arXiv subjects

Andrew M. Childs

Publications and source records attributed to Andrew M. Childs.

126 records · Page 7Linked to original sources

arXiv2004

The limitations of nice mutually unbiased bases

Mutually unbiased bases of a Hilbert space can be constructed by partitioning a unitary error basis. We consider this construction when the unitary error basis is a nice error basis. We show that the number of resulting mutually unbiased bases can be at most one plus the smallest prime power contained in the dimension, and therefore that this construction cannot improve upon previous approaches. We prove this by establishing a correspondence between nice mutually unbiased bases and abelian subgroups of the index group of a nice error basis and then bounding the number of such subgroups. This bound also has implications for the construction of certain combinatorial objects called nets.

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arXiv2004

Spatial search by quantum walk

Grover's quantum search algorithm provides a way to speed up combinatorial search, but is not directly applicable to searching a physical database. Nevertheless, Aaronson and Ambainis showed that a database of N items laid out in d spatial dimensions can be searched in time of order sqrt(N) for d>2, and in time of order sqrt(N) poly(log N) for d=2. We consider an alternative search algorithm based on a continuous time quantum walk on a graph. The case of the complete graph gives the continuous time search algorithm of Farhi and Gutmann, and other previously known results can be used to show that sqrt(N) speedup can also be achieved on the hypercube. We show that full sqrt(N) speedup can be achieved on a d-dimensional periodic lattice for d>4. In d=4, the quantum walk search algorithm takes time of order sqrt(N) poly(log N), and in d<4, the algorithm does not provide substantial speedup.

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arXiv2004

Unified derivations of measurement-based schemes for quantum computation

We present unified, systematic derivations of schemes in the two known measurement-based models of quantum computation. The first model (introduced by Raussendorf and Briegel [Phys. Rev. Lett., 86, 5188 (2001)]) uses a fixed entangled state, adaptive measurements on single qubits, and feedforward of the measurement results. The second model (proposed by Nielsen [Phys. Lett. A, 308, 96 (2003)] and further simplified by Leung [Int. J. Quant. Inf., 2, 33 (2004)]) uses adaptive two-qubit measurements that can be applied to arbitrary pairs of qubits, and feedforward of the measurement results. The underlying principle of our derivations is a variant of teleportation introduced by Zhou, Leung, and Chuang [Phys. Rev. A, 62, 052316 (2000)]. Our derivations unify these two measurement-based models of quantum computation and provide significantly simpler schemes.

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arXiv2004

Spatial search and the Dirac equation

We consider the problem of searching a d-dimensional lattice of N sites for a single marked location. We present a Hamiltonian that solves this problem in time of order sqrt(N) for d>2 and of order sqrt(N) log(N) in the critical dimension d=2. This improves upon the performance of our previous quantum walk search algorithm (which has a critical dimension of d=4), and matches the performance of a corresponding discrete-time quantum walk algorithm. The improvement uses a lattice version of the Dirac Hamiltonian, and thus requires the introduction of spin (or coin) degrees of freedom.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Quantum algorithms for subset finding

Recently, Ambainis gave an O(N^(2/3))-query quantum walk algorithm for element distinctness, and more generally, an O(N^(L/(L+1)))-query algorithm for finding L equal numbers. We point out that this algorithm actually solves a much more general problem, the problem of finding a subset of size L that satisfies any given property. We review the algorithm and give a considerably simplified analysis of its query complexity. We present several applications, including two algorithms for the problem of finding an L-clique in an N-vertex graph. One of these algorithms uses O(N^(2L/(L+1))) edge queries, and the other uses \tilde{O}(N^((5L-2)/(2L+4))), which is an improvement for L <= 5. The latter algorithm generalizes a recent result of Magniez, Santha, and Szegedy, who considered the case L=3 (finding a triangle). We also pose two open problems regarding continuous time quantum walk and lower bounds.

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arXiv2003

Lower bounds on the complexity of simulating quantum gates

We give a simple proof of a formula for the minimal time required to simulate a two-qubit unitary operation using a fixed two-qubit Hamiltonian together with fast local unitaries. We also note that a related lower bound holds for arbitrary n-qubit gates.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2003

Reversible simulation of bipartite product Hamiltonians

Consider two quantum systems A and B interacting according to a product Hamiltonian H = H_A x H_B. We show that any two such Hamiltonians can be used to simulate each other reversibly (i.e., without efficiency losses) with the help of local unitary operations and local ancillas. Accordingly, all non-local features of a product Hamiltonian -- including the rate at which it can be used to produce entanglement, transmit classical or quantum information, or simulate other Hamiltonians -- depend only upon a single parameter. We identify this parameter and use it to obtain an explicit expression for the entanglement capacity of all product Hamiltonians. Finally, we show how the notion of simulation leads to a natural formulation of measures of the strength of a nonlocal Hamiltonian.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Exponential algorithmic speedup by quantum walk

We construct an oracular (i.e., black box) problem that can be solved exponentially faster on a quantum computer than on a classical computer. The quantum algorithm is based on a continuous time quantum walk, and thus employs a different technique from previous quantum algorithms based on quantum Fourier transforms. We show how to implement the quantum walk efficiently in our oracular setting. We then show how this quantum walk can be used to solve our problem by rapidly traversing a graph. Finally, we prove that no classical algorithm can solve this problem with high probability in subexponential time.

