Gabriel Waite

Gabriel Waite

We show that the Guided Local Hamiltonian problem for stoquastic Hamiltonians is (promise) BPP-hard. The Guided Local Hamiltonian problem extends the Local Hamiltonian problem by incorporating an additional input known as a guiding state, which is promised to overlap with the ground state. For a range of local Hamiltonian families, prior work shows this problem is (promise) BQP-hard, though for stoquastic Hamiltonians, the complexity was previously unknown. We obtain our results by first reducing from quantum-inspired BPP circuits to 6-local stoquastic Hamiltonians. We prove particular classes of quantum states, known as semi-classical encoded subset states, can guide the estimation of the ground-state energy. Our analysis shows that this BPP-hardness does not depend on locality, i.e., the result holds for 2-local stoquastic Hamiltonians. Additional arguments extend this BPP-hardness to Hamiltonians restricted to a square lattice. We further show that for stoquastic Hamiltonians with a fixed local constraint on a subset of the system qubits, the Guided Local Hamiltonian problem is BQP-hard. In addition to these hardness results, we present a deterministic classical approximation algorithm for the problem under the conditions of constant promise gap, constant overlap, and constant spectral gap, when the guiding state is preparable in constant depth by a geometrically local circuit.

Gabriel Waite, Karl Lin

We study the computational complexity of the Local Hamiltonian problem under the promise that its ground state is succinctly represented. We show that the Succinct State 2-Local Hamiltonian problem, for qubit Hamiltonians, is (promise) MA-complete. The approach combines a systematic characterisation of succinct quantum states, defined through arithmetic over specific number fields, with a refined reduction that lowers the locality of Feynman-Kitaev circuit-Hamiltonians from 6 to 2, without increasing particle dimension. This reveals a complexity phase transition, parameterised by locality, and extends the scope of previously known MA-complete problem instances. Our results further clarify how succinctness behaves under circuit-based constructions, and progresses toward a better understanding of the boundary between efficiently describable and efficiently verifiable quantum systems.

Gabriel Waite, Michael J. Bremner

We show the 2-Local Stoquastic Hamiltonian problem on a 2D square qubit lattice is StoqMA-complete. We achieve this by extending the spatially sparse circuit construction of Oliveira and Terhal, as well as the perturbative gadgets of Bravyi, DiVincenzo, Oliveira, and Terhal. Our main contributions demonstrate StoqMA circuits can be made spatially sparse and that geometrical, stoquastic-preserving, perturbative gadgets can be constructed, without an increase to particle dimension.

Gabriel Waite, Karl Lin, Samuel J Elman et al.

We study the computational complexity of the Guided Local Hamiltonian problem: given a local Hamiltonian $H$ together with a classical description of a guiding state that has non-negligible overlap with the ground state of $H$, estimate the ground-state energy within inverse-polynomial precision. This setting captures real-world scenarios in quantum chemistry and many-body physics, where trial states derived from classical heuristics can be used to guide quantum algorithms. We identify families of physically-motivated guiding states for which the computational hardness of ground-state energy estimation persists in the guided setting. Extending prior results for semi-classical subset states, we prove BQP-hardness for classes including fixed-weight states, matrix product states, Gaussian states, and Fendley states. Our hardness results are obtained via refined Feynman-Kitaev circuit-to-Hamiltonian constructions that explicitly expose the structural role of the guiding state in the reduction. Complementing these results, we give a constructive proof of BQP containment when the guiding state admits a polynomial-size classical description, establishing BQP-completeness for the canonical formulation of the problem. Our results show that quantum advantage persists for the newly introduced state classes, and classical methods also remain viable when said guiding states admit appropriate descriptions. Together, our results identify a Goldilocks zone of guiding states that are efficiently preparable, succinctly described, and sample-query accessible, within which quantum advantage for ground-state estimation can be meaningfully assessed. We additionally formalise the Guided Fermi-Hubbard Hamiltonian problem and prove BQP-completeness on 2D square and triangular lattices, both with and without magnetic fields, when provided with an appropriate fermionic guiding state.