Efficiently simulating the work distribution of multiple identical bosons with boson sampling

Abstract

Boson sampling has been theoretically proposed and experimentally demonstrated to show quantum computational advantages. However, it still lacks the deep understanding of the practical applications of boson sampling. Here we propose that boson sampling can be used to efficiently simulate the work distribution of multiple identical bosons. We link the work distribution to boson sampling and numerically calculate the transition amplitude matrix between the single-boson eigenstates in a one-dimensional quantum piston system, and then map the matrix to a linear optical network of boson sampling. The work distribution can be efficiently simulated by the output probabilities of boson sampling using the method of the grouped probability estimation. The scheme requires at most a polynomial number of the samples and the optical elements. Our work opens up a new path towards the calculation of complex quantum work distribution using only photons and linear optics.