An optical model of computation

Thomas J. Naughton, Damien Woods

Sanguthevar Rajasekaran

Hari Krovi

Abstract I review some work on models of quantum computing, optical implementations of these models, as well as the associated computational power. In particular, we discuss the circuit model and cluster state implementations using quantum optics with various encodings such as dual rail encoding, Gottesman‐Kitaev‐Preskill encoding, and coherent state encoding. Then we discuss intermediate models of optical computing such as boson sampling and its variants. Finally, we review some recent work in optical implementations of adiabatic quantum computing and analog optical computing. We also provide a brief description of the relevant aspects from complexity theory needed to understand the results surveyed.

Thomas J. Naughton

We present a novel and simple theoretical model of computation that captures what we believe are the most important characteristics of an optical Fourier transform processor. We use this abstract model to reason about the computational properties of the physical systems it describes. We define a grammar for our model's instruction language, and use it to write algorithms for well-known filtering and correlation techniques. We also suggest suitable computational complexity measures that could be used to analyze any coherent optical information processing technique, described with the language, for efficiency. Our choice of instruction language allows us to argue that algorithms describable with this model should have optical implementations that do not require a digital electronic computer to act as a master unit. Through simulation of a well known model of computation from computer theory we investigate the general-purpose capabilities of analog optical processors.