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arXiv:2005.03137

A Gentle Introduction to Quantum Computing Algorithms with Applications to Universal Prediction

Elliot Catt, Marcus Hütter

Published Apr 29, 2020• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this technical report we give an elementary introduction to Quantum Computing for non-physicists. In this introduction we describe in detail some of the foundational Quantum Algorithms including: the Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm, Shor's Algorithm, Grocer Search, and Quantum Counting Algorithm and briefly the Harrow-Lloyd Algorithm. Additionally we give an introduction to Solomonoff Induction, a theoretically optimal method for prediction. We then attempt to use Quantum computing to find better algorithms for the approximation of Solomonoff Induction. This is done by using techniques from other Quantum computing algorithms to achieve a speedup in computing the speed prior, which is an approximation of Solomonoff's prior, a key part of Solomonoff Induction. The major limiting factors are that the probabilities being computed are often so small that without a sufficient (often large) amount of trials, the error may be larger than the result. If a substantial speedup in the computation of an approximation of Solomonoff Induction can be achieved through quantum computing, then this can be applied to the field of intelligent agents as a key part of an approximation of the agent AIXI.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.2005.03137

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In this technical report we give an elementary introduction to Quantum Computing for non-physicists. In this introduction we describe in detail some of the foundational Quantum Algorithms including: the Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm, Shor's Algorithm, Grocer Search, and Quantum Counting Algorithm and briefly the Harrow-Lloyd Algorithm. Additionally we give an introduction to Solomonoff Induction, a theoretically optimal method for prediction. We then attempt to use Quantum computing to find better algorithms for the approximation of Solomonoff Induction. This is done by using techniques from other Quantum computing algorithms to achieve a speedup in computing the speed prior, which is an approximation of Solomonoff's prior, a key part of Solomonoff Induction. The major limiting factors are that the probabilities being computed are often so small that without a sufficient (often large) amount of trials, the error may be larger than the result. If a substantial speedup in the computation of an approximation of Solomonoff Induction can be achieved through quantum computing, then this can be applied to the field of intelligent agents as a key part of an approximation of the agent AIXI.
“An Introduction to Quantum Algorithms” provides an introduction to quantum algorithms, starting with the fundamentals of quantum computing. It covers the basics of quantum mechanics, the potential for quantum speedup, and the challenges and limitations of quantum computing. The chapter also highlights the key differences between classical and quantum computing, focusing on concepts such as bits and qubits, quantum measurement, superposition, and qubit properties, with a detailed explanation of qubit states on the Bloch sphere. Additionally, it explores quantum gates and algorithms, including single-qubit and multiple-qubit gates, the Quantum Fourier Transform (QFT), and important quantum algorithms such as Shor's algorithm for factoring, Grover's algorithm for searching, and Simon's algorithm for collision finding.
In the 1990's it was realized that quantum physics has some spectacular applications in computer science. This book is a concise introduction to quantum computation, developing the basic elements of this new branch of computational theory without assuming any background in physics. It begins with an introduction to the quantum theory from a computer-science perspective. It illustrates the quantum-computational approach with several elementary examples of quantum speed-up, before moving to the major applications: Shor's factoring algorithm, Grover's search algorithm, and quantum error correction. The book is intended primarily for computer scientists who know nothing about quantum theory, but will also be of interest to physicists who want to learn the theory of quantum computation, and philosophers of science interested in quantum foundational issues. It evolved during six years of teaching the subject to undergraduates and graduate students in computer science, mathematics, engineering, and physics, at Cornell University.
Many students taking the theory of computation class have heard about quantum computing and are curious about it. However, the usual technical description of quantum computing requires a large amount of preliminary information, too much to fit into an already packed class. In this paper, we propose a way to introduce technical details of quantum computing that does not require much time – it can be described in less than an hour. As such an introduction, we use a simplified description of the basic case of one of the pioneering algorithms of quantum computing. 1 Formulation of the Pedagogical Problem Quantum computing is very promising. It is known that quantum computing is a promising direction in computing; see, e.g., [4]. Let us just give two examples: • a quantum computing algorithm proposed by Grover enables us to search in an unsorted array of size n in time √ n [2, 3]; • a quantum computing algorithm proposed by Shor enables us to factorize large integers in polynomial time [5]. Since the difficulty of eavesdropping on RSA-encrypted messages – which underlie most current encryption schemes – relies on the difficulty of factoring large integers, this will enable us to read all encrypted messages.
Quantum computing is a modern new paradigm of computation similarly exploiting the standards of quantum mechanics like superposition, entanglement and quantum interference to finish computations a good way to be unfathomable for classical computers. This paper follows the trails to the theoretical foundations of quantum computing and offers with a few essential algorithms for quantum computing like Shor's set of rules for factorization, Grover's set of rules for search, Quantum Fourier Transform and Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA). This paper specializes in how complicated the computation is, mathematical ideas underlying such algorithms and their feasible makes use of in cryptography, optimization and simulation in quantum. By sifting thru the interaction among quantum mechanics and algorithmic design, this paintings offers a few perception into the mechanisms that permit for quantum speedup, the cutting-edge obstacles due to hardware obstacles and mistakess charges and what may be carried out withinside the destiny each theoretically and empirically.
Deutsch's algorithm and Grover's quantum search are theoretically interesting, but it is not obvious that these two algorithms are actually useful for anything important. We next consider a selection of more advanced algorithms, several of which may have real-life applications. Some of these will be too complicated to explain fully, and their properties will only be sketched briefly. The Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm Deutsch's algorithm is simple, but important, as it shows that a quantum algorithm can find a property of an unknown function (its parity) with a smaller number of queries than any possible classical algorithm (one rather than two). For this reason we can say that quantum computing is more efficient than classical computing within the oracle model of function evaluation. (It is widely believed that quantum computing is more efficient than classical computing in general, but this is a surprisingly hard thing to prove.) The simplicity of the algorithm is also an advantage, as it can be implemented on very primitive quantum computers. Beyond this, however, Deutsch's algorithm is also important as the simplest member of a large family of quantum algorithms, including most notably Shor's quantum factoring algorithm. The second simplest algorithm in the family is the Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm, which solves a very closely related problem. Consider an unknown binary function with n input bits, giving N = 2 n possible inputs, and a single output bit.
The quantum algorithms covered in this chapter, i.e., the Deutsch, Deutsch-Jozsa and Bernstein-Vazirani algorithms, have been chosen for their relative simplicity and theoretical interest. They do not address problems of real practical value, their purpose being to demonstrate, using simple examples, the great potential power of quantum computation relative to the digital case. The most significant breakthrough in quantum computing is Shor's integer factorisation algorithm. Shor's algorithm is beyond the scope of this introductory text, but its significance lies in the fact that it demonstrates the potential to factor large integers efficiently. No efficient digital algorithms for factoring large integers exist, and many current encryption algorithms rely on this being the case. Shor's algorithm therefore threatens current encryption methods, and is responsible for much of the recent accelerated interest in quantum computation.