Purity-Assisted Zero-Noise Extrapolation for Quantum Error Mitigation

Abstract

Quantum error mitigation aims to reduce errors in quantum systems and improve accuracy. Zero-noise extrapolation (ZNE) is a commonly used method, where noise is amplified, and the target expectation is extrapolated to a noise-free point. However, ZNE relies on assumptions about error rates based on the error model. In this study, a purity-assisted zero-noise extrapolation (pZNE) method is utilized to address limitations in error rate assumptions and enhance the extrapolation process. The pZNE is based on the Pauli diagonal error model implemented using the Pauli twirling technique. Although this method does not significantly reduce the bias of routine ZNE, it extends its effectiveness to a wider range of error rates where routine ZNE may face limitations. In addition, the practicality of the pZNE method is verified through numerical simulations and experiments on the online quantum computation platform, Quafu. Comparisons with routine ZNE and virtual distillation methods show that biases in extrapolation methods increase with error rates and may become divergent at high error rates. The bias of pZNE is slightly lower than routine ZNE, while its error rate threshold surpasses that of routine ZNE. Furthermore, for full density matrix information, the pZNE method is more efficient than the routine ZNE.