Efficient measurement schemes for the Monte Carlo projective quantum eigensolver

Abstract

The Monte Carlo Projective Quantum Eigensolver (MC-PQE) was recently introduced as an alternative to hybrid algorithms like the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE). By using a quantum Monte Carlo-inspired scheme for energy estimation, MC-PQE was found to decrease the required measurement cost relative to comparable conventional approaches. However, in the context of VQE, numerous techniques have been developed to reduce the measurement overhead by joint measurement of multiple observable. In this work, we extend these approaches to the asymmetric expectation values required in MC-PQE and assess the performance of different techniques for various molecular systems of up to 12 qubits. We find full commuting Pauli term grouping combined with tailored measurement allocation techniques leads to a 5-10$\times$ reduction in standard error for the same total number of quantum measurements. Conventional Hamiltonian grouped measurement outperforms tractable classical shadows tomography based techniques for the considered systems.