GIOVANNI MINUTO

PhD Graduate

PhD program:: XXXVIII


supervisor: Alessio Merlo
co-supervisor: Paolo Solinas

Thesis title: From Computational Cost Reduction to Industrial Applications: A Study on Variational Quantum Circuits

Quantum computing has evolved into a promising computational paradigm capable of addressing problems beyond the reach of classical methods. Among current approaches, hybrid quantum–classical algorithms as Variational Quantum Algorithms (VQAs)—play a central role in the Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) era. This thesis analyzes the research conducted during the PhD within the variational framework along two main directions. First, it introduces the Quantum Non-Demolition Measurement (QNDM) method, a novel strategy for efficient gradient estimation in VQAs. By coupling an auxiliary detector qubit through non-demolition operators, QNDM enables derivative extraction from a single measurement, reducing quantum resource requirements linearly with the system dimension. The second part explores the application of quantum machine learning to the solution of differential equations, extending the Differential Quantum Circuit (DQC) framework to stochastic systems. This work was carried out during a one-year research internship at the French scale-up Pasqal.

Research products

11573/1755838 - 2025 - A novel approach to reduce derivative costs in variational quantum algorithms
Minuto, G; Melegari, D; Caletti, S; Solinas, P - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: JOURNAL OF PHYSICS. A, MATHEMATICAL AND THEORETICAL (Bristol : IOP Publishing, 2007-) pp. 1-21 - issn: 1751-8121 - wos: WOS:001478831000001 (0) - scopus: 2-s2.0-105004219362 (0)

11573/1698134 - 2023 - Quantum gradient evaluation through quantum non-demolition measurements
Solinas, Paolo; Caletti, Simone; Minuto, Giovanni - 01a Articolo in rivista
paper: THE EUROPEAN PHYSICAL JOURNAL. D, ATOMIC, MOLECULAR AND OPTICAL PHYSICS (Les Ulis: EDP Sciences. Springer Verlag Germany) pp. - - issn: 1434-6060 - wos: WOS:000992520900001 (5) - scopus: 2-s2.0-85159964426 (5)

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