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Many-body time evolution from a correlation-efficient quantum algorithm

Michael Rose and David A. Mazziotti*

  • Department of Chemistry and The James Franck Institute, The University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, USA

  • *Contact author: damazz@uchicago.edu
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Phys. Rev. A 113, L060406 – Published 17 June, 2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/n2vx-xj7g

Abstract

We introduce the correlation-efficient time-evolution (CETE) algorithm for simulating quantum many-body dynamics. CETE recasts each step of time evolution as a time-independent correlation problem: the ansatz begins from a mean-field single Slater determinant and is then correlated to capture the true time-evolved state. We derive this exact ansatz from a contraction of the time-dependent Schrödinger equation onto the space of two electrons. Unlike conventional evolution by sequential short-time propagators, which must both correlate and decorrelate the state as the degree of correlation fluctuates in time, CETE correlates only once. This substantially reduces circuit depth, extending accessible simulation times on near-term quantum devices. We demonstrate the approach by simulating the electronic time evolution of the hydrogen molecule and the helium hydride ion, highlighting the potential for the CETE algorithm to simulate strongly correlated systems on near-term devices.

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Outline

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Phys. Rev. A 113, L060406– Published 17 June, 2026
  • Received 27 October 2025
  • Accepted 19 May 2026
Article part of CHORUS
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