Trainability-Simulability Tradeoff in Parameterized IQP-based Reinforcement Learning Policies

André Sequeira

Parameterized instantaneous quantum polynomial-time (IQP) circuits generate distributions conjectured to be hard to sample classically. As reinforcement learning (RL) policies, their $2^n$ measurement outcomes are typically mapped to a smaller action space by a classical decoder. This aggregation can mitigate initialization concentration while making the policy classically simulable. We characterize this tradeoff through the decoder's Fourier--Pauli expansion. Under independent uniform initialization, we express policy variance as an exact sum over groups of nonconstant Pauli components with identical active-generator signatures. Each group contributes its squared aggregate coefficient times $2^{-r}$, where $r$ is the binary rank of its active generators. An inverse-polynomial aggregate coefficient with logarithmic rank prevents exponential policy concentration. Sparse Pauli expansions and contiguous action bins permit efficient classical additive estimation of action probabilities. We introduce a majority decoder combining protected low-weight components with exponentially large exact Fourier support, preserving initialization nonconcentration while excluding polynomial-size…