On Metaplectic Modular Categories and Their Applications

For non-abelian simple objects in a unitary modular category, the density of their braid group representations, the #P-hard evaluation of their associated link invariants, and the BQP-completeness of their anyonic quantum computing models are closely related. We systematically study such properties of the non-abelian simple objects in the metaplectic modular categories SO(m)₂ for an odd integer m ≥ 3. The simple objects with quantum dimensions \({\sqrt{m}}\) have finite image braid group representations, and their link invariants are classically efficient to evaluate. We also provide classically efficient simulations of their braid group representations. These simulations of the braid group representations can be regarded as qudit generalizations of the Knill–Gottesmann theorem for the qubit case. The simple objects of dimension 2 give us a surprising result: while their braid group representations have finite images and are efficiently simulable classically after a generalized localization, their link invariants are #P-hard to evaluate exactly. We sharpen the #P-hardness by showing that any sufficiently accurate approximation of their associated link invariants is already #P-hard.