Adaptive-depth randomized measurement for fermionic observables

Abstract: Accurate estimation of fermionic observables is essential for advancing quantum physics and chemistry. The fermionic classical shadow (FCS) method offers an efficient framework for estimating these observables without requiring a transformation into a Pauli basis. However, the random matchgate circuits in FCS require polynomial-depth circuits with a brickwork structure, which presents significant challenges for near-term quantum devices with limited computational resources. To address this limitation, we introduce an adaptive-depth fermionic classical shadow (ADFCS) protocol designed to reduce the circuit depth while maintaining the estimation accuracy and the order of sample complexity. Through theoretical analysis and numerical fitting, we establish that the required depth for approximating a fermionic observable $H$ scales as $\max{d^2_{\text{int}}(H)/\log n, d_{\text{int}}(H)}$ where $d_{\text{int}}$ is the interaction distance of $H$. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the ADFCS protocol through numerical experiments, which show similar accuracy to the traditional FCS method while requiring significantly fewer resources. Additionally, we apply ADFCS to compute the expectation value of the Kitaev chain Hamiltonian, further validating its performance in practical scenarios. Our findings suggest that ADFCS can enable more efficient quantum simulations, reducing circuit depth while preserving the fidelity of quantum state estimations, offering a viable solution for near-term quantum devices.