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arXiv2002

Universal simulation of Hamiltonian dynamics for qudits

What interactions are sufficient to simulate arbitrary quantum dynamics in a composite quantum system? Dodd et al. (quant-ph/0106064) provided a partial solution to this problem in the form of an efficient algorithm to simulate any desired two-body Hamiltonian evolution using any fixed two-body entangling N-qubit Hamiltonian, and local unitaries. We extend this result to the case where the component systems have D dimensions. As a consequence we explain how universal quantum computation can be performed with any fixed two-body entangling N-qudit Hamiltonian, and local unitaries.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2002

Quantum search by measurement

We propose a quantum algorithm for solving combinatorial search problems that uses only a sequence of measurements. The algorithm is similar in spirit to quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, in that the goal is to remain in the ground state of a time-varying Hamiltonian. Indeed, we show that the running times of the two algorithms are closely related. We also show how to achieve the quadratic speedup for Grover's unstructured search problem with only two measurements. Finally, we discuss some similarities and differences between the adiabatic and measurement algorithms.

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arXiv2001

Robustness of adiabatic quantum computation

We study the fault tolerance of quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, a quantum algorithm for solving various combinatorial search problems. We describe an inherent robustness of adiabatic computation against two kinds of errors, unitary control errors and decoherence, and we study this robustness using numerical simulations of the algorithm.

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arXiv2001

Universal simulation of Markovian quantum dynamics

Although the conditions for performing arbitrary unitary operations to simulate the dynamics of a closed quantum system are well understood, the same is not true of the more general class of quantum operations (also known as superoperators) corresponding to the dynamics of open quantum systems. We propose a framework for the generation of Markovian quantum dynamics and study the resources needed for universality. For the case of a single qubit, we show that a single nonunitary process is necessary and sufficient to generate all unital Markovian quantum dynamics, whereas a set of processes parametrized by one continuous parameter is needed in general. We also obtain preliminary results for the unital case in higher dimensions.

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arXiv2001

An example of the difference between quantum and classical random walks

In this note, we discuss a general definition of quantum random walks on graphs and illustrate with a simple graph the possibility of very different behavior between a classical random walk and its quantum analogue. In this graph, propagation between a particular pair of nodes is exponentially faster in the quantum case.

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arXiv2000

Finding cliques by quantum adiabatic evolution

Quantum adiabatic evolution provides a general technique for the solution of combinatorial search problems on quantum computers. We present the results of a numerical study of a particular application of quantum adiabatic evolution, the problem of finding the largest clique in a random graph. An n-vertex random graph has each edge included with probability 1/2, and a clique is a completely connected subgraph. There is no known classical algorithm that finds the largest clique in a random graph with high probability and runs in a time polynomial in n. For the small graphs we are able to investigate (n <= 18), the quantum algorithm appears to require only a quadratic run time.

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arXiv2000

Realization of quantum process tomography in NMR

Quantum process tomography is a procedure by which the unknown dynamical evolution of an open quantum system can be fully experimentally characterized. We demonstrate explicitly how this procedure can be implemented with a nuclear magnetic resonance quantum computer. This allows us to measure the fidelity of a controlled-not logic gate and to experimentally investigate the error model for our computer. Based on the latter analysis, we test an important assumption underlying nearly all models of quantum error correction, the independence of errors on different qubits.

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arXiv2000

Universal quantum computation with two-level trapped ions

Although the initial proposal for ion trap quantum computation made use of an auxiliary internal level to perform logic between ions, this resource is not necessary in principle. Instead, one may perform such operations directly using sideband laser pulses, operating with an arbitrary (sufficiently small) Lamb-Dicke parameter. We explore the potential of this technique, showing how to perform logical operations between the internal state of an ion and the collective motional state and giving explicit constructions for a controlled-not gate between ions.

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arXiv2000

Exact sampling from non-attractive distributions using summary states

Propp and Wilson's method of coupling from the past allows one to efficiently generate exact samples from attractive statistical distributions (e.g., the ferromagnetic Ising model). This method may be generalized to non-attractive distributions by the use of summary states, as first described by Huber. Using this method, we present exact samples from a frustrated antiferromagnetic triangular Ising model and the antiferromagnetic q=3 Potts model. We discuss the advantages and limitations of the method of summary states for practical sampling, paying particular attention to the slowing down of the algorithm at low temperature. In particular, we show that such a slowing down can occur in the absence of a physical phase transition.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv1999

Quantum information and precision measurement

We describe some applications of quantum information theory to the analysis of quantum limits on measurement sensitivity. A measurement of a weak force acting on a quantum system is a determination of a classical parameter appearing in the master equation that governs the evolution of the system; limitations on measurement accuracy arise because it is not possible to distinguish perfectly among the different possible values of this parameter. Tools developed in the study of quantum information and computation can be exploited to improve the precision of physics experiments; examples include superdense coding, fast database search, and the quantum Fourier transform.

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