We introduce a framework for simulating quantum optics by decomposing the
system into a finite rank (number of terms) superposition of coherent states.
This allows us to define a resource theory, where linear optical operations are
'free' (i.e., do not increase the rank), and the simulation complexity for an
m-mode system scales quadratically in m, in stark contrast to the Hilbert
space dimension. We outline this approach explicitly in the Fock basis,
relevant in particular for Boson sampling, where the simulation time (space)
complexity for computing output amplitudes, to arbitrary accuracy, scales as
O(m22n) (O(m2n)), for n photons distributed amongst m modes. We
additionally demonstrate that linear optical simulations with the n photons
initially in the same mode scales efficiently, as O(m2n). This paradigm
provides a practical notion of 'non-classicality', i.e., the classical
resources required for simulation. Moreover, by making connections to the
stellar rank formalism, we show this comes from two independent contributions,
the number of single-photon additions, and the amount of squeezing.Comment: 24+9 pages. 6 figures. V2: Improvements to main text and additional
reference