arXiv subjects

Thomas Vidick

Publications and source records attributed to Thomas Vidick.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

arXiv2019

Computationally-secure and composable remote state preparation

We introduce a protocol between a classical polynomial-time verifier and a quantum polynomial-time prover that allows the verifier to securely delegate to the prover the preparation of certain single-qubit quantum states. The protocol realizes the following functionality, with computational security: the verifier chooses one of the observables $Z$, $X$, $Y$, $(X+Y)/\sqrt{2}$, $(X-Y)/\sqrt{2}$; the prover receives a uniformly random eigenstate of the observable chosen by the verifier; the verifier receives a classical description of that state. The prover is unaware of which state he received and moreover, the verifier can check with high confidence whether the preparation was successful. The delegated preparation of single-qubit states is an elementary building block in many quantum cryptographic protocols. We expect our implementation of "random remote state preparation with verification", a functionality first defined in (Dunjko and Kashefi 2014), to be useful for removing the need for quantum communication in such protocols while keeping functionality. The main application that we detail is to a protocol for blind and verifiable delegated quantum computation (DQC) that builds on the work of (Fitzsimons and Kashefi 2018), who provided such a protocol with quantum communication. Recently, both blind an verifiable DQC were shown to be possible, under computational assumptions, with a classical polynomial-time client (Mahadev 2017, Mahadev 2018). Compared to the work of Mahadev, our protocol is more modular, applies to the measurement-based model of computation (instead of the Hamiltonian model) and is composable. Our proof of security builds on ideas introduced in (Brakerski et al. 2018).

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Simple and tight device-independent security proofs

Device-independent security is the gold standard for quantum cryptography: not only is security based entirely on the laws of quantum mechanics, but it holds irrespective of any a priori assumptions on the quantum devices used in a protocol, making it particularly applicable in a quantum-wary environment. While the existence of device-independent protocols for tasks such as randomness expansion and quantum key distribution has recently been established, the underlying proofs of security remain very challenging, yield rather poor key rates, and demand very high-quality quantum devices, thus making them all but impossible to implement in practice. We introduce a technique for the analysis of device-independent cryptographic protocols. We provide a flexible protocol and give a security proof that provides quantitative bounds that are asymptotically tight, even in the presence of general quantum adversaries. At a high level our approach amounts to establishing a reduction to the scenario in which the untrusted device operates in an identical and independent way in each round of the protocol. This is achieved by leveraging the sequential nature of the protocol, and makes use of a newly developed tool, the "entropy accumulation theorem" of Dupuis et al. As concrete applications we give simple and modular security proofs for device-independent quantum key distribution and randomness expansion protocols based on the CHSH inequality. For both tasks we establish essentially optimal asymptotic key rates and noise tolerance. In view of recent experimental progress, which has culminated in loophole-free Bell tests, it is likely that these protocols can be practically implemented in the near future.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2019

Bounds on Dimension Reduction in the Nuclear Norm

$ \newcommand{\schs}{\scriptstyle{\mathsf{S}}_1} $For all $n \ge 1$, we give an explicit construction of $m \times m$ matrices $A_1,\ldots,A_n$ with $m = 2^{\lfloor n/2 \rfloor}$ such that for any $d$ and $d \times d$ matrices $A'_1,\ldots,A'_n$ that satisfy \[ \|A'_i-A'_j\|_{\schs} \,\leq\, \|A_i-A_j\|_{\schs}\,\leq\, (1+δ) \|A'_i-A'_j\|_{\schs} \] for all $i,j\in\{1,\ldots,n\}$ and small enough $δ= O(n^{-c})$, where $c> 0$ is a universal constant, it must be the case that $d \ge 2^{\lfloor n/2\rfloor -1}$. This stands in contrast to the metric theory of commutative $\ell_p$ spaces, as it is known that for any $p\geq 1$, any $n$ points in $\ell_p$ embed exactly in $\ell_p^d$ for $d=n(n-1)/2$. Our proof is based on matrices derived from a representation of the Clifford algebra generated by $n$ anti-commuting Hermitian matrices that square to identity, and borrows ideas from the analysis of nonlocal games in quantum information theory.

