Abstract
The orbifold lattice has been proposed as a route to practical quantum simulation of Yang--Mills theory, with claims of exponential speedup over all known approaches. Through analytical derivations, Monte Carlo simulation, and explicit circuit construction, we identify compounding costs entirely absent in Kogut--Susskind formulations: a mass-dependent Trotter overhead that scales as m⁴, non-singlet contamination that grows as m² and worsens with penalty terms, and a mandatory mass extrapolation. Monte Carlo simulations of SU(3) establish a universal scaling: the continuum limit forces m² ∝ 1/a, binding the Trotter step to the lattice spacing through a cost unique to orbifolds. For a fiducial 10³ calculation, the orbifold is 10⁴--10¹⁰ times more expensive than every published alternative. These results indicate that the claimed computational advantages do not at present survive quantitative scrutiny.