Simplification of tensor updates toward performance-complexity balanced quantum computer simulation

Abstract

Matrix Product States (MPS) provide a powerful framework for simulating quantum circuits. In practical simulations, tensor updates are typically performed in the canonical form (CF), which corresponds to the Schmidt decomposition and improves approximation accuracy. However, maintaining the canonical form introduces significant computational overhead. An alternative approach, known as the Simple Update (SU), does not enforce the Schmidt decomposition and is expected to reduce computational complexity. In this work, we systematically compare the performance and computational cost of SU and CF in quantum circuit simulations. We benchmark both methods on highly entangled circuits and on a QASM benchmark suite covering a wide range of circuit types. Our results show that SU achieves accuracy comparable to CF while reducing computational complexity, indicating that SU provides an efficient alternative for practical quantum circuit simulations.