In this paper, we study the following variant of the junta learning problem. We are given oracle access to a Boolean function f on n variables that only depends on k variables, and, when restricted to them, equals some predefined function h. The task is to identify the variables the function depends on. This is a generalisation of the Bernstein-Vazirani problem [1] (when h is the XOR function) and the combinatorial group testing problem [2] (when h is the OR function). We analyse the general case using the adversary bound, and give an alternative formulation for the quantum query complexity of this problem. We construct optimal quantum query algorithms for the cases when h is the OR function (complexity is square root of k) or the exact-half function (complexity is the fourth power root of k). The first algorithm resolves an open problem from. For the case when h is the majority function, we prove an upper bound of the fourth power root of k. We obtain a quartic improvement when compared to the randomised complexity (if h is the exact-half or the majority function), and a quadratic one when compared to the non-adaptive quantum complexity (for all functions considered in the paper).
In this paper, we study the following variant of the junta learning problem. We are given oracle access to a Boolean function f on n variables that only depends on k variables, and, when restricted to them, equals some predefined function h. The task is to identify the variables the function depends on. This is a generalisation of the Bernstein-Vazirani problem [1] (when h is the XOR function) and the combinatorial group testing problem [2] (when h is the OR function). We analyse the general case using the adversary bound, and give an alternative formulation for the quantum query complexity of this problem. We construct optimal quantum query algorithms for the cases when h is the OR function (complexity is square root of k) or the exact-half function (complexity is the fourth power root of k). The first algorithm resolves an open problem from. For the case when h is the majority function, we prove an upper bound of the fourth power root of k. We obtain a quartic improvement when compared to the randomised complexity (if h is the exact-half or the majority function), and a quadratic one when compared to the non-adaptive quantum complexity (for all functions considered in the paper).
In this paper, we study the following variant of the junta learning problem. We are given oracle access to a Boolean function f on n variables that only depends on k variables, and, when restricted to them, equals some predefined function h. The task is to identify the variables the function depends on. When h is the XOR or the OR function, this gives a restricted variant of the Bernstein-Vazirani or the combinatorial group testing problem, respectively. We analyse the general case using the adversary bound, and give an alternative formulation for the quantum query complexity of this problem. We construct optimal quantum query algorithms for the cases when h is the OR function (complexity is Θ(k)) or the exact-half function (complexity is Θ(k1/4)). The first algorithm resolves an open problem from arXiv:1210.1148. For the case when h is the majority function, we prove an upper bound of O(k1/4). All these algorithms can be made exact. We obtain a quartic improvement when compared to the randomised complexity (if h is the exact-half or the majority function), and a quadratic one when compared to the non-adaptive quantum complexity (for all functions considered in the paper).
In the k-junta testing problem, a tester has to efficiently decide whether a given function f: {0,1}n → {0,1} is a k-junta (i.e., depends on at most k of its input bits) or is ∈-far from any k-junta. Our main result is a quantum algorithm for this problem with query complexity Ō(√∈) and time complexity Ō(n√∈). This quadratically improves over the query complexity of the previous best quantum junta tester, due to Atici and Servedio. Our tester is based on a new quantum algorithm for a gapped version of the combinatorial group testing problem, with an up to quartic improvement over the query complexity of the best classical algorithm. For our upper bound on the time complexity we give a near-linear time implementation of a shallow variant of the quantum Fourier transform over the symmetric group, similar to the Schur-Weyl transform. We also prove a lower bound of ω(k1/3) queries for junta-testing (for constant ∈).
In the k-junta testing problem, a tester has to efficiently decide whether a given function f: {0, 1}n → {0, 1} is a k-junta (i.e., depends on at most k of its input bits) or is ∊-far from any k-junta. Our main result is a quantum algorithm for this problem with query complexity and time complexity . This quadratically improves over the query complexity of the previous best quantum junta tester, due to Atıcı and Servedio. Our tester is based on a new quantum algorithm for a gapped version of the combinatorial group testing problem, with an up to quartic improvement over the query complexity of the best classical algorithm. For our upper bound on the time complexity we give a near-linear time implementation of a shallow variant of the quantum Fourier transform over the symmetric group, similar to the Schur-Weyl transform. We also prove a lower bound of Ω(k1/3) queries for junta-testing (for constant ∊).
