A simple quantum simulation algorithm with near-optimal precision scaling

Abstract

Quantum simulation is a foundational application for quantum computers, projected to offer insights into complex quantum systems beyond the reach of classical computation. However, with the exception of Trotter-based methods, which suffer from suboptimal scaling with respect to simulation precision, existing simulation techniques are, for the most part, too intricate to implement on early fault-tolerant quantum hardware. We propose a quantum Hamiltonian dynamics simulation algorithm that aims to be both straightforward to implement and, at the same time, have near-optimal scaling in simulation precision.