math.MG↗

arXiv2019

Trading locality for time: certifiable randomness from low-depth circuits

The generation of certifiable randomness is the most fundamental information-theoretic task that meaningfully separates quantum devices from their classical counterparts. We propose a protocol for exponential certified randomness expansion using a single quantum device. The protocol calls for the device to implement a simple quantum circuit of constant depth on a 2D lattice of qubits. The output of the circuit can be verified classically in linear time, and is guaranteed to contain a polynomial number of certified random bits assuming that the device used to generate the output operated using a (classical or quantum) circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. This assumption contrasts with the locality assumption used for randomness certification based on Bell inequality violation or computational assumptions. To demonstrate randomness generation it is sufficient for a device to sample from the ideal output distribution within constant statistical distance. Our procedure is inspired by recent work of Bravyi et al. (Science 2018), who introduced a relational problem that can be solved by a constant-depth quantum circuit, but provably cannot be solved by any classical circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. We develop the discovery of Bravyi et al. into a framework for robust randomness expansion. Our proposal does not rest on any complexity-theoretic conjectures, but relies on the physical assumption that the adversarial device being tested implements a circuit of sub-logarithmic depth. Success on our task can be easily verified in classical linear time. Finally, our task is more noise-tolerant than most other existing proposals that can only tolerate multiplicative error, or require additional conjectures from complexity theory; in contrast, we are able to allow a small constant additive error in total variation distance between the sampled and ideal distributions.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Test for a large amount of entanglement, using few measurements

Bell-inequality violations establish that two systems share some quantum entanglement. We give a simple test to certify that two systems share an asymptotically large amount of entanglement, n EPR states. The test is efficient: unlike earlier tests that play many games, in sequence or in parallel, our test requires only one or two CHSH games. One system is directed to play a CHSH game on a random specified qubit i, and the other is told to play games on qubits {i,j}, without knowing which index is i. The test is robust: a success probability within delta of optimal guarantees distance O(n^{5/2} sqrt{delta}) from n EPR states. However, the test does not tolerate constant delta; it breaks down for delta = Omega~(1/sqrt{n}). We give an adversarial strategy that succeeds within delta of the optimum probability using only O~(delta^{-2}) EPR states.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Entanglement in non-local games and the hyperlinear profile of groups

We relate the amount of entanglement required to play linear-system non-local games near-optimally to the hyperlinear profile of finitely-presented groups. By calculating the hyperlinear profile of a certain group, we give an example of a finite non-local game for which the amount of entanglement required to play $\varepsilon$-optimally is at least $Ω(1/\varepsilon^k)$, for some $k>0$. Since this function approaches infinity as $\varepsilon$ approaches zero, this provides a quantitative version of a theorem of the first author.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Quantum proof systems for iterated exponential time, and beyond

We show that any language in nondeterministic time $\exp(\exp(\cdots \exp(n)))$, where the number of iterated exponentials is an arbitrary function $R(n)$, can be decided by a multiprover interactive proof system with a classical polynomial-time verifier and a constant number of quantum entangled provers, with completeness $1$ and soundness $1 - \exp(-C\exp(\cdots\exp(n)))$, where the number of iterated exponentials is $R(n)-1$ and $C>0$ is a universal constant. The result was previously known for $R=1$ and $R=2$; we obtain it for any time-constructible function $R$. The result is based on a compression technique for interactive proof systems with entangled provers that significantly simplifies and strengthens a protocol compression result of Ji (STOC'17). As a separate consequence of this technique we obtain a different proof of Slofstra's recent result (unpublished) on the uncomputability of the entangled value of multiprover games. Finally, we show that even minor improvements to our compression result would yield remarkable consequences in computational complexity theory and the foundations of quantum mechanics: first, it would imply that the class MIP* contains all computable languages; second, it would provide a negative resolution to a multipartite version of Tsirelson's problem on the relation between the commuting operator and tensor product models for quantum correlations.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Low-degree testing for quantum states, and a quantum entangled games PCP for QMA

We show that given an explicit description of a multiplayer game, with a classical verifier and a constant number of players, it is QMA-hard, under randomized reductions, to distinguish between the cases when the players have a strategy using entanglement that succeeds with probability 1 in the game, or when no such strategy succeeds with probability larger than 1/2. This proves the "games quantum PCP conjecture" of Fitzsimons and the second author (ITCS'15), albeit under randomized reductions. The core component in our reduction is a construction of a family of two-player games for testing $n$-qubit maximally entangled states. For any integer $n\geq2$, we give a test in which questions from the verifier are $O(\log n)$ bits long, and answers are $\mathrm{poly}(\log\log n)$ bits long. We show that for any constant $\varepsilon\geq0$, any strategy that succeeds with probability at least $1-\varepsilon$ in the test must use a state that is within distance $O(\varepsilon^c)$ from a state that is locally equivalent to a maximally entangled state on $n$ qubits, for some universal constant $c>0$. The construction is based on the classical plane-vs-point test for multivariate low-degree polynomials of Raz and Safra (STOC'97). We extend the classical test to the quantum regime by executing independent copies of the test in the generalized Pauli $X$ and $Z$ bases over $\mathbb{F}_q$, where $q$ is a sufficiently large prime power, and combine the two through a test for the Pauli twisted commutation relations. Our main complexity-theoretic result is obtained by combining this family of games with constructions of PCPs of proximity introduced by Ben-Sasson et al. (CCC'05), and crucially relies on a linear property of such PCPs. Another consequence of our results is a deterministic reduction from the games quantum PCP conjecture to a suitable formulation of the Hamiltonian quantum PCP conjecture.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

