Initializing a single site of a lattice scalar field theory into an arbitrary state with support throughout the quantum register requires $O\left(2^{n_Q}\right)$ entangling gates on a quantum computer with $n_Q$ qubits per site. It is conceivable that instead initializing to functions that are good approximations to states may have utility in reducing the number of required entangling gates. In the case of a single site of a noninteracting scalar field theory, initializing to a symmetric exponential wave function requires $n_Q-1$ entangling gates, the minimal number necessary to create an entangled state of all $n_Q$ qubits. This is compared with the $2^{n_Q-1}+n_Q-3+{\delta }_{n_Q,1}$ required for a symmetric Gaussian wave function. In this work, we explore the initialization of one-site ($n_Q=4$), two-site ($n_Q=3$), and three-site ($n_Q=3$) noninteracting scalar field theories with symmetric exponential wave functions using IBM's quantum simulators and quantum devices (Poughkeepsie and Tokyo). With the digitizations attainable with $n_Q=3,4$, these tensor-product wave functions are found to have large overlap with a Gaussian wave function and provide a suitable low-noise initialization for improvement and Somma inflation. In performing these simulations, we have employed a workflow that interleaves calibrations to mitigate systematic errors in production. The calibrations allow tolerance cuts on gate performance including the fidelity of the symmetrizing Hadamard gate, both in vacuum (${|\mathbf{0}\rangle }^{\otimes n_Q}$) and in medium ($n_Q-1$ qubits initialized to an exponential function). The results obtained in this work are relevant to systems beyond scalar field theories, such as the deuteron radial wave function, two- and three-dimensional Cartesian-space wave functions, and nonrelativistic multinucleon systems built on a localized eigenbasis.

• Received 18 September 2019
• Accepted 13 May 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.012612