We introduce a discrete difference operator D_k to study the one-dimensional quantum random walk (QRW) with the Hadamard coin. Explicit combinatorial expressions are obtained for the probability amplitudes a(n,k) and b(n,k), which encode the final step direction and carry alternating signs that reflect the merging of leftward steps. Removing these signs and the coin-state distinction recovers the classical binomial distribution. The symmetric and antisymmetric combinations $a\pm b$ are shown to coincide with diagonal and sub-diagonal entries of the Krawtchouk matrix. Using cross identities among Krawtchouk matrix elements, we prove by induction that the amplitudes satisfy a Parseval identity sum (a^2+b^2)=2^n-1, establishing probability conservation in the Krawtchouk formulation. The operator D_k acts as a discrete Hermite polynomial generator: the ratios h_m = (n choose k)^{-1} D_k^m (n choose k) admit explicit closed forms and converge to Hermite polynomials in the continuous limit. At the discrete level, D_k connects successive Krawtchouk matrices and acts as a coherence generator and a raising operator. The h_m quantify the position-dependent degree of quantum interference on both halves of the distribution, either individually (for x >= 0) or through an inverse-Pascal combination of several h_m (for x < 0), and the ballistic O(n^2) scaling of the variance emerges from the superposition of all excited states. Numerical illustrations for n=6 and n=10 corroborate the analytical results.
We introduce a discrete difference operator D_k to study the one-dimensional quantum random walk (QRW) with the Hadamard coin. Explicit combinatorial expressions are obtained for the probability amplitudes a(n,k) and b(n,k), which encode the final step direction and carry alternating signs that reflect the merging of leftward steps. Removing these signs and the coin-state distinction recovers the classical binomial distribution. The symmetric and antisymmetric combinations a±b are shown to coincide with diagonal and sub-diagonal entries of the Krawtchouk matrix. Using cross identities among Krawtchouk matrix elements, we prove by induction that the amplitudes satisfy a Parseval identity sum (a^2+b^2)=2^n-1, establishing probability conservation in the Krawtchouk formulation. The operator D_k acts as a discrete Hermite polynomial generator: the ratios h_m = (n choose k)^{-1} D_k^m (n choose k) admit explicit closed forms and converge to Hermite polynomials in the continuous limit. At the discrete level, D_k connects successive Krawtchouk matrices and acts as a coherence generator and a raising operator. The h_m quantify the position-dependent degree of quantum interference on both halves of the distribution, either individually (for x >= 0) or through an inverse-Pascal combination of several h_m (for x < 0), and the ballistic O(n^2) scaling of the variance emerges from the superposition of all excited states. Numerical illustrations for n=6 and n=10 corroborate the analytical results.
Krawtchouk's polynomials occur classically as orthogonal polynomials with respect to the binomial distribution. They may be also expressed in the form of matrices, that emerge as arrays of the values that the polynomials take. The algebraic properties of these matrices provide a very interesting and accessible example in the approach to probability theory known as quantum probability. First it is noted how the Krawtchouk matrices are connected to the classical symmetric Bernoulli random walk. And we show how to derive Krawtchouk matrices in the quantum probability context via tensor powers of the elementary Hadamard matrix. Then connections with the classical situation are shown by calculating expectation values in the quantum case.
In this paper, a study on discrete-time coined quantum walks on the line is presented. Clear mathematical foundations are still lacking for this quantum walk model. As a step toward this objective, the following question is being addressed: Given a graph, what is the probability that a quantum walk arrives at a given vertex after some number of steps? This is a very natural question, and for random walks it can be answered by several different combinatorial arguments. For quantum walks this is a highly non-trivial task. Furthermore, this was only achieved before for one specific coin operator (Hadamard operator) for walks on the line. Even considering only walks on lines, generalizing these computations to a general SU(2) coin operator is a complex task. The main contribution is a closed-form formula for the amplitudes of the state of the walk (which includes the question above) for a general symmetric SU(2) operator for walks on the line. To this end, a coin operator with parameters that alters the phase of the state of the walk is defined. Then, closed-form solutions are computed by means of Fourier analysis and asymptotic approximation methods. We also present some basic properties of the walk which can be deducted using weak convergence theorems for quantum walks. In particular, the support of the induced probability distribution of the walk is calculated. Then, it is shown how changing the parameters in the coin operator affects the resulting probability distribution.