We discuss quantum algorithms based on the Bernstein–Vazirani algorithm for finding which input variables a Boolean function depends on. There are 2 n possible linear Boolean functions of n input variables; given a linear Boolean function, the Bernstein–Vazirani quantum algorithm can deterministically identify which one of these Boolean functions we are given using just one single function query. We show how the same quantum algorithm can also be used to learn which input variables any other type of Boolean function} depends on. The success probability of learning that the function depends on a particular input variable depends on} the form of the Boolean function that is tested, but does not depend on the total number of input variables. We also outline a procedure based on another quantum algorithm, the Grover search, to amplify further the success probability. Finally, we discuss quantum algorithms for learning the exact form of certain quadratic and cubic Boolean functions.
We study the query complexity of testing quantum juntas. Given an unknown n-qubit unitary or quantum channel, the goal is to decide whether it acts nontrivially on at most k qubits or is ε-far from every such operation. For unitaries, we consider the forward-only model, where the tester has access to U, but not to U† or controlled-U. We give tight bounds for both unitary and channel junta testing. For sufficiently large k, n≥2k, and a broad range of ε, both problems have query complexity Θ(k/(ε2logk)). Our upper bounds are achieved by simple nonadaptive testers using product inputs and single-qubit measurements. For junta channels, this closes the gap by Bao and Yao (COLT 23, TPAMI 2025) between an O(k) upper bound and a Ω(k) lower bound at constant ε, establishing the optimal Θ(k/logk) query complexity. At the heart of both bounds is a strong connection between quantum junta testing and classical support-size testing. For the upper bounds, we reduce quantum junta testing to a generalized support-size problem for distributions over random subsets, and develop a new tester with improved sample complexity. For the lower bounds, we proceed in the reverse direction, reducing classical support-size testing to quantum junta testing through a phase-masked hard ensemble and showing that forward quantum queries can be exactly classicalized on average. Together, these reductions identify support-size testing as the classical core of quantum junta testing and yield matching lower bounds. At constant ε, they also give a separation between Θ(k/logk) forward queries and O(k) queries with inverse access.
We establish the first super-polynomial quantum advantage for the tolerant junta testing problem in the adaptive setting. Specifically, we show that within a certain parameter regime, tolerant k-junta testing with high precision can be solved using poly(k) quantum queries, whereas any classical algorithm requires at least kΩ(logk) queries.
The problem of tolerant k-junta testing is as follows: given parameters (k,ε1,ε2), with 0≤ε1<ε2≤1/2, and black-box access to a Boolean function f (defined on n variables), distinguish whether f is ε1-close to some k-junta or ε2-far from every k-junta.
We show the quantum advantage for a range of parameters close to 1/2, for example, ε1=1/2−1/k and ε2=1/2−1/(2k2). The (non-adaptive) quantum tester we use was given by a recent work of Bao, Liu, Yao, Ye, and Zhang (SOSA 2026). We slightly adapt their analysis to show that it holds in the above parameter regime. On the other hand, our classical lower bound requires substantial new ideas. Inspired by the lower bound techniques of Chen and Patel (FOCS 2023), we introduce a new hard distribution of ``yes'' instances (i.e., instances with distance at most ε1 to k-juntas) that is based on planting an ``approximate-junta'' as follows: we randomly pick k out of n coordinates, and for each fixing of the k coordinates, the 2n−k values in the restricted subcube are drawn randomly except for the set of points in an error-correcting code on which we place the same random bit. We show that this distribution is much closer to k-juntas than the uniform distribution, but on the other hand, they are indistinguishable with respect to any classical algorithm making ko(logk) queries.