Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1603.05423 · Physical Review A

Irreconcilable difference between quantum walks and adiabatic quantum computing

Thomas G. Wong, DAVID A. MEYER

Published Jun 13, 2016• 13 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Continuous-time quantum walks and adiabatic quantum evolution are two general techniques for quantum computing, both of which are described by Hamiltonians that govern their evolutions by Schr\"odinger's equation. In the former, the Hamiltonian is fixed, while in the latter, the Hamiltonian varies with time. As a result, their formulations of Grover's algorithm evolve differently through Hilbert space. We show that this difference is fundamental; they cannot be made to evolve along each other's path without introducing structure more powerful than the standard oracle for unstructured search. For an adiabatic quantum evolution to evolve like the quantum walk search algorithm, it must interpolate between three fixed Hamiltonians, one of which is complex and introduces structure that is stronger than the oracle for unstructured search. Conversely, for a quantum walk to evolve along the path of the adiabatic search algorithm, it must be a chiral quantum walk on a weighted, directed star graph with structure that is also stronger than the oracle for unstructured search. Thus, the two techniques, although similar in being described by Hamiltonians that govern their evolution, compute by fundamentally irreconcilable means.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.93.062313

Related papers

Quantum-Walk-Inspired Dynamic Adiabatic Local Search

Chen-Fu Chiang, Paul M. Alsing

We investigate the irreconcilability issue that arises when translating the search algorithm from the Continuous Time Quantum Walk (CTQW) framework to the Adiabatic Quantum Computing (AQC) framework. For the AQC formulation to evolve along the same path as the CTQW, it requires a constant energy gap in the Hamiltonian throughout the AQC schedule. To resolve the constant gap issue, we modify the CTQW-inspired AQC catalyst Hamiltonian from an XZ operator to a Z oracle operator. Through simulation, we demonstrate that the total running time for the proposed approach for AQC with the modified catalyst Hamiltonian remains optimal as CTQW. Inspired by this solution, we further investigate adaptive scheduling for the catalyst Hamiltonian and its coefficient function in the adiabatic path of Grover-inspired AQC to improve the adiabatic local search.

arXiv:2204.09830•Entropy•Aug 31, 2023•1 citation

Quantum search with hybrid adiabatic–quantum-walk algorithms and realistic noise

James G. Morley, Nicholas Chancellor, Sougato Bose +1 more

Computing using a continuous-time evolution, based on the natural interaction Hamiltonian of the quantum computer hardware, is a promising route to building useful quantum computers in the near term. Adiabatic quantum computing, quantum annealing, computation by a continuous-time quantum walk, and special purpose quantum simulators all use this strategy. In this work, we carry out a detailed examination of adiabatic and quantum-walk implementation of the quantum search algorithm, using the more physically realistic hypercube connectivity, rather than the complete graph, for our base Hamiltonian. We calculate optimal adiabatic schedules both analytically and numerically for the hypercube and then interpolate between adiabatic and quantum-walk searching, obtaining a family of hybrid algorithms. We show that all of these hybrid algorithms provide the quadratic quantum speedup when run with optimal parameter settings, which we determine and discuss in detail. We incorporate the effects of multiple runs of the same algorithm, noise applied to the qubits, and two types of problem misspecification, determining the optimal hybrid algorithm for each case. Our results reveal a rich structure of how these different computational mechanisms operate and should be balanced in different scenarios. For large systems with low noise and good control, a quantum walk is the best choice, while hybrid strategies can mitigate the effects of many shortcomings in hardware and problem misspecification.

arXiv:1709.00371•Physical Review A•Feb 28, 2019•46 citations

Quantum information processing in continuous time

Andrew M. Childs, Edward Farhi

Quantum mechanical computers can solve certain problems asymptotically faster than any classical computing device. Several fast quantum algorithms are known, but the nature of quantum speedup is not well understood, and inventing new quantum algorithms seems to be difficult. In this thesis, we explore two approaches to designing quantum algorithms based on continuous-time Hamiltonian dynamics. In quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, the computer is prepared in the known ground state of a simple Hamiltonian, which is slowly modified so that its ground state encodes the solution to a problem. We argue that this approach should be inherently robust against low-temperature thermal noise and certain control errors, and we support this claim using simulations. We then show that any adiabatic algorithm can be implemented in a different way, using only a sequence of measurements of the Hamiltonian. We illustrate how this approach can achieve quadratic speedup for the unstructured search problem. We also demonstrate two examples of quantum speedup by quantum walk, a quantum mechanical analog of random walk. First, we consider the problem of searching a region

