Analysis of quantum Krylov algorithms with errors

Abstract

This work provides a nonasymptotic error analysis of quantum Krylov algorithms based on real-time evolutions, subject to generic errors in the outputs of the quantum circuits. We prove upper and lower bounds on the resulting ground state energy estimates, and the error associated to the upper bound is linear in the input error rates. This resolves a misalignment between known numerics, which exhibit approximately linear error scaling, and prior theoretical analysis, which only provably obtained scaling with the error rate to the power 23. Our main technique is to express generic errors in terms of an effective target Hamiltonian studied in an effective Krylov space. These results provide a theoretical framework for understanding the main features of quantum Krylov errors.