Dong Ruan, Gui‐Lu Long, Shi-Jie WEI +1 more
Quantum computing exploits quantum mechanical properties to perform computations. It enables quantum parallelism and provides much more powerful data processing capabilities than classical computers. With a quantum computer, one can exponentially accelerate quantum system simulation and accelerate some important classical algorithms. Traditional quantum algorithms use unitary evolution to process information. A quantum computing process is the product of a series of unitary operators. In 1994, Shor invented a quantum prime factorization algorithm that exponentially accelerates the factorization of an integer. In 1996, Grover proposed a quantum search algorithm that accelerates the search of an unsorted database using square-root steps. Afterwards, the development of quantum algorithms slowed down, leading to a subsequent query by Shor in 2003 regarding why no more significant quantum algorithms have been found. Since 2009, many important new quantum algorithms have been proposed, such as a quantum algorithm for solving linear equations with the capability of exponential acceleration, a quantum algorithm for sparse Hamiltonian simulation using linear combinations of unitary operators, and a novel algorithm for Hamiltonian simulation, which provides exponential improvements in precision. In this paper, we first describe the basic principles of quantum computation. We then describe the Shor algorithm and Grover/Long search algorithm. These quantum algorithms are the general quantum algorithms that use unitary operations in their computational processes. Next, we introduce the basic principles of duality quantum computing, which was proposed in 2002. In contrast to traditional quantum computing, duality quantum computing allows the use of linear combinations of unitary operators in the computation process, meaning the multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction of unitary operators are all possible in duality quantum computing. Thus, duality quantum computing provides more flexibility for constructing quantum algorithms and the techniques used in classical algorithm design can be directly used to construct quantum algorithms. We then review recent work regarding newer quantum algorithms that enable the linear combination of unitary operators, which are actually duality quantum algorithms. Additionally, a duality quantum simulation algorithm for open quantum systems is introduced. This algorithm not only reduces computational complexity, but also improves accuracy exponentially. Finally, a summary and the future prospects of quantum algorithms are provided.
Scientia Sinica Informationis•Sep 25, 2017•8 citations