Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Klasyczne i kwantowe grafy Knesera

Igor Chełstowski

Published Jan 1, 2026• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

We present a construction of quantum Kneser graphs, which yields classical Kneser graphs in the commutative case.We also generalize this construction to obtain quantum versions of generalized Kneser graphs, such as Johnson graphs.We discuss several basic properties of the constructed quantum graphs, such as their reflexivity and regularity.Then, we investigate their quantum chromatic numbers and establish upper bounds on them by constructing explicit colorings.We also investigate spectral lower bounds on quantum chromatic numbers for several examples and formulate a conjecture about their asymptotic behavior.Lastly, we present an alternate approach to quantization of Kneser graphs and a few results obtained for the quantum Mycielski construction.

Related papers

Quantum Mycielski graphs

Arkadiusz Bochniak, Paweł Kasprzak

The classical Mycielski transformation allows for constructing from a given graph a new one with an arbitrarily large chromatic number but preserving the size of the largest clique contained in it. This particular construction and its specific generalizations were widely discussed in graph theory literature. Here we propose an analog of these transformations for quantum graphs and study how they affect the (quantum) chromatic number as well as the clique numbers associated with them.

arXiv:2306.09994•Journal of Noncommutative Geometry•Sep 10, 2025•0 citations

On the Quantum Chromatic Numbers of Small Graphs

Olivier Lalonde

We make two contributions pertaining to the study of the quantum chromatic numbers of small graphs. Firstly, in an elegant paper, Mančinska and Roberson [Baltic Journal on Modern Computing, 4(4), 846-859, 2016] gave an example of a graph $G_{14}$ on 14 vertices with quantum chromatic number 4 and classical chromatic number 5, and conjectured that this is the smallest graph exhibiting a separation between the two parameters. We describe a computer-assisted proof of this conjecture, thereby resolving a longstanding open problem in quantum graph theory. Our second contribution pertains to the study of the rank-$r$ quantum chromatic numbers. While it can now be shown that for every $r$, $\chi_q$ and $\chi^{(r)}_q$ are distinct, few small examples of separations between these parameters are known. We give the smallest known example of such a separation in the form of a graph $G_{21}$ on 21 vertices with $\chi_q(G_{21}) = \chi^{(2)}_q(G_{21}) = 4$ and $ \xi(G_{21}) = \chi^{(1)}_q(G_{21}) = \chi(G_{21}) = 5$. The previous record was held by a graph $G_{msg}$ on 57 vertices that was first considered in the aforementioned paper of Mančinska and Roberson and which satisfies $\chi_q(G_{msg}) = 3$ and $\chi^{(1)}_q(G_{msg}) = 4$. In addition, $G_{21}$ provides the first provable separation between the parameters $\chi^{(1)}_q$ and $\chi^{(2)}_q$. We believe that our techniques for constructing $G_{21}$ and lower bounding its orthogonal rank could be of independent interest.

arXiv:2311.08194•The Electronic Journal of Combinatorics•Feb 14, 2025•1 citation

On the exact quantum chromatic number of generalized Johnson graphs

Gaojun Luo, Xiwang Cao, Shitao Li +1 more

The quantum chromatic number is a fundamental parameter in the study of nonlocal games, capturing the extent to which entanglement can improve performance in distributed tasks. In this paper, we investigate the quantum chromatic number of generalized Johnson graphs. By constructing modulus-one orthogonal representations, we obtain general upper bounds on their quantum chromatic numbers. We further analyze the smallest eigenvalue of these graphs. Combining the resulting Hoffman-type lower bounds with the upper bounds obtained from orthogonal representations, we determine the exact quantum chromatic numbers of two infinite families of generalized Johnson graphs. Finally, applying a forbidden-distance theorem for binary codes, we show that the classical chromatic numbers of these families grow exponentially with $n$, whereas their quantum chromatic numbers grow linearly. These families exhibit an exponential separation between the classical and quantum chromatic numbers.

arXiv:2609.04677•Sep 4, 2026•0 citations

Spectral lower bounds for the quantum chromatic number of a graph

Paweł Wocjan, Clive H. Elphick

The quantum chromatic number, $χ_q(G)$, of a graph $G$ was originally defined as the minimal number of colors necessary in a quantum protocol in which two provers that cannot communicate with each other but share an entangled state can convince an interrogator with certainty that they have a coloring of the graph. We use an equivalent purely combinatorial definition of $χ_q(G)$ to prove that many spectral lower bounds for the chromatic number, $χ(G)$, are also lower bounds for $χ_q(G)$. This is achieved using techniques from linear algebra called pinching and twirling. We illustrate our results with some examples.

arXiv:1805.08334•May 22, 2018•1 citation

Quantum asymptotic spectra of graphs and non-commutative graphs, and quantum Shannon capacities

