We study classical and quantum learning algorithms with access to data produced by a quantum process. First, we consider the problem of learning quantum states and, in the framework of the probably approximately correct (PAC) model, prove that stabiliser states are efficiently learnable. Second, we introduce a generative model based on artificial neural networks capable of finding efficient representations of quantum states and assess its performance on states with varying levels of complexity. Third, we discuss the time complexity of classical and quantum learning algorithms and prove that Boolean functions in disjunctive normal form are efficiently quantum PAC learnable under product distributions.
We study classical and quantum learning algorithms with access to data produced by a quantum process. First, we consider the problem of learning quantum states and, in the framework of the probably approximately correct (PAC) model, prove that stabiliser states are efficiently learnable. Second, we introduce a generative model based on artificial neural networks capable of finding efficient representations of quantum states and assess its performance on states with varying levels of complexity. Third, we discuss the time complexity of classical and quantum learning algorithms and prove that Boolean functions in disjunctive normal form are efficiently quantum PAC learnable under product distributions.
Here we study the comparative power of classical and quantum learners for generative modelling within the Probably Approximately Correct (PAC) framework. More specifically we consider the following task: Given samples from some unknown discrete probability distribution, output with high probability an efficient algorithm for generating new samples from a good approximation of the original distribution. Our primary result is the explicit construction of a class of discrete probability distributions which, under the decisional Diffie-Hellman assumption, is provably not efficiently PAC learnable by a classical generative modelling algorithm, but for which we construct an efficient quantum learner. This class of distributions therefore provides a concrete example of a generative modelling problem for which quantum learners exhibit a provable advantage over classical learning algorithms. In addition, we discuss techniques for proving classical generative modelling hardness results, as well as the relationship between the PAC learnability of Boolean functions and the PAC learnability of discrete probability distributions.
The exponential scaling of the wave function is a fundamental property of quantum systems with far reaching implications in our ability to process quantum information. A problem where these are particularly relevant is quantum state tomography. State tomography, whose objective is to obtain an approximate description of a quantum system, can be analysed in the framework of computational learning theory. In this model, Aaronson (2007) showed that quantum states are Probably Approximately Correct (PAC)-learnable with sample complexity linear in the number of qubits. However, it is conjectured that in general quantum states require an exponential amount of computation to be learned. Here, using results from the literature on the efficient classical simulation of quantum systems, we show that stabiliser states are efficiently PAC-learnable. Our results solve an open problem formulated by Aaronson (2007) and establish a connection between classical simulation of quantum systems and efficient learnability.
There is currently a large interest in understanding the potential advantages quantum devices can offer for probabilistic modelling. In this work we investigate, within two different oracle models, the probably approximately correct (PAC) learnability of quantum circuit Born machines, i.e., the output distributions of local quantum circuits. We first show a negative result, namely, that the output distributions of super-logarithmic depth Clifford circuits are not sample-efficiently learnable in the statistical query model, i.e., when given query access to empirical expectation values of bounded functions over the sample space. This immediately implies the hardness, for both quantum and classical algorithms, of learning from statistical queries the output distributions of local quantum circuits using any gate set which includes the Clifford group. As many practical generative modelling algorithms use statistical queries -- including those for training quantum circuit Born machines -- our result is broadly applicable and strongly limits the possibility of a meaningful quantum advantage for learning the output distributions of local quantum circuits. As a positive result, we show that in a more powerful oracle model, namely when directly given access to samples, the output distributions of local Clifford circuits are computationally efficiently PAC learnable by a classical learner. Our results are equally applicable to the problems of learning an algorithm for generating samples from the target distribution (generative modelling) and learning an algorithm for evaluating its probabilities (density modelling). They provide the first rigorous insights into the learnability of output distributions of local quantum circuits from the probabilistic modelling perspective.
