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Quantum Information and Computation

Improving quantum spatial search in two dimensions

Abhijith Jayakumar, Apoorva D. Patel

Published Jun 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The question of whether quantum spatial search in two dimensions can be made optimal has long been an open problem. We report progress towards its resolution by showing that the oracle complexity for target location can be made optimal, by increasing the number of calls to the walk operator that incorporates the graph structure by a logarithmic factor. Our algorithm does not require amplitude amplification. An important ingredient of our algorithm is the implementation of multi-step quantum walks by graph powering, using a coin space of walk-length dependent dimension, which may be of independent interest. Finally, we demonstrate how to implement quantum walks arising from powers of symmetric Markov chains using our methods.

DOI
10.26421/qic19.7-8-2

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The question of whether quantum spatial search in two dimensions can be made optimal has long been an open problem. We report progress towards its resolution by showing that the oracle complexity for target location can be made optimal, by increasing the number of calls to the walk operator that incorporates the graph structure by a logarithmic factor. Our algorithm does not require amplitude amplification. An important ingredient of our algorithm is the implementation of multi-step quantum walks by graph powering, using a coin space of walk-length dependent dimension, which may be of independent interest. Finally, we demonstrate how to implement quantum walks arising from powers of symmetric Markov chains using our methods.
We analyse the eigenvalue and eigenvector structure of the flip-flop quantum walk on regular graphs, explicitly demonstrating how it is quadratically faster than the classical random walk. Then we use it in a controlled spatial search algorithm with multiple target states, and determine the oracle complexity as a function of the spectral gap and the number of target states. The oracle complexity is optimal as a function of the graph size and the number of target states, when the spectral gap of the adjacency matrix is Θ(1)\Theta(1)Θ(1). It is also optimal for spatial search on D>4 dimensional hypercubic lattices. Otherwise it matches the best result available in the literature, with a much simpler algorithm. Our results also yield bounds on the classical hitting time of random walks on regular graphs, which may be of independent interest.
Spatial search and walk processes. Spatial search by quantum walk is database search with the additional constraint that one is required to move through the search space that obeys some locality structure. For example, the data items may be stored at the vertices of a two-dimensional grid. The requirement of moves along the edges of the grid captures the cost of accessing different items starting from some fixed position in the database. One of possible ways of carrying out spatial search is by performing a random walk on the search space or its quantum analog, a quantum walk. The complexity of spatial search by quantum walk is strongly tied to the quantum hitting time [19] of the walk. Let S , with jS j D n, be a finite set of states. Assume that a subset M S of states are marked. We are given a procedure C that, on input x 2 S and an associated data structure d.x/, checks whether the state x is marked. The goal is either to find a marked state when promised that M ¤ ; (search version) or to determine whether M is nonempty (decision version). The algorithm progresses in stages. In the setup stage, we access some state of S (usually a random state). In the walk stage we move from state to state, performing a spatial walk as described below. The moves are called updates. In addition, in the walk stage we perform checks to see if the current state is marked at steps selected by the algorithm. In the classical setting, the transition probabilities of the spatial walk are described by a stochastic matrix P D .px;y/x;y2S . This makes the walk a Markov chain. In every move the algorithm must perform a random transition according to P . The possible x ! y moves, i.e., those with px;y ¤ 0, form the edges of a (directed) graph G, and we say that the Markov chain P has locality structure G. We define the search problem in the classical setting, which carries over to the quantum case with little modification:
The quantum-walk-based spatial search problem aims to find a marked vertex using a quantum walk on a graph with marked vertices. We describe a framework for determining the computational complexity of spatial search by continuous-time quantum walk on arbitrary graphs by providing a recipe for finding the optimal running time and the success probability of the algorithm. The quantum walk is driven by a Hamiltonian derived from the adjacency matrix of the graph modified by the presence of the marked vertices. The success of our framework depends on the knowledge of the eigenvalues and eigenvectors of the adjacency matrix. The spectrum of the Hamiltonian is subsequently obtained from the roots of the determinant of a real symmetric matrix M , the dimensions of which depend on the number of marked vertices. The eigenvectors are determined from a basis of the kernel of M . We show each step of the framework by solving the spatial searching problem on the Johnson graphs with a fixed diameter and with two marked vertices. Our calculations show that the optimal running time is O(N)O(\sqrt {N})O(N​) with an asymptotic probability of 1+ o (1), where N is the number of vertices.
We study quantum algorithms for spatial search on finite dimensional grids. Patel et al. and Falk have proposed algorithms based on a quantum walk without a coin, with different operators applied at even and odd steps. Until now, such algorithms have been studied only using numerical simulations. In this paper, we present the first rigorous analysis for an algorithm of this type, showing that the optimal number of steps is O(Nlog⁡N)O(\sqrt{N\log N})O(NlogN​) and the success probability is O(1/log⁡N)O(1/\log N)O(1/logN), where NNN is the number of vertices. This matches the performance achieved by algorithms that use other forms of quantum walks.
One of the most important algorithmic applications of quantum walks is to solve spatial search problems. A widely used quantum algorithm for this problem, introduced by Childs and Goldstone [Phys. Rev. A 70, 022314 (2004)], finds a marked node on a graph of nnn nodes via a continuous-time quantum walk. This algorithm is said to be optimal if it can find any of the nodes in O(n)O(\sqrt{n})O(n​) time. However, given a graph, no general conditions for the optimality of the algorithm are known and previous works demonstrating optimal quantum search for certain graphs required an instance-specific analysis. In fact, the demonstration of the necessary and sufficient conditions that a graph must fulfill for quantum search to be optimal has been a long-standing open problem. In this work we make significant progress towards solving this problem. We derive general expressions, depending on the spectral properties of the Hamiltonian driving the walk, that predict the performance of this quantum search algorithm provided certain spectral conditions are fulfilled. Our predictions are valid, for example, for (normalized) Hamiltonians whose spectral gap is considerably larger than ${n}^{\ensuremath{-}1/2}$. This allows us to derive necessary and sufficient conditions for optimal quantum search in this regime, as well as provide examples of graphs where quantum search is suboptimal. In addition, by extending this analysis, we are also able to show the optimality of quantum search for certain graphs with very small spectral gaps, such as graphs that can be efficiently partitioned into clusters. Our results imply that, to the best of our knowledge, all prior results analytically demonstrating the optimality of this algorithm for specific graphs can be recovered from our general results.
We study quantum algorithms for spatial search on finite dimensional grids. Patel \textit{et al.}~and Falk have proposed algorithms based on a quantum walk without a coin, with different operators applied at even and odd steps. Until now, such algorithms have been studied only using numerical simulations. In this paper, we present the first rigorous analysis for an algorithm of this type, showing that the optimal number of steps is O(Nlog⁡N)O(\sqrt{N\log N})O(NlogN​) and the success probability is O(1/log⁡N)O(1/\log N)O(1/logN), where NNN is the number of vertices. This matches the performance achieved by algorithms that use other forms of quantum walks.