On the estimation of linear-optical amplitudes and probabilities with entangled input state
Jean Senellart, Pierre-Emmanuel Emeriau
quant-ph
Nov 7, 2026 · v1
TL;DR
Formalises the Gaussian/Rademacher permanent identity, the importance-sampled estimator's unbiasedness and variance, and the exactness of the sequential MPS sampler in Lean 4 with Mathlib.
Abstract
Most proposed applications of boson samplers, including photonic machine-learning models, do not use the samples themselves but estimates of output probabilities, marginals or overlaps, obtained to additive precision from a finite number of shots. For product inputs such as single photons, these quantities can already be estimated classically with Gurvits's algorithm and its generalisations. We ask whether entangled inputs change this picture. For any $n$-photon input that is a matrix-product state of bond dimension $χ$, with one photon per site and $L$ modes per site, we give an unbiased estimator of any output amplitude of an $m$-mode interferometer, whose mean-square error after $N$ draws is at most $\|ψ\|^2/N$ whatever the interferometer, the output pattern and the entanglement of the state. Each draw costs $O(nLχ^2+nL^3+mn)$ operations after $O(nLχ^3)$ preprocessing, and an additive error $\varepsilon$ with probability at least $1-δ$ requires $O(\|ψ\|^2\varepsilon^{-2}\log(1/δ))$ draws, with memory of the order of the input size. The main application is to light emitted sequentially by quantum emitters, such as spin-based sources of photonic cluster states, for which $χ$ is bounded by the dimension of the source's retained quantum memory: one spin gives $χ=2$ at any length, and a memory of $k$ qubits, held in emitters or in photons stored in a delay line, gives $χ\le2^k$, so the cost stays polynomial as long as $k=O(\log n)$. The same sampler also estimates traced-memory probabilities, overlaps and individual marginal probabilities. All guarantees are additive: the estimator gives neither relative estimates of exponentially small probabilities nor a sampler of the output distribution.
Problem
Applications of boson samplers mostly rely on additive-precision estimates of output amplitudes, probabilities, marginals or overlaps. Gurvits-type algorithms make these classically estimable for product inputs. It was open whether entangled inputs, such as photonic cluster states emitted sequentially by quantum emitters, change this.
Approach
Inputs are modelled as photonic matrix-product states of bond dimension χ. Each amplitude is written as a Gaussian (or Rademacher) average, and an importance-sampled estimator is built whose variance bound does not depend on the state. An exact sequential sampler, in the style of Ferris–Vidal perfect sampling with Gaussian product vectors, draws from the importance distribution site by site. The key identities, unbiasedness and variance results, sampler exactness, and the vacuum rejection step are formalised in Lean 4 using Mathlib measures.
Results
The unbiased amplitude estimator has mean-square error at most ‖ψ‖²/N. Each draw costs O(nLχ²+nL³+mn) after O(nLχ³) preprocessing, which stays polynomial when the emitter's quantum memory has k=O(log n) qubits. The same sampler also estimates traced-memory probabilities, overlaps and marginals; an open-source package and the Lean proofs are archived on Zenodo.
| State | memory k (qubits) | χ | cost |
|---|
| Fock or product input | 0 | 1 | poly(n) |
| GHZ, linear cluster (one spin) | 1 | 2 | poly(n) |
| 2D cluster strip, w=O(log n) | O(log n) | poly(n) | poly(n) |
| Square lattice, w=√n | Θ(√n) | 2^Θ(√n) | 2^O(√n) |
| Generic n-qubit state | Θ(n) | 2^Θ(n) | 2^O(n) |
Bond dimension and classical cost by input state (emission order)