Interplay of resources for universal continuous-variable quantum computing

Abstract: Quantum resource theories identify the features of quantum computers that provide their computational advantage over classical systems. We investigate the resources driving the complexity of classical simulation in the standard model of continuous-variable quantum computing, and their interplay enabling computational universality. Specifically, we uncover a new property in continuous-variable circuits, analogous to coherence in discrete-variable systems, termed symplectic coherence. Using quadrature propagation across multiple computational paths, we develop an efficient classical simulation algorithm for continuous-variable computations with low symplectic coherence. This establishes symplectic coherence as a necessary resource for universality in continuous-variable quantum computing, alongside non-Gaussianity and entanglement. Via the Gottesman--Kitaev--Preskill encoding, we show that the interplay of these three continuous-variable quantum resources mirrors the discrete-variable relationship between coherence, magic, and entanglement.