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arXiv:2501.08674 · Quantum

Recurrence in discrete-time quantum stochastic walks

M. Štefaňák, Václav Potoček, İ. Yalçınkaya, A. Gábris, Igor Jex

Published Jan 22, 2026• 2 citations

Abstract

Interplay between quantum interference and classical randomness can enhance performance of various quantum information tasks. In the present paper we analyze recurrence phenomena in the discrete-time quantum stochastic walk on a line, which is a quantum stochastic process that interpolates between quantum and classical walk dynamics. Surprisingly, we find that introducing classical randomness can reduce the recurrence probability – despite the fact that the classical random walk returns with certainty – and we identify the conditions under which this intriguing phenomenon occurs. Numerical evaluation of the first-return generating function allows us to investigate the asymptotics of the return probability as the step number approaches infinity. This provides strong evidence that the suppression of recurrence probability is not a transient effect but a robust feature of the underlying quantum-classical interplay in the asymptotic limit. Our results show that for certain tasks discrete-time quantum stochastic walks outperform both classical random walks and unitary quantum walks.

DOI: 10.22331/q-2026-01-22-1982

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Interplay between quantum interference and classical randomness can enhance performance of various quantum information tasks. In the present paper we analyze recurrence phenomena in the discrete-time quantum stochastic walk on a line, which is a quantum stochastic process that interpolates between quantum and classical walk dynamics. Surprisingly, we find that introducing classical randomness can reduce the recurrence probability – despite the fact that the classical random walk returns with certainty – and we identify the conditions under which this intriguing phenomenon occurs. Numerical evaluation of the first-return generating function allows us to investigate the asymptotics of the return probability as the step number approaches infinity. This provides strong evidence that the suppression of recurrence probability is not a transient effect but a robust feature of the underlying quantum-classical interplay in the asymptotic limit. Our results show that for certain tasks discrete-time quantum stochastic walks outperform both classical random walks and unitary quantum walks.

Recurrence in the classical random walk is well known and described by the Pólya number. For quantum walks, recurrence is similarly understood in terms of the probability of a localized quantum walker to return to its origin. Under certain circumstances the quantum walker may also return to an arbitrary initial quantum state in a finite number of steps. Quantum state revivals in quantum walks on cycles using coin operators which are constant in time and uniform across the path have been described before but only incompletely. In this paper we find the general conditions for which full-quantum state revival will occur.

The dynamics of a discrete-time quantum walk subject to time-correlated noise is studied in this paper. The noise, which goes beyond the usual telegraph noise with random variables 1 and $\ensuremath{-}1$, is modeled as a unitary coin-type operator and it is generated by a sample path of the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. Up to the first order in the amplitude of noise, a master equation to describe the walk is derived. The dynamics governed by the master equation is in good agreement with those given by numerical simulations within a certain number of steps, depending on the parameters of noise. Two remarkable features of long-time dynamics are observed in the numerical simulations. (1) In the slow noise regime, with the increase of the noise amplitude, the quantum coherence is suppressed, and the dynamics of noisy discrete-time quantum walk gradually transits to that of classical random walk. (2) In the fast noise regime, the walker is confined into a few lattice sites, and the width of the wave packet is much narrower compared with that in the slow noise regime.

Random walks are fundamental models of stochastic processes with applications in various fields, including physics, biology, and computer science. We study classical and quantum random walks under the influence of stochastic resetting on arbitrary networks. Based on the mathematical formalism of quantum stochastic walks, we provide a framework of classical and quantum walks whose evolution is determined by graph Laplacians. We study the influence of quantum effects on the stationary and long-time average probability distribution by interpolating between the classical and quantum regime. We compare our analytical results on stationary and long-time average probability distributions with numerical simulations on different networks, revealing differences in the way resets affect the sampling properties of classical and quantum walks.

We investigate the effect of stochastic restart/resetting on discrete-time quantum walks concerning its impact on the meantime to absorption in the walk on the one-dimensional lattice terminated by a pair of totally absorbing sites. The two distinguished sites also play the role of an apparatus that detects the moment of time when a quantum walk reaches these boundaries. Our results reveal a notable difference between the quantum walk and its classical counterpart. Specifically, we focus on instances of classical random walks in which stochastic resetting fails to reduce the meantime to absorption. Conversely, we show that stochastic resetting can be utilized to effectively diminish the meantime to absorption in the quantum version of this walk. We relate the observed difference between quantum and classical cases to the fact that restarting the quantum state not only changes position distribution but inevitably changes complementary quasimomentum distribution.