The probably approximately correct (PAC) model [Leslie G. Valiant, 1984] is a well studied model in classical learning theory. Here, we generalize the PAC model from concepts of Boolean functions to quantum channels, introducing PAC model for learning quantum channels, and give two sample efficient algorithms that are analogous to the classical "Occam’s razor" result [Blumer et al., 1987]. The classical Occam’s razor algorithm is done trivially by excluding any concepts not compatible with the input-output pairs one gets, but such an approach is not immediately possible with a concept class of quantum channels, because the outputs are unknown quantum states from the quantum channel. To study the quantum state learning problem associated with PAC learning quantum channels, we focus on the special case where the channels all have constant output. In this special case, learning the channels reduce to a problem of learning quantum states that is similar to the well known quantum state discrimination problem [Joonwoo Bae and Leong-Chuan Kwek, 2017], but with the extra twist that we allow ε-trace-distance-error in the output. We call this problem Approximate State Discrimination, which we believe is a natural problem that is of independent interest. We give two algorithms for learning quantum channels in PAC model. The first algorithm has sample complexity O((log|C| + log(1/ δ))/(ε²)), but only works when the outputs are pure states, where C is the concept class, ε is the error of the output, and δ is the probability of failure of the algorithm. The second algorithm has sample complexity O((log³|C|(log|C|+log(1/ δ)))/(ε²)), and work for mixed state outputs. Some implications of our results are that we can PAC-learn a polynomial sized quantum circuit in polynomial samples, and approximate state discrimination can be solved in polynomial samples even when the size of the input set is exponential in the number of qubits, exponentially better than a naive state tomography.
This thesis studies strengths and weaknesses of quantum computers. In the first part we present three contributions to quantum algorithms. 1) consider a search space of N elements. One of these elements is "marked" and our goal is to find this. We describe a quantum algorithm to solve this problem using essentially sqrt{N} queries and other operations, improving over the gate count of Grover's algorithm. 2) We give a succinct characterization of quantum algorithms in terms of polynomials, and develop a new technique for showing upper and lower bounds on quantum query complexity based on this. 3) One generic technique used to compute the minimum of a given function is "gradient descent". We present a quantum gradient-calculation algorithm and a gradient-optimization algorithm that is quadratically faster than classical algorithms. In the second part of this thesis we look at quantum learning theory. 1) We survey quantum learning theory, describing the main results known for three models of learning, using classical as well as quantum data: exact learning from membership queries, the probably approximately correct (PAC) learning model, and the agnostic learning model. 2) We then consider if a quantum learner can PAC-learn a given concept class from fewer quantum examples. We give a negative answer by showing that quantum examples are not more powerful than classical random examples, both for PAC learning and for agnostic learning.
The probably approximately correct (PAC) model [Leslie G. Valiant, 1984] is a well studied model in classical learning theory. Here, we generalize the PAC model from concepts of Boolean functions to quantum channels, introducing PAC model for learning quantum channels, and give two sample efficient algorithms that are analogous to the classical "Occam’s razor" result [Blumer et al., 1987]. The classical Occam’s razor algorithm is done trivially by excluding any concepts not compatible with the input-output pairs one gets, but such an approach is not immediately possible with a concept class of quantum channels, because the outputs are unknown quantum states from the quantum channel. To study the quantum state learning problem associated with PAC learning quantum channels, we focus on the special case where the channels all have constant output. In this special case, learning the channels reduce to a problem of learning quantum states that is similar to the well known quantum state discrimination problem [Joonwoo Bae and Leong-Chuan Kwek, 2017], but with the extra twist that we allow ε-trace-distance-error in the output. We call this problem Approximate State Discrimination, which we believe is a natural problem that is of independent interest. We give two algorithms for learning quantum channels in PAC model. The first algorithm has sample complexity O((log|C| + log(1/ δ))/(ε²)), but only works when the outputs are pure states, where C is the concept class, ε is the error of the output, and δ is the probability of failure of the algorithm. The second algorithm has sample complexity O((log³|C|(log|C|+log(1/ δ)))/(ε²)), and work for mixed state outputs. Some implications of our results are that we can PAC-learn a polynomial sized quantum circuit in polynomial samples, and approximate state discrimination can be solved in polynomial samples even when the size of the input set is exponential in the number of qubits, exponentially better than a naive state tomography.