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    Mitigating barren plateaus in quantum denoising diffusion probabilistic models

    Haipeng Cao1,2,*, Kaining Zhang3,*, Dacheng Tao3, and Zhaofeng Su4,1,†

    • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
    • †Contact author: youngpath2012@gmail.com

    Phys. Rev. A 114, 022418 – Published 10 August, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/gg2j-xtk6

    Abstract

    Quantum generative models exploit quantum superposition and entanglement to enhance learning efficiency for both classical and quantum data. Recently, inspired by classical diffusion frameworks, the quantum denoising diffusion probabilistic model has emerged as a powerful tool for learning correlated noise models, many-body phases, and topological data structures. However, we demonstrate that this framework is currently restricted to small-scale systems. As the system size increases, a severe barren plateau problem emerges, fundamentally limiting the model's scalability. We provide rigorous theoretical proofs and experimental validation to identify the origin of this barren plateau, distinct from previously known causes. To restore trainability, we introduce an enhanced architecture that effectively mitigates the barren plateau phenomenon and guarantees the model's trainability in the tested settings. Building on this architecture, we further propose a conditional quantum denoising diffusion probabilistic model, capable of generating ground states based on Hamiltonian parameters, expanding the utility of quantum generative models for complex quantum state preparation to a certain extent. Our approach not only holds the potential to address the scalability and trainability bottlenecks of quantum diffusion models, but also provides a robust tool for exploring complex quantum matter and state preparation in the noisy intermediate-scale quantum era.

    Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

    Corrections

    9 September, 2026

    Correction: The source information in Ref. [24] contained an error and has been fixed. A link to the correct source has been added.

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