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arXiv:2007.07340 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Finding more than one path through a simple maze with a quantum walk

Mark S. Hillery

Published Jan 21, 2021• 3 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Abstract We study quantum walks through chains consisting of two and three star graphs. The first star has a distinguished vertex labelled START and the last has one labelled END. There are multiple paths between these two vertices, and the object is to find these paths. We show that a quantum walk can do this with a quantum speedup.
DOI
10.1088/1751-8121/abde79

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We show that it is possible to use a quantum walk to find a path from one marked vertex to another. In the specific case of MMM stars connected in a chain, one can find the path from the first star to the last one in O(MN)O(M\sqrt{N})O(MN​) steps, where NNN is the number of spokes of each star. First we provide an analytical result showing that by starting in a phase-modulated highly superposed initial state we can find the path in O(MNlogM)O(M\sqrt{N}logM)O(MN​logM) steps. Next, we improve this efficiency by showing that the recovery of the path can also be performed by a series of successive searches when we start at the last known position and search for the next connection in O(N)O(\sqrt{N})O(N​) steps leading to the overall efficiency of O(MN)O(M\sqrt{N})O(MN​). For this result we use the analytical solution that can be obtained for a ring of stars of double the length of the chain.
We study how quantum walks can be used to find structural anomalies in graphs via several examples. Two of our examples are based on star graphs, graphs with a single central vertex to which the other vertices, which we call external vertices, are connected by edges. In the basic star graph, these are the only edges. If we now connect a subset of the external vertices to form a complete subgraph, a quantum walk can be used to find these vertices with a quantum speedup. Thus, under some circumstances, a quantum walk can be used to locate where the connectivity of a network changes. We also look at the case of two stars connected at one of their external vertices. A quantum walk can find the vertex shared by both graphs, again with a quantum speedup. This provides an example of using a quantum walk in order to find where two networks are connected. Finally, we use a quantum walk on a complete bipartite graph to find an extra edge that destroys the bipartite nature of the graph.
We develop a general theory for a quantum-walk search on a star graph. A star graph has N edges each of which is attached to a central vertex. A graph G is attached to one of these edges, and we would like to find out to which edge it is attached. This is done by means of a quantum walk, a quantum version of a random walk. This walk contains O(sqrt[N]) steps, which represents a speedup over a classical search, which would require O(N) steps. The overall graph, star plus G, is divided into two parts, and we find that for a quantum speedup to occur, the eigenvalues associated with these two parts in the N→∞ limit must be the same. Our theory tells us how the initial state of the walk should be chosen, and how many steps the walk must make in order to find G.
Quantum walk is a potent technique for building quantum algorithms. This paper examines the quantum walk search algorithm on complete multipartite graphs with multiple marked vertices, which has not been explored before. Two specific cases of complete multipartite graphs are probed in this paper, and in both cases, each set consists of an equal number of vertices. We employ the coined quantum walk model and achieve quadratic speedup with a constant probability of finding a marked vertex. Furthermore, we investigate the robust quantum walk of two cases and demonstrate that even with an unknown number of marked vertices, it is still possible to achieve a quadratic speedup compared to classical algorithms and the success probability oscillates within a small range close to 1. This work addresses the overcooking problem in quantum walk search algorithms on some complete multipartite graphs. We also provide the numerical simulation and circuit implementation of our quantum algorithm.
Quantum walks are a potent technique for building quantum algorithms. This paper examines the quantum walk search algorithm on complete multipartite graphs with multiple marked vertices, which has not been explored before. We employ the coined quantum walk model and achieve quadratic speedup with a constant probability of finding a marked vertex in two specific cases of complete multipartite graphs. Furthermore, we investigate the robust quantum walk of two cases and demonstrate that even with an unknown number of marked vertices, it is still possible to achieve a quadratic speedup compared to classical algorithms and the success probability oscillates within a small range close to 1. To establish this conclusion, we employ approximation and reduction methods to conduct theoretical analysis and proofs, and provide an intuitive demonstration through numerical simulations. This work addresses the overcooking problem in quantum walk search algorithms on some complete multipartite graphs and may offer insights for robust quantum search on broader graph structures. Finally, we design a circuit for the algorithm that future researchers can use to conduct experiments.
A quantum walk algorithm can detect the presence of a marked vertex on a graph quadratically faster than the corresponding random walk algorithm (Szegedy, FOCS 2004). However, quantum algorithms that actually find a marked element quadratically faster than a classical random walk were only known for the special case when the marked set consists of just a single vertex, or in the case of some specific graphs. We present a new quantum algorithm for finding a marked vertex in any graph, with any set of marked vertices, that is (up to a log factor) quadratically faster than the corresponding classical random walk, resolving a question that had been open for 15 years.