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Application of quantum walks on graph structures to quantum computing

Neil B. Lovett

Published Mar 1, 2011• 6 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Quantum computation is a new computational paradigm which can provide fundamentally faster computation than in the classical regime. This is dependent on finding efficient quantum algorithms for problems of practical interest. One of the most successful tools in developing new quantum algorithms is the quantum walk. In this thesis, we explore two applications of the discrete time quantum walk. In addition, we introduce an experimental scheme for generating cluster states, a universal resource for quantum computation. We give an explicit construction which provides a link between the circuit model of quantum computation, and a graph structure on which the discrete time quantum walk traverses, performing the same computation. We implement a universal gate set, proving the discrete time quantum walk is universal for quantum computation, thus confirming any quantum algorithm can be recast as a quantum walk algorithm. In addition, we study factors affecting the efficiency of the quantum walk search algorithm. Although there is a strong dependence on the spatial dimension of the structure being searched, we find secondary dependencies on other factors including the connectivity and disorder (symmetry). Fairly intuitively, as the connectivity increases, the efficiency of the algorithm increases, as the walker can coalesce on the marked state with higher probability in a quicker time. In addition, we find as disorder in the system increases, the algorithm can maintain the quantum speed up for a certain level of disorder before gradually reverting to the classical run time. Finally, we give an abstract scheme for generating cluster states. We see a linear scaling, better than many schemes, as doubling the size of the generating grid in our scheme produces a cluster state which is double the depth. Our scheme is able to create other interesting topologies of entangled states, including the unit cell for topological error correcting schemes.