•Jan 1, 2004•79 citations

Quantum search by local adiabatic evolution

Jérémie Roland, Nicolas J. Cerf

The adiabatic theorem has been recently used to design quantum algorithms of a new kind, where the quantum computer evolves slowly enough so that it remains near its instantaneous ground state, which tends to the solution. We apply this time-dependent Hamiltonian approach to Grover's problem, i.e., searching a marked item in an unstructured database. We find that by adjusting the evolution rate of the Hamiltonian so as to keep the evolution adiabatic on each infinitesimal time interval, the total running time is of order $\sqrt{N},$ where N is the number of items in the database. We thus recover the advantage of Grover's standard algorithm as compared to a classical search, scaling as N. This is in contrast with the constant-rate adiabatic approach of Farhi et al. (e-print quant-ph/0001106), where the requirement of adiabaticity is expressed only globally, resulting in a time of order N.

arXiv:quant-ph/0107015•Physical Review A•Mar 26, 2002•629 citations

The Constant Speedup Mechanism on Adiabatic Quantum Computation

Zhigang Zhang, Songfeng Lu, Jie Sun +1 more

In the adiabatic quantum computation model, a computational procedure is described by the continuous time evolution of a time dependent Hamiltonian. Classically, the unstructured search problem can be solved only in a running time of order O(G). However, by modifying the structure of local Hamiltonian or using specific interpolating functions, it is possible to do the calculation in constant time for a quantum computer. This paper reveals the cause that lead to the speedup. We analyze two kinds of specific adiabatic quantum models, and conclude that the value of relevant elements in back-diagonal of the local Hamiltonian is the main factors affecting the time complexity of adiabatic quantum algorithms. According to the speedup mechanism, we have proposed two kinds of adiabatic quantum algorithms to make a constant time complexity.

Journal of Computational and Theoretical Nanoscience•Oct 1, 2016•0 citations

Generalized quantum walk search algorithm

Pulak Ranjan Giri

Quantum walk search on graphs is primarily limited to real evolution operators, although there is no restriction for using the complex unitary matrix as the evolution operator. In the context of quantum search, several studies on the Grover’s search utilize the complex unitary matrix as an evolution operator, which allows for efficient searching of marked elements. However, the generalization of the quantum walk search to complex space has largely been overlooked. In this paper, we extend existing discrete-time coined quantum walk search algorithms on one- and two-dimensional periodic lattices to complex space by introducing two phase parameters, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], into the coin and oracle operators, respectively, for four different discrete-time coined quantum walk search algorithms. One of the advantages of this generalization is that it enables the Grover and SKW coins with specific values of the phase parameters [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] to search for the exceptional configurations on a two-dimensional periodic lattice with high success probability, which is otherwise impossible to search using the real Grover and SKW coins operators.

