A new representation of Game Theory is developed in this paper. State of players is represented by a density matrix, and payoff function is a set of hermitian operators, which when applied onto the density matrix give the payoff of players. By this formulism, a new way to find the equilibria of games is given by generalizing the thermodynamical evolutionary process leading to equilibrium in Statistical Mechanics. And in this formulism, when quantum objects instead of classical objects are used as the objects in the game, it's naturally leads to the so-called Quantum Game Theory, but with a slight difference in the definition of strategy state of players: the probability distribution is replaced with a density matrix. Further more, both games of correlated and independent players can be reached in this single framework, while traditionally, they are treated separately by Non-cooperative Game Theory and Coalitional Game Theory. Because of the density matrix is used as state of players, besides classical correlated strategy, quantum entangled states can also be used as strategies, which is an entanglement of strategies between players, and it is different with the entanglement of objects' states as in the so-called Quantum Game Theory. At last, in the form of density matrix, a class of quantum games, where the payoff matrixes are commutative, can be reduced into classical games. In this sense, it will put the classical game as a special case of our quantum game.
A new representation of Game Theory is developed in this paper. State of players is represented by a density matrix, and payoff function is a set of hermitian operators, which when applied onto the density matrix give the payoff of players. By this formulism, a new way to find the equilibria of games is given by generalizing the thermodynamical evolutionary process leading to equilibrium in Statistical Mechanics. And in this formulism, when quantum objects instead of classical objects are used as the objects in the game, it's naturally leads to the so-called Quantum Game Theory, but with a slight difference in the definition of strategy state of players: the probability distribution is replaced with a density matrix. Further more, both games of correlated and independent players can be reached in this single framework, while traditionally, they are treated separately by Non-cooperative Game Theory and Coalitional Game Theory. Because of the density matrix is used as state of players, besides classical correlated strategy, quantum entangled states can also be used as strategies, which is an entanglement of strategies between players, and it is different with the entanglement of objects' states as in the so-called Quantum Game Theory. At last, in the form of density matrix, a class of quantum games, where the payoff matrixes are commutative, can be reduced into classical games. In this sense, it will put the classical game as a special case of our quantum game.
Abstract Entanglement is one of the most vital resources in quantum computing. Particularly, in quantum game theory, entanglement holds significant importance since it defines the interactions and the information exchange between two or more players. In this research work, a new set of entanglement operators is introduced for N‐player quantum games. This study explores how their application affects each player's behavior throughout the game. Furthermore, the entangling capabilities are tested and evaluated for a wide range of entanglement operator angles, by exploiting the Von Neumann entropy metric, both on a simulator and on a real IBM Quantum system. Their hardware efficiency, against state‐of‐the‐art quantum games entanglement operators, is assessed in terms of circuit depths and fidelity, and showcases their great potential as multiplayer quantum games operators. Finally, three methods are compared for computing the players’ payoffs, regarding their scalability and efficiency. This study shows that in all payoff cases, the quantum game results, computed by the quantum hardware, are in accordance with the simulated ones.