelity for many-body mixed states and mixed-state universality classes
topic Quantum Physics
Strongly Correlated Electrons
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.13333