Yinan Li, Jeroen Zuiddam

We study quantum versions of the Shannon capacity of graphs and non-commutative graphs. We introduce the asymptotic spectrum of graphs with respect to quantum and entanglement-assisted homomorphisms, and we introduce the asymptotic spectrum of non-commutative graphs with respect to entanglement-assisted homomorphisms. We apply Strassen's spectral theorem (J. Reine Angew. Math., 1988) in order to obtain dual characterizations of the corresponding Shannon capacities and asymptotic preorders in terms of their asymptotic spectra. This work extends the study of the asymptotic spectrum of graphs initiated by Zuiddam (Combinatorica, 2019) to the quantum domain. We then exhibit spectral points in the new quantum asymptotic spectra and discuss their relations with the asymptotic spectrum of graphs. In particular, we prove that the (fractional) real and complex Haemers bounds upper bound the quantum Shannon capacity, which is defined as the regularization of the quantum independence number (Mančinska and Roberson, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B, 2016), and that the fractional real and complex Haemers bounds are elements in the quantum asymptotic spectrum of graphs. This is in contrast to the Haemers bounds defined over certain finite fields, which can be strictly smaller than the quantum Shannon capacity. Moreover, since the Haemers bound can be strictly smaller than the Lovász theta function (Haemers, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, 1979), we find that the quantum Shannon capacity and the Lovász theta function do not coincide. As a consequence, two well-known conjectures in quantum information theory cannot both be true.

arXiv:1810.00744•Oct 1, 2018•4 citations

On the Quantum Chromatic Gap II

Lorenzo Ciardo, Antoine Mottet

We confirm a conjecture of the first author [SODA'26] on a strong form of pseudo-telepathy for Khot's $d$-to-$1$ games: for every $d\geq 4$, every $ε>0$, and every $k\in\mathbb N$, there is a $d$-to-$1$ label-cover game of classical value less than $ε$ that admits a perfect quantum strategy using finite-dimensional shared entanglement with measurement contexts of radius at least $k$. As a consequence, there exist graphs whose quantum chromatic number $χ_q$ is $3$ and whose classical chromatic number $χ$ is arbitrarily large. This is the first improvement on the quantum chromatic gap since the work of Brassard, Cleve, and Tapp [Phys. Rev. Lett.'99], which produced graphs for which $χ$ grows exponentially in $χ_q$. To prove the conjecture, we proceed as follows. We start with a ``stretched'' version of the Mermin--Peres magic square, obtained by spacing out its equations and linking them with additional long equation wires. This operation increases the radius of the initial measurement contexts of a perfect quantum strategy for the game, while preserving classical unsatisfiability. We then apply parallel repetition to make the classical value small, and we turn the system into a pseudo-telepathic multi-layered Kneser hypergraph via a PCP construction of Dinur, Guruswami, Khot, and Regev [STOC'03]. Finally, we feed the resulting hypergraph into the reduction of Fei, Minzer, and Wang from hypergraph colouring to $4$-to-$1$ games, we establish quantum completeness of this reduction, and we show that it preserves context radius.