International Journal of Quantum Information•Jul 24, 2026•0 citations
Continuous-time quantum walks and adiabatic quantum evolution are two general techniques for quantum computing, both of which are described by Hamiltonians that govern their evolutions by Schr"odinger's equation. In the former, the Hamiltonian is fixed, while in the latter, the Hamiltonian varies with time. As a result, their formulations of Grover's algorithm evolve differently through Hilbert space. We show that this difference is fundamental; they cannot be made to evolve along each other's path without introducing structure more powerful than the standard oracle for unstructured search. For an adiabatic quantum evolution to evolve like the quantum walk search algorithm, it must interpolate between three fixed Hamiltonians, one of which is complex and introduces structure that is stronger than the oracle for unstructured search. Conversely, for a quantum walk to evolve along the path of the adiabatic search algorithm, it must be a chiral quantum walk on a weighted, directed star graph with structure that is also stronger than the oracle for unstructured search. Thus, the two techniques, although similar in being described by Hamiltonians that govern their evolution, compute by fundamentally irreconcilable means.
We investigate the irreconcilability issue that arises when translating the search algorithm from the Continuous Time Quantum Walk (CTQW) framework to the Adiabatic Quantum Computing (AQC) framework. For the AQC formulation to evolve along the same path as the CTQW, it requires a constant energy gap in the Hamiltonian throughout the AQC schedule. To resolve the constant gap issue, we modify the CTQW-inspired AQC catalyst Hamiltonian from an XZ operator to a Z oracle operator. Through simulation, we demonstrate that the total running time for the proposed approach for AQC with the modified catalyst Hamiltonian remains optimal as CTQW. Inspired by this solution, we further investigate adaptive scheduling for the catalyst Hamiltonian and its coefficient function in the adiabatic path of Grover-inspired AQC to improve the adiabatic local search.
Computing using a continuous-time evolution, based on the natural interaction Hamiltonian of the quantum computer hardware, is a promising route to building useful quantum computers in the near term. Adiabatic quantum computing, quantum annealing, computation by a continuous-time quantum walk, and special purpose quantum simulators all use this strategy. In this work, we carry out a detailed examination of adiabatic and quantum-walk implementation of the quantum search algorithm, using the more physically realistic hypercube connectivity, rather than the complete graph, for our base Hamiltonian. We calculate optimal adiabatic schedules both analytically and numerically for the hypercube and then interpolate between adiabatic and quantum-walk searching, obtaining a family of hybrid algorithms. We show that all of these hybrid algorithms provide the quadratic quantum speedup when run with optimal parameter settings, which we determine and discuss in detail. We incorporate the effects of multiple runs of the same algorithm, noise applied to the qubits, and two types of problem misspecification, determining the optimal hybrid algorithm for each case. Our results reveal a rich structure of how these different computational mechanisms operate and should be balanced in different scenarios. For large systems with low noise and good control, a quantum walk is the best choice, while hybrid strategies can mitigate the effects of many shortcomings in hardware and problem misspecification.
Quantum mechanical computers can solve certain problems asymptotically faster than any classical computing device. Several fast quantum algorithms are known, but the nature of quantum speedup is not well understood, and inventing new quantum algorithms seems to be difficult. In this thesis, we explore two approaches to designing quantum algorithms based on continuous-time Hamiltonian dynamics. In quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, the computer is prepared in the known ground state of a simple Hamiltonian, which is slowly modified so that its ground state encodes the solution to a problem. We argue that this approach should be inherently robust against low-temperature thermal noise and certain control errors, and we support this claim using simulations. We then show that any adiabatic algorithm can be implemented in a different way, using only a sequence of measurements of the Hamiltonian. We illustrate how this approach can achieve quadratic speedup for the unstructured search problem. We also demonstrate two examples of quantum speedup by quantum walk, a quantum mechanical analog of random walk. First, we consider the problem of searching a region
The adiabatic theorem has been recently used to design quantum algorithms of a new kind, where the quantum computer evolves slowly enough so that it remains near its instantaneous ground state, which tends to the solution. We apply this time-dependent Hamiltonian approach to Grover's problem, i.e., searching a marked item in an unstructured database. We find that by adjusting the evolution rate of the Hamiltonian so as to keep the evolution adiabatic on each infinitesimal time interval, the total running time is of order N,\sqrt{N},N​, where N is the number of items in the database. We thus recover the advantage of Grover's standard algorithm as compared to a classical search, scaling as N. This is in contrast with the constant-rate adiabatic approach of Farhi et al. (e-print quant-ph/0001106), where the requirement of adiabaticity is expressed only globally, resulting in a time of order N.
In the adiabatic quantum computation model, a computational procedure is described by the continuous time evolution of a time dependent Hamiltonian. Classically, the unstructured search problem can be solved only in a running time of order O(G). However, by modifying the structure of local Hamiltonian or using specific interpolating functions, it is possible to do the calculation in constant time for a quantum computer. This paper reveals the cause that lead to the speedup. We analyze two kinds of specific adiabatic quantum models, and conclude that the value of relevant elements in back-diagonal of the local Hamiltonian is the main factors affecting the time complexity of adiabatic quantum algorithms. According to the speedup mechanism, we have proposed two kinds of adiabatic quantum algorithms to make a constant time complexity.
Quantum walk search on graphs is primarily limited to real evolution operators, although there is no restriction for using the complex unitary matrix as the evolution operator. In the context of quantum search, several studies on the Grover’s search utilize the complex unitary matrix as an evolution operator, which allows for efficient searching of marked elements. However, the generalization of the quantum walk search to complex space has largely been overlooked. In this paper, we extend existing discrete-time coined quantum walk search algorithms on one- and two-dimensional periodic lattices to complex space by introducing two phase parameters, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text], into the coin and oracle operators, respectively, for four different discrete-time coined quantum walk search algorithms. One of the advantages of this generalization is that it enables the Grover and SKW coins with specific values of the phase parameters [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] to search for the exceptional configurations on a two-dimensional periodic lattice with high success probability, which is otherwise impossible to search using the real Grover and SKW coins operators.