arXiv · 2507.21036
Quantum optical shallow networks
Abstract
Classical shallow networks are universal approximators. Given a sufficient number of neurons, they can reproduce any continuous function to arbitrary precision, with a resource cost that scales linearly in both the input size and the number of trainable parameters. In this work, we present a quantum optical protocol that implements a shallow network with an arbitrary number of neurons. Both the input data and the parameters are encoded into single-photon states. Leveraging the Hong-Ou-Mandel effect, the network output is determined by the coincidence rates measured when the photons interfere at a beam splitter, with multiple neurons prepared as a mixture of single-photon states. Remarkably, once trained, our model requires constant optical resources regardless of the number of input features and neurons.
Explore related subjects
Keep this discovery
Simone Roncallo, Angela Rosy Morgillo, Seth Lloyd, Chiara Macchiavello, Lorenzo Maccone. 2025-07-28. Quantum optical shallow networks. https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-9565%2Fae73af
Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.