We analyze the localization of quantum walks on a one-dimensional finite graph using vector-distance. We first vectorize the probability distribution of a quantum walker in each node. Then we compute out the probability distribution vectors of quantum walks in infinite and finite graphs in the presence of static disorder respectively, and get the distance between these two vectors. We find that when the steps taken are small and the boundary condition is tight, the localization between the infinite and finite cases is greatly different. However, the difference is negligible when the steps taken are large or the boundary condition is loose. It means quantum walks on a one-dimensional finite graph may also suffer from localization in the presence of static disorder. Our approach and results can be generalized to analyze the localization of quantum walks in higher-dimensional cases.
Quantum walks determined by the coin operator on graphs have been intensively studied. The typical examples of coin operator are the Grover and Fourier matrices. The periodicity of the Grover walk is well investigated. However, the corresponding result on the Fourier walk is not known. In this paper, we present a necessary condition for the Fourier walk on regular graphs to have the finite period. As an application of our result, we show that the Fourier walks do not have any finite period for some classes of regular graphs such as complete graphs, cycle graphs with selfloops, and hypercubes.
A discrete-time quantum walk on a graph is the repeated application of a unitary evolution operator to a Hilbert space corresponding to the graph. Hitting times for discrete quantum walks on graphs give an average time before the walk reaches an ending condition. We derive an expression for hitting time using superoperators, and numerically evaluate it for the walk on the hypercube for various coins and decoherence models. The hitting time for a classical random walk on a connected graph will always be finite. We show that, by contrast, quantum walks can have infinite hitting times for some initial states. We seek criteria to determine if a given walk on a graph will have infinite hitting times, and find a sufficient condition, which for discrete time quantum walks is that the degeneracy of the evolution operator be greater than the degree of the graph. The phenomenon of infinite hitting times is in general a consequence of the symmetry of the graph and its automorphism group.
Symmetries of a graph, given by its automorphism group, can be inherited by the evolution operator. Using the irreducible representations of the automorphism group, we derive conditions such that quantum walks defined on this graph must have infinite hitting times for some initial states. Symmetry can cause the walk to also be confined to a subspace of the original Hilbert space for cartain initial states. We show that a quantum walk confined to the subspace corresponding to this symmetry group can be seen as a different quantum walk on a smaller quotient graph. We give an explicit construction of the quotient graph for any subgroup H of the automorphism group. The automorphisms of the quotient graph which are inherited from the original graph are the original automorphism group modulo the subgroup H used to construct it. We conjecture that the existence of a small quotient graph with finite hitting times is necessary for a walk to exhibit a quantum speed-up. Finally, we use symmetry and the theory of decoherence-free subspaces to determine when the subspace of the quotient graph is a decoherence-free subspace of the dynamics.