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arXiv:2004.05956•Scientific Reports•Jul 26, 2023•12 citations
Quantum computation is a new computational paradigm which can provide fundamentally faster computation than in the classical regime. This is dependent on finding efficient quantum algorithms for problems of practical interest. One of the most successful tools in developing new quantum algorithms is the quantum walk. In this thesis, we explore two applications of the discrete time quantum walk. In addition, we introduce an experimental scheme for generating cluster states, a universal resource for quantum computation. We give an explicit construction which provides a link between the circuit model of quantum computation, and a graph structure on which the discrete time quantum walk traverses, performing the same computation. We implement a universal gate set, proving the discrete time quantum walk is universal for quantum computation, thus confirming any quantum algorithm can be recast as a quantum walk algorithm. In addition, we study factors affecting the efficiency of the quantum walk search algorithm. Although there is a strong dependence on the spatial dimension of the structure being searched, we find secondary dependencies on other factors including the connectivity and disorder (symmetry). Fairly intuitively, as the connectivity increases, the efficiency of the algorithm increases, as the walker can coalesce on the marked state with higher probability in a quicker time. In addition, we find as disorder in the system increases, the algorithm can maintain the quantum speed up for a certain level of disorder before gradually reverting to the classical run time. Finally, we give an abstract scheme for generating cluster states. We see a linear scaling, better than many schemes, as doubling the size of the generating grid in our scheme produces a cluster state which is double the depth. Our scheme is able to create other interesting topologies of entangled states, including the unit cell for topological error correcting schemes.
Random walks are a powerful tool for the efficient implementation of algorithms in classical computation. Their quantum-mechanical analogues, called quantum walks, hold similar promise. Quantum walks provide a model of quantum computation that has recently been shown to be equivalent in power to the standard circuit model. As in the classical case, quantum walks take place on graphs and can undergo discrete or continuous evolution, though quantum evolution is unitary and therefore deterministic until a measurement is made. This thesis considers the usefulness of continuous-time quantum walks to quantum computation from the perspectives of both their fundamental power under various formulations, and their applicability in practical experiments. In one extant scheme, logical gates are effected by scattering processes. The results of an exhaustive search for single-qubit operations in this model are presented. It is shown that the number of distinct operations increases exponentially with the number of vertices in the scattering graph. A catalogue of all graphs on up to nine vertices that implement single-qubit unitaries at a specific set of momenta is included in an appendix. I develop a novel scheme for universal quantum computation called the discontinuous quantum walk, in which a continuous-time quantum walker takes discrete steps of evolution via perfect quantum state transfer through small `widget' graphs. The discontinuous quantum-walk scheme requires an exponentially sized graph, as do prior discrete and continuous schemes. To eliminate the inefficient vertex resource requirement, a computation scheme based on multiple discontinuous walkers is presented. In this model, n interacting walkers inhabiting a graph with 2n vertices can implement an arbitrary quantum computation on an input of length n, an exponential savings over previous universal quantum walk schemes. This is the first quantum walk scheme that allows for the application of quantum error correction. The many-particle quantum walk can be viewed as a single quantum walk undergoing perfect state transfer on a larger weighted graph, obtained via equitable partitioning. I extend this formalism to non-simple graphs. Examples of the application of equitable partitioning to the analysis of quantum walks and many-particle quantum systems are discussed.
Discrete-time quantum walks are among the branches of quantum information and computation. They are platforms for developing quantum algorithms for quantum computers. In addition, due to their universal primitive nature, discrete-time quantum walks have been used to simulate other quantum systems and phenomena that are observed in physics and chemistry. To fully utilize the potentials that the discrete-time quantum walks hold in their applications, control over the discrete-time quantum walks and their properties becomes essential. In this dissertation, we propose two models for attaining a high level of control over the discrete-time quantum walks. In the first one, we incorporate a dynamical nature for the unitary operator performing the quantum walks. This enables us to readily control the properties of the walker and produce diverse behaviors for it. We show that with our proposal, the important properties of the discrete-time quantum walks such as variance would indeed improve. To explore the potential of this proposal, we apply it in the simulations of topological phases in condensed matter physics. With our proposal, we can control the simulations and determine the type of topological phenomena that should be simulated. In addition, we confirm simulations of topological phases and boundary states that can be observed in one-, two- and three-dimensional systems. Finally, we report the emergence of exotic phase structures in form of cell-like structures that contain all types of topological phases and boundary states of certain classes. In our second proposal, we take advantage of resources available in quantum mechanics, namely quantum entanglement and entangled qubits. In this proposal, we use entangled qubits in the structure of a quantum walk and show that by tuning the initial entanglement between these qubits and how these qubits are modified through the walk, one is able to produce diverse behaviors for the quantum walk and control its behavior.
The quantum walk is a method for conceptualizing and designing quantum computing algorithms and it comes in two forms: the continuous-time and discrete-time quantum walk. The thesis is organized into three parts, each of which looks to develop the concept and uses of the quantum walk. The first part is the theory of the quantum walk. This includes definitions and considerations for the various incarnations of the discrete-time quantum walk and a discussion on the general method for connecting the continuous-time and discrete-time versions. As a result, it is shown that most versions of the discrete-time quantum walk can be put into a general form and this can be used to simulate any continuous-time quantum walk. The second part uses these results for a hypothetical application. The application presented is a search algorithm that appears to scale in the time for completion independent of the size of the search space. This behavior is then elaborated upon and shown to have general qualitative agreement with simulations to within the approximations that are made. The third part introduces a method of implementation. Given a universal quantum computer, the method is discussed and shown to simulate an arbitrary discrete-time quantum walk. Some of the benefits of this method are that half the unitary evolution can be achieved without the use of any gates and there may be some possibility for error detection. The three parts combined suggest a possible experiment, given a quantum computing scheme of sufficient robustness.
Quantum computing is a new field of computer science that leverage the quan-tum properties of atomic and subatomic particles for solving computational tasks.However, quantum computing provides very little intuition on how it works. Thismakes the identification of computational tasks with a potential quantum speedupand the elaboration of quantum algorithms for said tasks very difficult. In this context,this thesis focuses on a quantum dynamical system called Discrete Time QuantumWalk (DTQW). DTQWs are dynamical systems with discrete time and space whichare inspired from random walks. This thesis focuses on the problem of searchingan element in an unstructured database. It is known in the literature that searchingpan element with a DTQW on a grid has a quasi-square-root (i.e. O( n poly-log n))complexity in the dataset size n. This provides a significant quantum speedup overthe linear complexity of classical brute-force or random walk based algorithms. A firstcontribution of this thesis shows that, when two elements are searched, the worst casecomplexity becomes quasi-linear while the average case complexity remains quasi-square-root. Moving on from grids to arbitrary topologies, a second contributionintroduces a new model of DTQW onto the edges of an arbitrary graph. This modelunique features are: (i) the position which is on the edges; (ii) a polarity on each edgethat generalizes the notion of right and left we have on a line. A third contributionintroduces a model of quantum distributed computing and shows how this model onan arbitrary graph can reproduce the dynamic of a DTQW on the same graph.
Quantum walks are the quantum-mechanical analog of random walks, in which a quantum ``walker'' evolves between initial and final states by traversing the edges of a graph, either in discrete steps from node to node or via continuous evolution under the Hamiltonian furnished by the adjacency matrix of the graph. We present a hybrid scheme for universal quantum computation in which a quantum walker takes discrete steps of continuous evolution. This ``discontinuous'' quantum walk employs perfect quantum-state transfer between two nodes of specific subgraphs chosen to implement a universal gate set, thereby ensuring unitary evolution without requiring the introduction of an ancillary coin space. The run time is linear in the number of simulated qubits and gates. The scheme allows multiple runs of the algorithm to be executed almost simultaneously by starting walkers one time step apart.
Universal quantum computation can be realised using both continuous-time and discrete-time quantum walks. We present a version based on single particle discrete-time quantum walk to realize multi-qubit computation tasks. The scalability of the scheme is demonstrated by using a set of walk operations on a closed lattice form to implement the universal set of quantum gates on multi-qubit system. We also present a set of experimentally realizable walk operations that can implement Grover's algorithm, quantum Fourier transformation and quantum phase estimation algorithms. An elementary implementation of error detection and correction is also presented. Analysis of space and time complexity of the scheme highlights the advantages of quantum walk based model for quantum computation on systems where implementation of quantum walk evolution operations is an inherent feature of the system.