Saturable quantum speed limits for imaginary-time evolution

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Authors: Kohei Kobayashi
Cited by: 0
References: 24

Abstract

We derive a Geometric quantum speed limit (QSL) for imaginary-time evolution, where the dynamics is governed by a non-unitary Schrödinger equation. By introducing a cost function based on the angular distance between the normalized evolving state and the initial state, we obtain a lower bound on the evolution time expressed as the ratio between this angle and the time-averaged energy dispersion. Our bound is analytical, general, and applicable to arbitrary time-independent Hamiltonians. We analytically evaluate this bound for two physically motivated cases. First, we apply it to a two-level system and derive an expression for the minimal time. Second, we analyze the imaginary-time version of Grover search problem and rigorously reproduce the well-known logarithmic scaling $T=\mathcal{ O}(\log N)$ within our QSL framework.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture Quantum many-body systems Quantum Mechanics and Applications

Publication details

Journal / source
Physical Review A
Volume
113
Issue
3
Publication date
5 March 2026
Language
EN