Learning response functions of analog quantum computers: analysis of neutral-atom and superconducting platforms

Abstract: Analog quantum computation is an attractive paradigm for the simulation of time-dependent quantum systems. Programmable analog quantum computers have been realized in hardware using a variety of physical principles, including neutral-atom and superconducting technologies. The input parameters of the physical Hamiltonians that are used to program the quantum simulator generally differ from the parameters that characterize the output distribution of data produced under a specified quantum dynamics. The relationship between the input and output parameters is known as the response function of the analog device. Here, we introduce a streaming algorithm for learning the response function of analog quantum computers from arbitrary user inputs, thus not requiring special calibration runs. We use the method to learn and compare the response functions of several generations of analog quantum simulators based on superconducting and neutral-atom programmable arrays.