A Quantum-Proof Non-Malleable Extractor, With Application to Privacy Amplification against Active Quantum Adversaries

In privacy amplification, two mutually trusted parties aim to amplify the secrecy of an initial shared secret $X$ in order to establish a shared private key $K$ by exchanging messages over an insecure communication channel. If the channel is authenticated the task can be solved in a single round of communication using a strong randomness extractor; choosing a quantum-proof extractor allows one to establish security against quantum adversaries. In the case that the channel is not authenticated, Dodis and Wichs (STOC'09) showed that the problem can be solved in two rounds of communication using a non-malleable extractor, a stronger pseudo-random construction than a strong extractor. We give the first construction of a non-malleable extractor that is secure against quantum adversaries. The extractor is based on a construction by Li (FOCS'12), and is able to extract from source of min-entropy rates larger than $1/2$. Combining this construction with a quantum-proof variant of the reduction of Dodis and Wichs, shown by Cohen and Vidick (unpublished), we obtain the first privacy amplification protocol secure against active quantum adversaries.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2018

Implementation of rigorous renormalization group method for ground space and low-energy states of local Hamiltonians

The practical success of polynomial-time tensor network methods for computing ground states of certain quantum local Hamiltonians has recently been given a sound theoretical basis by Arad, Landau, Vazirani, and Vidick. The convergence proof, however, relies on "rigorous renormalization group" (RRG) techniques which differ fundamentally from existing algorithms. We introduce an efficient implementation of the theoretical RRG procedure which finds MPS ansatz approximations to the ground spaces and low-lying excited spectra of local Hamiltonians in situations of practical interest. In contrast to other schemes, RRG does not utilize variational methods on tensor networks. Rather, it operates on subsets of the system Hilbert space by constructing approximations to the global ground space in a tree-like manner. We evaluate the algorithm numerically, finding similar performance to DMRG in the case of a gapped nondegenerate Hamiltonian. Even in challenging situations of criticality, or large ground-state degeneracy, or long-range entanglement, RRG remains able to identify candidate states having large overlap with ground and low-energy eigenstates, outperforming DMRG in some cases.

cond-mat.stat-mech↗

arXiv2017

Privacy Amplification Against Active Quantum Adversaries

Privacy amplification is the task by which two cooperating parties transform a shared weak secret, about which an eavesdropper may have side information, into a uniformly random string uncorrelated from the eavesdropper. Privacy amplification against passive adversaries, where it is assumed that the communication is over a public but authenticated channel, can be achieved in the presence of classical as well as quantum side information by a single-message protocol based on strong extractors. In 2009 Dodis and Wichs devised a two-message protocol to achieve privacy amplification against active adversaries, where the public communication channel is no longer assumed to be authenticated, through the use of a strengthening of strong extractors called non-malleable extractors which they introduced. Dodis and Wichs only analyzed the case of classical side information. We consider the task of privacy amplification against active adversaries with quantum side information. Our main result is showing that the Dodis-Wichs protocol remains secure in this scenario provided its main building block, the non-malleable extractor, satisfies a notion of quantum-proof non-malleability which we introduce. We show that an adaptation of a recent construction of non-malleable extractors due to Chattopadhyay et al. is quantum proof, thereby providing the first protocol for privacy amplification that is secure against active quantum adversaries. Our protocol is quantitatively comparable to the near-optimal protocols known in the classical setting.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

QCMA hardness of ground space connectivity for commuting Hamiltonians

In this work we consider the ground space connectivity problem for commuting local Hamiltonians. The ground space connectivity problem asks whether it is possible to go from one (efficiently preparable) state to another by applying a polynomial length sequence of 2-qubit unitaries while remaining at all times in a state with low energy for a given Hamiltonian $H$. It was shown in [Gharibian and Sikora, ICALP'15] that this problem is QCMA-complete for general local Hamiltonians, where QCMA is defined as QMA with a classical witness and BQP verifier. Here we show that the commuting version of the problem is also QCMA-complete. This provides one of the first examples where commuting local Hamiltonians exhibit complexity theoretic hardness equivalent to general local Hamiltonians.

