We examine the application of quantum algorithms to the non-Abelian hidden subgroup problem and focus on the dihedral hidden subgroup problem (DHSP). Ettinger and Høyer have recently discovered an algorithm which, although efficient in the number of operations of the quantum computation, requires classical post-processing which grows exponentially with the size of the input. We first show that the DHSP can be reduced to another problem: how to efficiently estimate an unknown shift k , in a one-to-one map f : M → M , given two oracles which provide x → f ( x ), and x → f ( x ⊕ k ), with k and f unknown. We devise an algorithm which uses amplitude amplification to obtain an estimate for the unknown shift k in a number (( M ) 1/2 ) oracle calls.
We examine the application of quantum algorithms to the non-Abelian hidden subgroup problem and focus on the dihedral hidden subgroup problem (DHSP). Ettinger and Høyer have recently discovered an algorithm which, although efficient in the number of operations of the quantum computation, requires classical post-processing which grows exponentially with the size of the input. We first show that the DHSP can be reduced to another problem: how to efficiently estimate an unknown shift k , in a one-to-one map f : M → M , given two oracles which provide x → f ( x ), and x → f ( x ⊕ k ), with k and f unknown. We devise an algorithm which uses amplitude amplification to obtain an estimate for the unknown shift k in a number (( M ) 1/2 ) oracle calls.
Consider the following generalized hidden shift problem: given a function f on {0,...,M-1} x Z_N satisfying f(b,x)=f(b+1,x+s) for b=0,1,...,M-2, find the unknown shift s in Z_N. For M=N, this problem is an instance of the abelian hidden subgroup problem, which can be solved efficiently on a quantum computer, whereas for M=2, it is equivalent to the dihedral hidden subgroup problem, for which no efficient algorithm is known. For any fixed positive epsilon, we give an efficient (i.e., poly(log N)) quantum algorithm for this problem provided M > N^epsilon. The algorithm is based on the "pretty good measurement" and uses H. Lenstra's (classical) algorithm for integer programming as a subroutine.
We present a quantum algorithm for the dihedral hidden subgroup problem (DHSP) with time and query complexity 2O(logN). In this problem an oracle computes a function f on the dihedral group DN which is invariant under a hidden reflection in DN. By contrast, the classical query complexity of DHSP is O(N). The algorithm also applies to the hidden shift problem for an arbitrary finitely generated abelian group. The algorithm begins as usual with a quantum character transform, which in the case of DN is essentially the abelian quantum Fourier transform. This yields the name of a group representation of DN, which is not by itself useful, and a state in the representation, which is a valuable but indecipherable qubit. The algorithm proceeds by repeatedly pairing two unfavorable qubits to make a new qubit in a more favorable representation of DN. Once the algorithm obtains certain target representations, direct measurements reveal the hidden subgroup.
We study quantum algorithms for the hidden subgroup problem (HSP). The HSP provides a unified framework for many important problems, including factoring integers, graph isomorphism problem, etc. It has been known that the problem for abelian groups can be efficiently solved. However, for non-abelian groups, it remains widely open. In this dissertation we study the problem for some specific non-abelian groups, called q-hedral groups.
We start with a quantum algorithm, proposed by Moore et al. (2003), for finding some hidden conjugate subgroups of affine groups, a special case of q-hedral groups for large q. We then adapt their algorithm to construct an algorithm for solving the hidden conjugate problem for q-hedral groups for large q and point out a difficulty in complexity analysis that involves certain exponential sums. We discuss certain bounds on these sums and present some computational data on their values to make a conjecture.
For small q, Regev (2003) gave an efficient algorithm for solving the HSP for dihedral groups (q = 2) using an oracle that solves a certain subset sum problem (SSP). A crucial step of his algorithm relies on the probability that elements in a cyclic group ZN can be expressed as sums of random elements in the group. We generalize this problem to any finite group and prove the following theorem: for any finite group G and r ≥ 32 log2 |G| + 5, if r elements from G are chosen randomly, then the 2r possible sums (or products) of the r elements will cover all the elements in G with high probability. Also, by making a further generalization of the SSP, we show that Regev's algorithm can be generalized for q-hedral groups for any fixed q. We also study this generalized subset sum problem.
In addition to the algorithm developing for small q, we give an efficient quantum algorithm for solving the coset problem and an efficient quantum algorithm for solving the hidden conjugate problem. Furthermore, we also give a survey of an algorithm for finding the largest normal subgroup in a hidden subgroup of any finite group, introduced by Hallgren et al. (2000) and provide a simplified and unified proof.
After Shor's discovery of an efficient quantum algorithm for integer factoring, hidden subgroup problems play a central role in developing efficient quantum algorithms. In spite of many intensive studies, no efficient quantum algorithms are known for hidden subgroup problems for many non-Abelian groups. Of particular interest are the hidden subgroup problems for the symmetric group and for the dihedral group, because an efficient algorithm for the former implies an efficient solution to the graph isomorphism problem, and that for the latter essentially solves a certain lattice-related problem whose hardness is assumed in cryptography. This paper focuses on the latter case and gives a comprehensive survey of known facts related to the dihedral hidden subgroup problem.
Difference sets are basic combinatorial structures that have applications in signal processing, coding theory, and cryptography. We consider the problem of identifying a shifted version of the characteristic function of a (known) difference set. We present a generic quantum algorithm that can be used to tackle any hidden shift problem for any difference set in any abelian group. We discuss special cases of this framework where the resulting quantum algorithm is efficient. This includes: a) Paley difference sets based on quadratic residues in finite fields, which allows to recover the shifted Legendre function quantum algorithm, b) Hadamard difference sets, which allows to recover the shifted bent function quantum algorithm, and c) Singer difference sets based on finite geometries. The latter class allows us to define instances of the dihedral hidden subgroup problem that can be efficiently solved on a quantum computer.
The hidden subgroup problem~(HSP) is one of the most important problems in quantum computation. Many problems for which quantum algorithm achieves exponential speedup over its classical counterparts can be reduced to the Abelian HSP. However, there is no efficient quantum algorithm for solving the non-Abelian HSP. We find that the HSP can be reduced to a nested structured search problem that is solved efficiently by using a quantum algorithm via multistep quantum computation. Then we solve the HSP and problems that can be reduced to both the Abelian and the non-Abelian HSP in polynomial time by using this algorithm.