Constraint satisfaction problems are a central pillar of modern computational complexity theory. This monograph provides an introduction to the rapidly growing field of Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity (QHC), which includes the study of quantum constraint satisfaction problems. Over the past decade and a half, this field has witnessed fundamental breakthroughs, ranging from the establishment of a Quantum Cook-Levin Theorem to deep insights into the structure of 1D low-temperature quantum systems via so-called area laws. Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity provides the reader with a computer science-oriented introduction to the subject in order to help bridge the language barrier between computer scientists and physicists in the field. As such, it includes the following: (1) The motivations and history of the field, (2) a glossary of condensed matter physics terms explained in computer-science friendly language, (3) overviews of central ideas from condensed matter physics, such as indistinguishable particles, mean field theory, tensor networks, and area laws, and (4) brief expositions of selected computer science-based results in the area. For example, as part of the latter, it provides a novel information theoretic presentation of Bravyi's polynomial time algorithm for Quantum 2-SAT. Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity reviews some of the most fundamental results in QHC and is an ideal reference for computer scientists with little or no background in quantum information.
Constraint satisfaction problems are a central pillar of modern computational complexity theory. This monograph provides an introduction to the rapidly growing field of Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity (QHC), which includes the study of quantum constraint satisfaction problems. Over the past decade and a half, this field has witnessed fundamental breakthroughs, ranging from the establishment of a Quantum Cook-Levin Theorem to deep insights into the structure of 1D low-temperature quantum systems via so-called area laws. Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity provides the reader with a computer science-oriented introduction to the subject in order to help bridge the language barrier between computer scientists and physicists in the field. As such, it includes the following: (1) The motivations and history of the field, (2) a glossary of condensed matter physics terms explained in computer-science friendly language, (3) overviews of central ideas from condensed matter physics, such as indistinguishable particles, mean field theory, tensor networks, and area laws, and (4) brief expositions of selected computer science-based results in the area. For example, as part of the latter, it provides a novel information theoretic presentation of Bravyi's polynomial time algorithm for Quantum 2-SAT. Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity reviews some of the most fundamental results in QHC and is an ideal reference for computer scientists with little or no background in quantum information.
Constraint satisfaction problems are a central pillar of modern computational complexity theory. This survey provides an introduction to the rapidly growing field of Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity, which includes the study of quantum constraint satisfaction problems. Over the past decade and a half, this field has witnessed fundamental breakthroughs, ranging from the establishment of a “Quantum Cook-Levin Theorem” to deep insights into the structure of 1D low-temperature quantum systems via so-called area laws. Our aim here is to provide a computer science-oriented introduction to the subject in order to help bridge the language barrier between computer scientists and physicists in the field. As such, we include the following in this survey: (1) The motivations and history of the field, (2) a glossary of condensed matter physics terms explained in computer-science friendly language, (3) overviews of central ideas from condensed matter physics, such as indistinguishable particles, mean field theory, tensor networks, and area laws, and (4) brief expositions of selected computer science-based results in the area. For example, as part of the latter, we provide a novel information theoretic presentation of Bravyi’s polynomial time algorithm for Quantum 2-SAT.
Quantum Hamiltonian complexity studies computational complexity aspects of local Hamiltonians and ground states; these questions can be viewed as generalizations of classical computational complexity problems related to local constraint satisfaction (such as SAT), with the additional ingredient of multi-particle entanglement. This additional ingredient of course makes generalizations of celebrated theorems such as the PCP theorem from classical to the quantum domain highly non-trivial; it also raises entirely new questions such as bounds on entanglement and correlations in ground states, and in particular area laws. We propose a simple combinatorial tool that helps to handle such questions: it is a simplified, yet more general version of the detectability lemma introduced by us in the more restricted context on quantum gap amplification a year ago. Here, we argue that this lemma is applicable in much more general contexts. We use it to provide a simplified and more combinatorial proof of Hastings' 1D area law, together with a less than 1 page proof of the decay of correlations in gapped local Hamiltonian systems in any constant dimension. We explain how the detectability lemma can replace the Lieb-Robinson bound in various other contexts, and argue that it constitutes a basic tool for the study of local Hamiltonians and their ground states in relation to various questions in quantum Hamiltonian complexity.
The calculation of ground-state energies of physical systems can be formalised as the k-local Hamiltonian problem, which is the natural quantum analogue of classical constraint satisfaction problems. One way of making the problem more physically meaningful is to restrict the Hamiltonian in question by picking its terms from a fixed set S. Examples of such special cases are the Heisenberg and Ising models from condensed-matter physics. In this work we characterise the complexity of this problem for all 2-local qubit Hamiltonians. Depending on the subset S, the problem falls into one of the following categories: in P; NP-complete; polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields; or QMA-complete. The third of these classes has been shown to be StoqMA-complete by Bravyi and Hastings. The characterisation holds even if S does not contain any 1-local terms; for example, we prove for the first time QMA-completeness of the Heisenberg and XY interactions in this setting. If S is assumed to contain all 1-local terms, which is the setting considered by previous work, we have a characterisation that goes beyond 2-local interactions: for any constant k, all k-local qubit Hamiltonians whose terms are picked from a fixed set S correspond to problems either in P; polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields; or QMA-complete. These results are a quantum analogue of Schaefer's dichotomy theorem for boolean constraint satisfaction problems.
