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arXiv:1602.04155 · Quantum Information and Computation

Cohomological framework for contextual quantum computations

Robert Raussendorf

Published Nov 1, 2019• 21 citations
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Abstract

We describe a cohomological framework for measurement-based quantum computation in which symmetry plays a central role. Therein, the essential information about the computation is contained in either of two topological invariants, namely two cohomology groups. One of them applies only to deterministic quantum computations, and the other to general probabilistic ones. Those invariants characterize the computational output, and at the same time witness quantumness in the form of contextuality. In result, they give rise to fundamental algebraic structures underlying quantum computation.

DOI
10.26421/qic19.13-14-4

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We describe a cohomological framework for measurement-based quantum computation in which symmetry plays a central role. Therein, the essential information about the computation is contained in either of two topological invariants, namely two cohomology groups. One of them applies only to deterministic quantum computations, and the other to general probabilistic ones. Those invariants characterize the computational output, and at the same time witness quantumness in the form of contextuality. In result, they give rise to fundamental algebraic structures underlying quantum computation.
We unify the resource-theoretic and the cohomological perspective on quantum contextuality. At the center of this unification stands the notion of the contextual fraction. For both symmetry and parity based contextuality proofs, we establish cohomological invariants which are witnesses of state-dependent contextuality. We provide two results invoking the contextual fraction, namely (i) refinements of logical contextuality inequalities, and (ii) upper bounds on the classical cost of Boolean function evaluation, given the contextual fraction of the corresponding measurement-based quantum computation.
Okay, Roberts, Bartlett and Raussendorf recently introduced a new cohomological approach to contextuality in measurement based quantum computation. We give an abstract description of their obstruction and the algebraic structure it exploits, using the sheaf theoretic framework of Abramsky and Brandenburger. At this level of generality we contrast their approach to the Cech cohomology obstruction of Abramsky, Mansfield and Barbosa and give a direct proof that Cech cohomology is at least as powerful.
Measurement-based quantum computation (MBQC) is a universal model of quantum computation whose full power requires adaptivity. Contextuality is known to power quantum advantage in MBQC, yet it has resisted algebraic analysis in the adaptive setting. We show that if an adaptive Z2\mathbb{Z}_2Z2​-linear measurement-based quantum computing protocol deterministically computes a non-affine Boolean function, then the underlying quantum resource satisfies an inconsistent set of linear equations. This witnesses an algebraic form of strong contextuality generalising Mermin's All-versus-Nothing arguments. Such algebraic contextuality can be detected cohomologically, resolving an open question posed by Raussendorf, who had established cohomological witnesses of contextuality for non-adaptive protocols, but left the adaptive case open. We prove this result constructively: we model adaptive measurement protocols as ordinary measurements on a larger scenario of tree-like measurements, and explicitly build the inconsistent equations inductively.
Measurement-Based Quantum Computation (MBQC) is a model of quantum computation, which uses local measurements instead of unitary gates. Here we explain that the MBQC procedure has a fundamental basis in an underlying gauge theory. This perspective provides a theoretical foundation for global aspects of MBQC. The gauge transformations reflect the freedom of formulating the same MBQC computation in different local reference frames. The main identifications between MBQC and gauge theory concepts are: (i) the computational output of MBQC is a holonomy of the gauge field, (ii) the adaptation of measurement basis that remedies the inherent randomness of quantum measurements is effected by gauge transformations. The gauge theory of MBQC also plays a role in characterizing the entanglement structure of symmetry-protected topologically (SPT) ordered states, which are resources for MBQC. Our framework situates MBQC in a broader context of condensed matter and high energy theory.
We introduce a new framework for contextuality based on simplicial sets, combinatorial models of topological spaces that play a prominent role in modern homotopy theory. Our approach extends measurement scenarios to consist of spaces (rather than sets) of measurements and outcomes, and thereby generalizes nonsignaling distributions to simplicial distributions, which are distributions on spaces modeled by simplicial sets. Using this formalism we present a topologically inspired new proof of Fine's theorem for characterizing noncontextuality in Bell scenarios. Strong contextuality is generalized suitably for simplicial distributions, allowing us to define cohomological witnesses that extend the earlier topological constructions restricted to algebraic relations among quantum observables to the level of probability distributions. Foundational theorems of quantum theory such as the Gleason's theorem and Kochen--Specker theorem can be expressed naturally within this new language.