quant-pharXiv:2610.40571•Oct 30, 2026•0 citations
We present a construction of quantum Kneser graphs, which yields classical Kneser graphs in the commutative case.We also generalize this construction to obtain quantum versions of generalized Kneser graphs, such as Johnson graphs.We discuss several basic properties of the constructed quantum graphs, such as their reflexivity and regularity.Then, we investigate their quantum chromatic numbers and establish upper bounds on them by constructing explicit colorings.We also investigate spectral lower bounds on quantum chromatic numbers for several examples and formulate a conjecture about their asymptotic behavior.Lastly, we present an alternate approach to quantization of Kneser graphs and a few results obtained for the quantum Mycielski construction.
We make two contributions pertaining to the study of the quantum chromatic numbers of small graphs. Firstly, in an elegant paper, Mančinska and Roberson [Baltic Journal on Modern Computing, 4(4), 846-859, 2016] gave an example of a graph G14G_{14}G14​ on 14 vertices with quantum chromatic number 4 and classical chromatic number 5, and conjectured that this is the smallest graph exhibiting a separation between the two parameters. We describe a computer-assisted proof of this conjecture, thereby resolving a longstanding open problem in quantum graph theory. Our second contribution pertains to the study of the rank-rrr quantum chromatic numbers. While it can now be shown that for every rrr, χq\chi_qχq​ and χq(r)\chi^{(r)}_qχq(r)​ are distinct, few small examples of separations between these parameters are known. We give the smallest known example of such a separation in the form of a graph G21G_{21}G21​ on 21 vertices with χq(G21)=χq(2)(G21)=4\chi_q(G_{21}) = \chi^{(2)}_q(G_{21}) = 4χq​(G21​)=χq(2)​(G21​)=4 and $ \xi(G_{21}) = \chi^{(1)}_q(G_{21}) = \chi(G_{21}) = 5$. The previous record was held by a graph GmsgG_{msg}Gmsg​ on 57 vertices that was first considered in the aforementioned paper of Mančinska and Roberson and which satisfies χq(Gmsg)=3\chi_q(G_{msg}) = 3χq​(Gmsg​)=3 and χq(1)(Gmsg)=4\chi^{(1)}_q(G_{msg}) = 4χq(1)​(Gmsg​)=4. In addition, G21G_{21}G21​ provides the first provable separation between the parameters χq(1)\chi^{(1)}_qχq(1)​ and χq(2)\chi^{(2)}_qχq(2)​. We believe that our techniques for constructing G21G_{21}G21​ and lower bounding its orthogonal rank could be of independent interest.
The quantum chromatic number is a fundamental parameter in the study of nonlocal games, capturing the extent to which entanglement can improve performance in distributed tasks. In this paper, we investigate the quantum chromatic number of generalized Johnson graphs. By constructing modulus-one orthogonal representations, we obtain general upper bounds on their quantum chromatic numbers. We further analyze the smallest eigenvalue of these graphs. Combining the resulting Hoffman-type lower bounds with the upper bounds obtained from orthogonal representations, we determine the exact quantum chromatic numbers of two infinite families of generalized Johnson graphs. Finally, applying a forbidden-distance theorem for binary codes, we show that the classical chromatic numbers of these families grow exponentially with nnn, whereas their quantum chromatic numbers grow linearly. These families exhibit an exponential separation between the classical and quantum chromatic numbers.
The quantum chromatic number, χq(G)χ_q(G)χq​(G), of a graph GGG was originally defined as the minimal number of colors necessary in a quantum protocol in which two provers that cannot communicate with each other but share an entangled state can convince an interrogator with certainty that they have a coloring of the graph. We use an equivalent purely combinatorial definition of χq(G)χ_q(G)χq​(G) to prove that many spectral lower bounds for the chromatic number, χ(G)χ(G)χ(G), are also lower bounds for χq(G)χ_q(G)χq​(G). This is achieved using techniques from linear algebra called pinching and twirling. We illustrate our results with some examples.
We study quantum versions of the Shannon capacity of graphs and non-commutative graphs. We introduce the asymptotic spectrum of graphs with respect to quantum and entanglement-assisted homomorphisms, and we introduce the asymptotic spectrum of non-commutative graphs with respect to entanglement-assisted homomorphisms. We apply Strassen's spectral theorem (J. Reine Angew. Math., 1988) in order to obtain dual characterizations of the corresponding Shannon capacities and asymptotic preorders in terms of their asymptotic spectra. This work extends the study of the asymptotic spectrum of graphs initiated by Zuiddam (Combinatorica, 2019) to the quantum domain. We then exhibit spectral points in the new quantum asymptotic spectra and discuss their relations with the asymptotic spectrum of graphs. In particular, we prove that the (fractional) real and complex Haemers bounds upper bound the quantum Shannon capacity, which is defined as the regularization of the quantum independence number (Mančinska and Roberson, J. Combin. Theory Ser. B, 2016), and that the fractional real and complex Haemers bounds are elements in the quantum asymptotic spectrum of graphs. This is in contrast to the Haemers bounds defined over certain finite fields, which can be strictly smaller than the quantum Shannon capacity. Moreover, since the Haemers bound can be strictly smaller than the Lovász theta function (Haemers, IEEE Trans. Inf. Theory, 1979), we find that the quantum Shannon capacity and the Lovász theta function do not coincide. As a consequence, two well-known conjectures in quantum information theory cannot both be true.
We confirm a conjecture of the first author [SODA'26] on a strong form of pseudo-telepathy for Khot's ddd-to-111 games: for every d≥4d\geq 4d≥4, every ε>0ε>0ε>0, and every k∈Nk\in\mathbb Nk∈N, there is a ddd-to-111 label-cover game of classical value less than εεε that admits a perfect quantum strategy using finite-dimensional shared entanglement with measurement contexts of radius at least kkk. As a consequence, there exist graphs whose quantum chromatic number χqχ_qχq​ is 333 and whose classical chromatic number χχχ is arbitrarily large. This is the first improvement on the quantum chromatic gap since the work of Brassard, Cleve, and Tapp [Phys. Rev. Lett.'99], which produced graphs for which χχχ grows exponentially in χqχ_qχq​. To prove the conjecture, we proceed as follows. We start with a ``stretched'' version of the Mermin--Peres magic square, obtained by spacing out its equations and linking them with additional long equation wires. This operation increases the radius of the initial measurement contexts of a perfect quantum strategy for the game, while preserving classical unsatisfiability. We then apply parallel repetition to make the classical value small, and we turn the system into a pseudo-telepathic multi-layered Kneser hypergraph via a PCP construction of Dinur, Guruswami, Khot, and Regev [STOC'03]. Finally, we feed the resulting hypergraph into the reduction of Fei, Minzer, and Wang from hypergraph colouring to 444-to-111 games, we establish quantum completeness of this reduction, and we show that it preserves context radius.