cs.CC↗

arXiv2017

Rigorous RG algorithms and area laws for low energy eigenstates in 1D

One of the central challenges in the study of quantum many-body systems is the complexity of simulating them on a classical computer. A recent advance of Landau et al. gave a polynomial time algorithm to actually compute a succinct classical description for unique ground states of gapped 1D quantum systems. Despite this progress many questions remained unresolved, including whether there exist rigorous efficient algorithms when the ground space is degenerate (and poly($n$) dimensional), or for the poly($n$) lowest energy states for 1D systems, or even whether such states admit succinct classical descriptions or area laws. In this paper we give a new algorithm for finding low energy states for 1D systems, based on a rigorously justified RG type transformation. In the process we resolve some of the aforementioned open questions, including giving a polynomial time algorithm for poly($n$) degenerate ground spaces and an $n^{O(\log n)}$ algorithm for the poly($n$) lowest energy states for 1D systems (under a mild density condition). We note that for these classes of systems the existence of a succinct classical description and area laws were not rigorously proved before this work. The algorithms are natural and efficient, and for the case of finding unique ground states for frustration-free Hamiltonians the running time is $\tilde{O}(nM(n))$, where $M(n)$ is the time required to multiply two $n\times n$ matrices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Parallel DIQKD from parallel repetition

We give an arguably simpler and more direct proof of a recent result by Miller, Jain and Shi, who proved device-independent security of a protocol for quantum key distribution in which the devices can be used in parallel. Our proof combines existing results on immunization (Kempe et al., SICOMP 2011) and parallel repetition (Bavarian et al., STOC 2017) of entangled games.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2017

Overlapping qubits

An ideal system of $n$ qubits has $2^n$ dimensions. This exponential grants power, but also hinders characterizing the system's state and dynamics. We study a new problem: the qubits in a physical system might not be independent. They can "overlap," in the sense that an operation on one qubit slightly affects the others. We show that allowing for slight overlaps, $n$ qubits can fit in just polynomially many dimensions. (Defined in a natural way, all pairwise overlaps can be $\leq ε$ in $n^{O(1/ε^2)}$ dimensions.) Thus, even before considering issues like noise, a real system of $n$ qubits might inherently lack any potential for exponential power. On the other hand, we also provide an efficient test to certify exponential dimensionality. Unfortunately, the test is sensitive to noise. It is important to devise more robust tests on the arrangements of qubits in quantum devices.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Robust self-testing of many-qubit states

We introduce a simple two-player test which certifies that the players apply tensor products of Pauli $σ_X$ and $σ_Z$ observables on the tensor product of $n$ EPR pairs. The test has constant robustness: any strategy achieving success probability within an additive $\varepsilon$ of the optimal must be $\mathrm{poly}(\varepsilon)$-close, in the appropriate distance measure, to the honest $n$-qubit strategy. The test involves $2n$-bit questions and $2$-bit answers. The key technical ingredient is a quantum version of the classical linearity test of Blum, Luby, and Rubinfeld. As applications of our result we give (i) the first robust self-test for $n$ EPR pairs; (ii) a quantum multiprover interactive proof system for the local Hamiltonian problem with a constant number of provers and classical questions and answers, and a constant completeness-soundness gap independent of system size; (iii) a robust protocol for delegated quantum computation.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Quantum Proofs

Quantum information and computation provide a fascinating twist on the notion of proofs in computational complexity theory. For instance, one may consider a quantum computational analogue of the complexity class \class{NP}, known as QMA, in which a quantum state plays the role of a proof (also called a certificate or witness), and is checked by a polynomial-time quantum computation. For some problems, the fact that a quantum proof state could be a superposition over exponentially many classical states appears to offer computational advantages over classical proof strings. In the interactive proof system setting, one may consider a verifier and one or more provers that exchange and process quantum information rather than classical information during an interaction for a given input string, giving rise to quantum complexity classes such as QIP, QSZK, and QMIP* that represent natural quantum analogues of IP, SZK, and MIP. While quantum interactive proof systems inherit some properties from their classical counterparts, they also possess distinct and uniquely quantum features that lead to an interesting landscape of complexity classes based on variants of this model. In this survey we provide an overview of many of the known results concerning quantum proofs, computational models based on this concept, and properties of the complexity classes they define. In particular, we discuss non-interactive proofs and the complexity class QMA, single-prover quantum interactive proof systems and the complexity class QIP, statistical zero-knowledge quantum interactive proof systems and the complexity class \class{QSZK}, and multiprover interactive proof systems and the complexity classes QMIP, QMIP*, and MIP*.

quant-ph↗

arXiv2016

Entanglement of approximate quantum strategies in XOR games

We show that for any $\varepsilon>0$ there is an XOR game $G=G(\varepsilon)$ with $Θ(\varepsilon^{-1/5})$ inputs for one player and $Θ(\varepsilon^{-2/5})$ inputs for the other player such that $Ω(\varepsilon^{-1/5})$ ebits are required for any strategy achieving bias that is at least a multiplicative factor $(1-\varepsilon)$ from optimal. This gives an exponential improvement in both the number of inputs or outputs and the noise tolerance of any previously-known self-test for highly entangled states. Up to the exponent $-1/5$ the scaling of our bound with $\varepsilon$ is tight: for any XOR game there is an $\varepsilon$-optimal strategy using $\lceil \varepsilon^{-1} \rceil$ ebits, irrespective of the number of questions in the game.

quant-ph↗