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The time-marching strategy, which propagates the solution from one time step to the next, is a natural strategy for solving time-dependent differential equations on classical computers, as well as for solving the Hamiltonian simulation problem on quantum computers. For more general homogeneous linear differential equations d d t | ψ ( t ) ⟩ = A ( t ) | ψ ( t ) ⟩ , | ψ ( 0 ) ⟩ = | ψ 0 ⟩ , a time-marching based quantum solver can suffer from exponentially vanishing success probability with respect to the number of time steps and is thus considered impractical. We solve this problem by repeatedly invoking a technique called the uniform singular value amplification, and the overall success probability can be lower bounded by a quantity that is independent of the number of time steps. The success probability can be further improved using a compression gadget lemma. This provides a path of designing quantum differential equation solvers that is alternative to those based on quantum linear systems algorithms (QLSA). We demonstrate the performance of the time-marching strategy with a high-order integrator based on the truncated Dyson series. The complexity of the algorithm depends linearly on the amplification ratio, which quantifies the deviation from a unitary dynamics. We prove that the linear dependence on the amplification ratio attains the query complexity lower bound and thus cannot be improved in the worst case. This algorithm also surpasses existing QLSA based solvers in three aspects: (1) A ( t ) does not need to be diagonalizable. (2) A ( t ) can be non-smooth, and is only of bounded variation. (3) It can use fewer queries to the initial state | ψ 0 ⟩ . Finally, we demonstrate the time-marching strategy with a first-order truncated Magnus series, which simplifies the implementation compared to high-order truncated Dyson series approach, while retaining the aforementioned benefits. Our analysis also raises some open questions concerning the differences between time-marching and QLSA based methods for solving differential equations. 

Quantum many-body systems involving bosonic modes or gauge fields have infinite-dimensional local Hilbert spaces which must be truncated to perform simulations of real-time dynamics on classical or quantum computers. To analyze the truncation error, we develop methods for bounding the rate of growth of local quantum numbers such as the occupation number of a mode at a lattice site, or the electric field at a lattice link. Our approach applies to various models of bosons interacting with spins or fermions, and also to both abelian and non-abelian gauge theories. We show that if states in these models are truncated by imposing an upper limit Λ on each local quantum number, and if the initial state has low local quantum numbers, then an error at most ϵ can be achieved by choosing Λ to scale polylogarithmically with ϵ − 1 , an exponential improvement over previous bounds based on energy conservation. For the Hubbard-Holstein model, we numerically compute a bound on Λ that achieves accuracy ϵ , obtaining significantly improved estimates in various parameter regimes. We also establish a criterion for truncating the Hamiltonian with a provable guarantee on the accuracy of time evolution. Building on that result, we formulate quantum algorithms for dynamical simulation of lattice gauge theories and of models with bosonic modes; the gate complexity depends almost linearly on spacetime volume in the former case, and almost quadratically on time in the latter case. We establish a lower bound showing that there are systems involving bosons for which this quadratic scaling with time cannot be improved. By applying our result on the truncation error in time evolution, we also prove that spectrally isolated energy eigenstates can be approximated with accuracy ϵ by truncating local quantum numbers at Λ = polylog ( ϵ − 1 ) . 

Abstract Due to intense interest in the potential applications of quantum computing, it is critical to understand the basis for potential exponential quantum advantage in quantum chemistry. Here we gather the evidence for this case in the most common task in quantum chemistry, namely, ground-state energy estimation, for generic chemical problems where heuristic quantum state preparation might be assumed to be efficient. The availability of exponential quantum advantage then centers on whether features of the physical problem that enable efficient heuristic quantum state preparation also enable efficient solution by classical heuristics. Through numerical studies of quantum state preparation and empirical complexity analysis (including the error scaling) of classical heuristics, in both ab initio and model Hamiltonian settings, we conclude that evidence for such an exponential advantage across chemical space has yet to be found. While quantum computers may still prove useful for ground-state quantum chemistry through polynomial speedups, it may be prudent to assume exponential speedups are not generically available for this problem. 

Abstract The Gravitational-Wave Transient Catalog (GWTC) is a collection of short-duration (transient) gravitational-wave signals identified by the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA Collaboration in gravitational-wave data produced by the eponymous detectors. The catalog provides information about the identified candidates, such as the arrival time and amplitude of the signal and properties of the signal’s source as inferred from the observational data. GWTC is the data release of this dataset, and version 4.0 extends the catalog to include observations made during the first part of the fourth LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA observing run up until 2024 January 31. This Letter marks an introduction to a collection of articles related to this version of the catalog, GWTC-4.0. The collection of articles accompanying the catalog provides documentation of the methods used to analyze the data, summaries of the catalog of events, observational measurements drawn from the population, and detailed discussions of selected candidates. 

Abstract We report the observation of gravitational waves from two binary black hole coalescences during the fourth observing run of the LIGO–Virgo–KAGRA detector network, GW241011 and GW241110. The sources of these two signals are characterized by rapid and precisely measured primary spins, nonnegligible spin–orbit misalignment, and unequal mass ratios between their constituent black holes. These properties are characteristic of binaries in which the more massive object was itself formed from a previous binary black hole merger and suggest that the sources of GW241011 and GW241110 may have formed in dense stellar environments in which repeated mergers can take place. As the third-loudest gravitational-wave event published to date, with a median network signal-to-noise ratio of 36.0, GW241011 furthermore yields stringent constraints on the Kerr nature of black holes, the multipolar structure of gravitational-wave generation, and the existence of ultralight bosons within the mass range 10⁻¹³–10⁻¹²eV.