TARE: Block Encoding Linear Combinations of Pauli Strings Without Ancilla State Preparation

Abstract

Quantum algorithms based on Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) offer the potential for speedups across a broad range of applications, with block encodings serving as the central input model. In this framework, non-unitary matrices are embedded into larger unitary operators, and the cost of constructing these encodings often dominates the overall gate complexity. In this work, we introduce Tag-and-Restore Encoding (TARE), a block-encoding method for linear combinations of Pauli strings. In this method coefficient magnitudes are absorbed into a unitary built from a set of mutually anti-commuting Pauli strings acting on the system register. These Pauli strings are then mapped to the target Pauli strings through appropriate transformations, yielding a block encoding of the target operator. The ancilla register size scales logarithmically with the number of Pauli strings and can be extended to larger registers providing a width/depth tradeoff. We evaluate TARE through numerical simulations of the transverse-field Ising model, the Jordan-Wigner image of a fermionic star Hamiltonian, and random Pauli-string operators. Compared with standard Linear Combination of Unitaries (LCU), TARE substantially reduces the T-gate count while improving circuit depth in several cases. These results suggest that TARE can provide resource-efficient block encodings for a wide range of relevant systems.