{
  "abstract": "Quantum computation offers a promising alternative to classical Monte Carlo methods by naturally avoiding sign problems through unitary evolution. A common misconception follows from this: because quantum simulation sidesteps the sign problem, it is often assumed to be an essentially perfect substitute for classical sampling. This is false---quantum measurements are intrinsically stochastic, and estimating observables often requires a number of samples that grows exponentially with system size, time separation, or inverse temperature, exactly as in the classical signal-to-noise problem. In this work, we analyze the origin and structure of signal-to-noise problems in quantum computation, drawing parallels with classical Monte Carlo, and demonstrate that such noise persists even in sign-problem-free regimes. We discuss strategies to mitigate it, in particular a quantum generalization of Stein control variates construction, in which unbiased estimators are built from operator commutators $[X,A]$ and their discrete diagonal counterparts, and validate the approach with exactly solvable numerical examples that quantify the achievable variance reduction. Our results underscore that variance reduction, not merely sign-problem avoidance, is required to make quantum algorithms practically viable for many-body physics.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": "2610.15210",
  "author_total": 1,
  "authors": [
    {
      "name": "Hyunwoo Oh"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4c83v16fta2aw.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.48550/arxiv.2610.15210",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "4c83v16fta2aw",
  "issns": [],
  "landing_url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15210",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "LicenseRef-arXiv-nonexclusive-1.0",
  "licence_label": "arXiv licence",
  "licence_source": "article",
  "licence_url": "http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/",
  "metadata_licence": "CC0-1.0",
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "arxiv",
      "hep-lat"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "nucl-th"
    ],
    [
      "arxiv",
      "quant-ph"
    ],
    [
      "openalex",
      "1702|Quantum Computing Algorithms and Architecture"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221814197",
  "pdf_url": "https://arxiv.org/pdf/2610.15210",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-10",
  "publisher": null,
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4c83v16fta2aw.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
      "native_id": "2610.15210",
      "source": "arxiv",
      "url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.15210"
    }
  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:hep-lat",
      "subfield": "high-energy"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:nucl-th",
      "subfield": "nuclear"
    },
    {
      "field": "physics",
      "origin": "arxiv:quant-ph",
      "subfield": "quantum"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Signal-to-noise problems in fault-tolerant quantum computation",
  "title_text": "Signal-to-noise problems in fault-tolerant quantum computation",
  "type": "preprint",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:29:06Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/4c83v16fta2aw",
  "venue": "arXiv",
  "versions": []
}