Quantum walk (QW), which is considered as the quantum counterpart of the classical random walk (CRW), is actually the quantum extension of CRW from the single-coin interpretation. The sequential unitary evolution engenders correlation between different steps in QW and leads to a non-binomial position distribution. In this paper, we propose an alternative quantum extension of CRW from the ensemble interpretation, named quantum random walk (QRW), where the walker has many unrelated coins, modeled as two-level systems, initially prepared in the same state. We calculate the walker’s position distribution in QRW for different initial coin states with the coin operator chosen as Hadamard matrix. In one-dimensional case, the walker’s position is the asymmetric binomial distribution. We further demonstrate that in QRW, coherence leads the walker to perform directional movement. For an initially decoherenced coin state, the walker’s position distribution is exactly the same as that of CRW. Moreover, we study QRW in 2D lattice, where the coherence plays a more diversified role in the walker’s position distribution.
We study the asymptotic position distribution of general quantum walks on a lattice, including walks with a random coin, which is chosen from step to step by a general Markov chain. In the unitary (i.e., nonrandom) case, we allow any unitary operator which commutes with translations and couples only sites at a finite distance from each other. For example, a single step of the walk could be composed of any finite succession of different shift and coin operations in the usual sense, with any lattice dimension and coin dimension. We find ballistic scaling and establish a direct method for computing the asymptotic distribution of position divided by time, namely as the distribution of the discrete time analog of the group velocity. In the random case, we let a Markov chain (control process) pick in each step one of finitely many unitary walks, in the sense described above. In ballistic order, we find a nonrandom drift which depends only on the mean of the control process and not on the initial state. In diffusive scaling, the limiting distribution is asymptotically Gaussian, with a covariance matrix (diffusion matrix) depending on momentum. The diffusion matrix depends not only on the mean but also on the transition rates of the control process. In the nonrandom limit, i.e., when the coins chosen are all very close or the transition rates of the control process are small, leading to long intervals of ballistic evolution, the diffusion matrix diverges. Our method is based on spatial Fourier transforms, and the first and second order perturbation theory of the eigenvalue 1 of the transition operator for each value of the momentum.
It is believed that in the long time limit, the limiting behavior of the discrete-time quantum random walk will cross from quantum to classical if we take into account of the decoherence. The computer simulation has already shown that for the discrete-time one-dimensional Hadamard quantum random walk with coin decoherence such that the measurement operators on the coin space are defined by A0 = Ic √1 − p, A1 = |R > < R| √p and A2 = |L > < L > < L| √p is diffusive when 0 < p ≤ 1 and it is ballistic when P = 0. In this thesis, we are going to let p to be dynamical depending on the step t, that is, we consider p = 1/tß, ß ≥ 0 and we found that it has sub-ballistic behavior for 0 < ß < 1. Furthermore, we study not only the coin decoherence, but the total decoherence, that means the measurement operators apply on the Hilbert space H = Hp ⊗ Hc instead of the coin space only. We find that the results are both sub-ballistic for the coin and total decoherence when 0 < ß < 1. Moreover, according to the model given in [T. A. Brun, H. A. Carteret, and A. Ambainis, Phys. Rev. A 67, 032304 (2003)], we know that if the walker has chance to hop to the second nearest neighbor lattice in one step, the long-time behavior is also sub-ballistic and it is similar to that the walker can hop to the third nearest neighbor lattice in one step. By the way, we also find that if we combine the classical part of the model given in [Jing Zhao and Peiqing Tong. One-dimensional quantum walks subject to next nearest neighbor hopping decoherence, Nanjing Normal University, preprint (2014)] with different step length, then this decoherence will also cross from quantum to classical. Finally, we define the quantum γ-stable walk and obtain the quantum γ-stable law with decoherence. By this decoherence, we can see that the limiting behavior of the quantum stable walk will also cross from quantum to classical and we shows that it spreads out faster than the classical stable walk.
Quantization of a random-walk model is performed by giving a qudit (a multicomponent wave function) to a walker at site and by introducing a quantum coin, which is a matrix representation of a unitary transformation. In quantum walks, the qudit of the walker is mixed according to the quantum coin at each time step, when the walker hops to other sites. As special cases of the quantum walks driven by high-dimensional quantum coins generally studied by Brun, Carteret, and Ambainis, we study the models obtained by choosing rotation as the unitary transformation, whose matrix representations determine quantum coins. We show that Wigner's (2j+1)-dimensional unitary representations of rotations with half-integers j's are useful to analyze the probability laws of quantum walks. For any value of half-integer j, convergence of all moments of walker's pseudovelocity in the long-time limit is proved. It is generally shown for the present models that, if (2j+1) is even, the probability measure of limit distribution is given by a superposition of (2j+1)∕2 terms of scaled Konno's density functions, and if (2j+1) is odd, it is a superposition of j terms of scaled Konno's density functions and a Dirac's delta function at the origin. For the two-, three-, and four-component models, the probability densities of limit distributions are explicitly calculated and their dependence on the parameters of quantum coins and on the initial qudit of walker is completely determined. Comparison with computer simulation results is also shown.