The calculation of ground-state energies of physical systems can be formalized as the k-local Hamiltonian problem, which is a natural quantum analogue of classical constraint satisfaction problems. One way of making the problem more physically meaningful is to restrict the Hamiltonian in question by picking its terms from a fixed set S and scaling them by arbitrary weights. Examples of such special cases are the Heisenberg and Ising models from condensed-matter physics. In this work we characterize the complexity of this problem for all 2-local qubit Hamiltonians. Depending on the subset S, the problem falls into one of the following categories: in P; NP-complete; polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields; or QMA-complete. The third of these classes has been shown to be StoqMA-complete by Bravyi and Hastings. The characterization holds even if S does not contain any 1-local terms; for example, we prove for the first time QMA-completeness of the Heisenberg and XY interactions in this setting. If S is assumed to contain all 1-local terms, which is the setting considered by previous work, we have a characterization that goes beyond 2-local interactions: for any constant k, all k-local qubit Hamiltonians whose terms are picked from a fixed set S correspond to problems either in P; polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields; or QMA-complete. These results are a quantum analogue of the maximization variant of Schaefer's dichotomy theorem for Boolean constraint satisfaction problems.
Quantum computing represents a transformative approach to computation that exploits the principles of quantum mechanics to process information in fundamentally different ways from classical computers. Over the past few decades, the field has evolved from a primarily theoretical discipline into an active area of research spanning computer science, mathematics, physics, information theory, and engineering. As quantum technologies continue to develop, understanding the fundamental computational principles underlying quantum algorithms has become increasingly important. Foundations of Quantum Computing: The Query Model Perspective presents a systematic introduction to quantum computing with particular emphasis on the query model, a powerful framework for studying the computational complexity of quantum algorithms. The query model provides a clean and mathematically tractable setting in which the number of queries made to an unknown function or oracle can be used as the primary measure of computational cost. This perspective offers valuable insights into the capabilities and limitations of quantum computation and provides a natural foundation for understanding quantum speedups. The book introduces the fundamental concepts required to study quantum computation, including quantum states, quantum gates, quantum circuits, measurement, superposition, entanglement, and quantum algorithms. These concepts are developed alongside the query-complexity framework, enabling readers to understand how quantum algorithms exploit interference and other quantum phenomena to reduce the number of queries required to solve computational problems. Particular attention is given to important quantum query algorithms and complexity results. Classical and quantum query complexities are discussed comparatively to illustrate the sources and significance of quantum advantages. Well-known examples such as the Deutsch–Jozsa algorithm, Grover's search algorithm, and related oracle-based problems provide concrete illustrations of how quantum procedures can outperform their classical counterparts. The discussion also introduces lower-bound techniques and fundamental principles that help establish the limitations of quantum query algorithms. The query model is not only useful for understanding individual algorithms but also serves as an important bridge between quantum algorithms and computational complexity theory. By focusing on query complexity, many problems can be examined independently of the details of a particular physical implementation. This abstraction makes the framework especially useful for developing rigorous proofs, comparing computational resources, and identifying the fundamental sources of quantum advantage. This book is intended for students, researchers, educators, and professionals interested in quantum computing and theoretical computer science. It can serve as an introductory reference for readers with a background in discrete mathematics, linear algebra, algorithms, or theoretical computer science, while also providing a foundation for readers who wish to pursue more advanced studies in quantum complexity theory and quantum algorithms. The chapters have been organized to progress from foundational concepts toward more advanced aspects of the quantum query model. Mathematical formulations are accompanied by explanations and examples to help readers connect abstract theoretical ideas with computational intuition. The broader objective is to provide readers with the tools necessary not only to understand existing quantum algorithms but also to reason about new problems from a query-complexity perspective. As quantum computing continues to mature, the ability to distinguish genuine computational advantages from implementation-specific effects will become increasingly significant. The query model provides one of the clearest theoretical environments for making this distinction. By studying quantum computation through this lens, readers can develop a deeper appreciation of both the power and the limitations of quantum algorithms It is hoped that Foundations of Quantum Computing: The Query Model Perspective will serve as a useful resource for learning, teaching, and research, and will encourage further exploration into the rapidly evolving landscape of quantum computation and quantum complexity theory.
The calculation of ground-state energies of physical systems can be formalised as the k-local Hamiltonian problem, which is the natural quantum analogue of classical constraint satisfaction problems. One way of making the problem more physically meaningful is to restrict the Hamiltonian in question by picking its terms from a fixed set S. Examples of such special cases are the Heisenberg and Ising models from condensed-matter physics. In this work we characterise the complexity of this problem for all 2-local qubit Hamiltonians. Depending on the subset S, the problem falls into one of the following categories: in P, NP-complete, polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields, or QMA-complete. The third of these classes contains NP and is contained within StoqMA. The characterisation holds even if S does not contain any 1-local terms, for example, we prove for the first time QMA-completeness of the Heisenberg and XY interactions in this setting. If S is assumed to contain all 1-local terms, which is the setting considered by previous work, we have a characterisation that goes beyond 2-local interactions: for any constant k, all k-local qubit Hamiltonians whose terms are picked from a fixed set S correspond to problems either in P, polynomial-time equivalent to the Ising model with transverse magnetic fields, or QMA-complete. These results are a quantum analogue of Schaefer's dichotomy theorem for boolean constraint satisfaction problems.