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arXiv:2105.03762 · Journal of Physics A Mathematical and Theoretical

Pretty good state transfer in discrete-time quantum walks

Ada Chan, Hanmeng Zhan

Published Mar 16, 2023• 14 citations
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Abstract

Abstract We establish the theory for pretty good state transfer in discrete-time quantum walks. For a class of walks, we show that pretty good state transfer is characterized by the spectrum of certain Hermitian adjacency matrix of the graph; more specifically, the vertices involved in pretty good state transfer must be strongly cospectral relative to this matrix, and the arccosines of its eigenvalues must satisfy some number theoretic conditions. Using normalized adjacency matrices, cyclic covers, and the theory on linear relations between geodetic angles, we construct several infinite families of walks that exhibits this phenomenon.

DOI
10.1088/1751-8121/acc4f5

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arXiv:2208.08971•SIAM Journal on Applied Algebra and Geometry•Jul 25, 2023•5 citations
Abstract We establish the theory for pretty good state transfer in discrete-time quantum walks. For a class of walks, we show that pretty good state transfer is characterized by the spectrum of certain Hermitian adjacency matrix of the graph; more specifically, the vertices involved in pretty good state transfer must be strongly cospectral relative to this matrix, and the arccosines of its eigenvalues must satisfy some number theoretic conditions. Using normalized adjacency matrices, cyclic covers, and the theory on linear relations between geodetic angles, we construct several infinite families of walks that exhibits this phenomenon.
Quantum computing is believed to provide many advantages over traditional computing, particularly considering the speed at which computations can be performed. One of the challenges that needs to be resolved in order to construct a quantum computer is the transmission of information from one part of the computer to another. Quantum walks, the quantum analogues of classical random walks, provide one potential method for resolving this challenge. \n \nIn this thesis, we use techniques from algebraic graph theory and number theory to analyze the mathematical model for continuous time quantum walks on graphs. For the continuous time quantum walk model, we define a transition operator, which is a function of a Hamiltonian. We focus on the cases where the adjacency matrix or the Laplacian of a graph act as the Hamiltionian. We mainly consider quantum walks on paths as a model for spin chains, which are the underlying basis of a quantum communication protocol. \n \nFor communication to be efficient, we desire states to be transferred with high fidelity, a measure of the amount of similarity between the transmitted state and the received state. At the maximum fidelity of 1, we say we have achieved perfect state transfer. Examples of perfect state transfer are relatively rare, so the concept of pretty good state transfer was introduced as a natural relaxation, which exists if fidelities arbitrarily close to 1 are obtained. \n \nOur first main result is to characterize pretty good state transfer on paths. Previously, pretty good state transfer on paths was considered mainly for the end vertices, though results for both models indicated that if there was pretty good state transfer between the end vertices, then there was pretty good state transfer between internal vertices equidistant from each end. We complete the characterization by demonstrating, for the adjacency matrix model, a family of paths where pretty good state transfer exists between internal vertices but not between end vertices, and verifying that no other example exists. For the Laplacian model, we show that there are no paths with pretty good state transfer between internal vertices but not between the end vertices. \n \nOur second main result considers initial states involving multiple vertices. Under the adjacency matrix model, we provide necessary and sufficient conditions for pretty good state transfer in a particular family of paths in terms of the eigenvalue support of the initial state. We also discuss recent results on fractional revival, which is another form of multiple qubit state transfer.
Given a graph with Hermitian adjacency matrix HHH, perfect state transfer occurs from vertex aaa to vertex bbb if the (b,a)(b,a)(b,a)-entry of the unitary matrix exp⁡(−iHt)\exp(-iHt)exp(−iHt) has unit magnitude for some time ttt. This phenomenon is relevant for information transmission in quantum spin networks and is known to be monogamous under real symmetric matrices. We prove the following results: 1. For oriented graphs (whose nonzero weights are ±i\pm i±i), the oriented 333-cycle and the oriented edge are the only graphs where perfect state transfer occurs between every pair of vertices. This settles a conjecture of Cameron et al. On the other hand, we construct an infinite family of oriented graphs with perfect state transfer between any pair of vertices on a subset of size four. 2. There are infinite families of Hermitian graphs with one-way perfect state transfer, where perfect state transfer occurs without periodicity. In contrast, perfect state transfer implies periodicity whenever the adjacency matrix has algebraic entries (as shown by Godsil). 3. There are infinite families with non-monogamous pretty good state transfer in rooted graph products. In particular, we generalize known results on double stars (due to Fan and Godsil) and on paths with loops (due to Kempton, Lippner and Yau). The latter extends the experimental observation of quantum transport (made by Zimborás et al.) and shows non-monogamous pretty good state transfer can occur amongst distant vertices.
In this paper, we analyze state transfer in quantum walks by using combinatorial methods. We generalize perfect state transfer in two-reflection discrete-time quantum walks to a notion that we call peak state transfer; we define peak state transfer as the highest state transfer that can be achieved between an initial and a target state under unitary evolution, even when perfect state transfer is unattainable. We give a spectral characterization of peak state transfer that allows us to fully characterize peak state transfer in the arc-reversal (Grover) walk on various families of graphs, including strongly regular graphs and incidence graphs of block designs (assuming that the walk starts at a point of the design). In addition, we provide many examples of peak state transfer, including an infinite family where the amount of peak state transfer tends to 111 as the number of vertices grows. We further demonstrate that peak state transfer properties extend to infinite families of graphs generated by vertex blow-ups, and we characterize periodicity in the vertex-face walk on toroidal grids. In our analysis, we make extensive use of the spectral decomposition of a matrix that is obtained by projecting the transition matrix down onto a subspace. Though we are motivated by a problem in quantum computing, we identify several open problems that are purely combinatorial, arising from the spectral conditions required for peak state transfer in discrete-time quantum walks.
Abstract. The adjacency matrix of a graph [Formula: see text] is the Hamiltonian for a continuous-time quantum walk on the vertices of [Formula: see text]. Although the entries of the adjacency matrix are integers, its eigenvalues are generally irrational and, because of this, the behavior of the walk is typically not periodic. In this paper, we develop a theory to exactly study any quantum walk generated by an integral Hamiltonian, and we put emphasis on those with irrational eigenvalues—what we call irrational quantum walks. As a result, we provide exact methods to compute the average of the mixing matrices, and to decide whether pretty good (or almost perfect) state transfer occurs in a given graph. We also use our methods to study geometric properties of beautiful curves arising from entries of the quantum walk matrix and discuss possible applications of these results. Throughout the paper, we emphasize the interplay between different fields of mathematics applied to the study of quantum walks.