Although the conditions for performing arbitrary unitary operations to simulate the dynamics of a closed quantum system are well understood, the same is not true of the more general class of quantum operations (also known as superoperators) corresponding to the dynamics of open quantum systems. We propose a framework for the generation of Markovian quantum dynamics and study the resources needed for universality. For the case of a single qubit, we show that a single nonunitary process is necessary and sufficient to generate all unital Markovian quantum dynamics, whereas a set of processes parametrized by one continuous parameter is needed in general. We also obtain preliminary results for the unital case in higher dimensions.
Although the conditions for performing arbitrary unitary operations to simulate the dynamics of a closed quantum system are well understood, the same is not true of the more general class of quantum operations (also known as superoperators) corresponding to the dynamics of open quantum systems. We propose a framework for the generation of Markovian quantum dynamics and study the resources needed for universality. For the case of a single qubit, we show that a single nonunitary process is necessary and sufficient to generate all unital Markovian quantum dynamics, whereas a set of processes parametrized by one continuous parameter is needed in general. We also obtain preliminary results for the unital case in higher dimensions.
We consider the problem of constructing a ``universal set'' of Markovian processes, such that any Markovian open quantum system, described by a one-parameter semigroup of quantum channels, can be simulated through sequential simulations of processes from the universal set. In particular, for quantum systems of dimension d, we explicitly construct a universal set of semigroup generators, parametrized by ${d}^{2}\ensuremath{-}3$ continuous parameters, and prove that a necessary and sufficient condition for the dynamical simulation of a d-dimensional Markovian quantum system is the ability to implement (a) quantum channels from the semigroups generated by elements of the universal set of generators, and (b) unitary operations on the system. Furthermore, we provide an explicit algorithm for simulating the dynamics of a Markovian open quantum system using this universal set of generators, and show that it is efficient, with respect to this universal set, when the number of distinct Lindblad operators (representing physical dissipation processes) scales polynomially with respect to the number of subsystems.
In the study of open quantum systems, one typically obtains the decoherence dynamics by solving a master equation. The master equation is derived using knowledge of some basic properties of the system, the environment, and their interaction: One basically needs to know the operators through which the system couples to the environment and the spectral density of the environment. For a large system, it could become prohibitively difficult to even write down the appropriate master equation, let alone solve it on a classical computer. In this paper, we present a quantum algorithm for simulating the dynamics of an open quantum system. On a quantum computer, the environment can be simulated using ancilla qubits with properly chosen single-qubit frequencies and with properly designed coupling to the system qubits. The parameters used in the simulation are easily derived from the parameters of the system + environment Hamiltonian. The algorithm is designed to simulate Markovian dynamics, but it can also be used to simulate non-Markovian dynamics provided that this dynamics can be obtained by embedding the system of interest into a larger system that obeys Markovian dynamics. We estimate the resource requirements for the algorithm. In particular, we show that for sufficiently slow decoherence a single ancilla qubit could be sufficient to represent the entire environment, in principle.
A quantum computer is similar to an ordinary computer, except that instead of bits it uses two-level quantum systems (qubits), and the usual logical operations on bits are replaced with noiseless quantum dynamics in the form of unitary gates or Hamiltonian interactions. Many sets of resources that are universal for quantum computation (that is, capable of implementing any quantum computation) have been found, but general conditions for universality are still only partially understood. Improving our understanding of these conditions contributes to two broad goals. On the one hand, understanding what class of physical systems is suitable for quantum computation allows us choose the systems that are most easily controlled or built in the laboratory. On the other hand, identifying the unifying characteristics of such a class provides insight into the fundamental physics responsible for the much greater computational power of quantum computers. The original results presented in this thesis are a contribution to our understanding of the physical requirements for universal quantum computation. These results lead to the identification of a new, large class of universal dynamics. More specifically, the main problem that is addressed is the following: consider a physical system that is made up of a finite number of qubits that are subject to a natural, fixed interaction described by a two-body Hamiltonian. Suppose we have the ability to control the system only by applying fast one-qubit operations. Under what conditions is this system capable of universal quantum computation? The first original result of the thesis is to prove that universal quantum computation is possible under these conditions given the single extra constraint that the Hamiltonian must entangle, or connect, all of the qubits. In other words, since a two-body Hamiltonian is expressible as a sum of coupling terms each of which acts nontrivially on a pair of qubits, consider the graph whose vertices correspond to qubits and whose edges connect qubits that are coupled by a term in the Hamiltonian. Then this Hamiltonian, together with fast one-qubit unitaries, is universal for quantum computation precisely when the corresponding graph is connected. This result suggests many potential generalizations, three of which are explored in this thesis. The first generalization is to show that the same result holds for a two-body Hamiltonian that acts on D-dimensional quantum systems (qudits), given fast one-qudit unitaries. A second extension is to the case of a many-body Hamiltonian, that is, a Hamiltonian that has coupling terms that act on more than two qubits. Again, we find that under mild restrictions, such Hamiltonians are universal provided they are connected and that arbitrary one-qubit unitaries are available. We also discover and explore some surprising structure in many-body Hamiltonians that is associated with the parity of the couplings. A third related problem that is addressed is the question of what two-qubit unitaries are universal for quantum computation. This problem was originally solved by J.-L. and R. Brylinski [BB02], who gave a technical proof of the universality of any two-qudit gate that is not the swap gate or a product of one-qudit unitaries, given one-qudit unitaries as a free resource. We develop an elementary and constructive proof for the case of qubits, and prove that our construction is very close to optimal in the number of uses of the two-qubit gate. Given a qualitative understanding of what dynamical resources are universal for quantum computation, it is natural to consider developing a quantitative measure of the usefulness of quantum dynamics for quantum information processing. This is done in the final chapter of the thesis, in which the beginnings of a quantitative theory of quantum dynamics are developed.
Although conditions for controllability of quantum systems are well studied, most of them consider the infinite time horizon, i.e., whether certain operations are possible given enough time. In this article, I propose a framework studying all the possible operations one can generate at given finite time on a quantum system in Markovian environment. I give a complete characterization of the operations one can simulate at any given time on a qubit in unital Markovian environment and discuss possible extensions.
It is by now well understood that quantum dissipative processes can be harnessed and turned into a resource for quantum-information processing tasks. In this paper we demonstrate yet another way in which this is true by providing a dissipation-assisted protocol for the simulation of general Markovian dynamics. More precisely, we show how a suitable coherent coupling of a quantum system to a set of Markovian dissipating qubits allows one to enact an effective Liouvillian generator of any Lindbladian form. This effective dynamical generator arises from high-order virtual-dissipative processes and governs the system dynamics exactly in the limit of infinitely fast dissipation. Applications to the simulation of collective decoherence are discussed as an illustration.
A quantum algorithm is presented for the simulation of arbitrary Markovian dynamics of a qubit, described by a semigroup of single-qubit quantum channels Tt specified by a generator L. This algorithm requires only single-qubit and controlled-not gates and approximates the channel Tt=etL up to the chosen accuracy $\ensuremath{\epsilon}$, with a slightly superlinear cost ${O((\ensuremath{\parallel}\mathcal{L}\ensuremath{\parallel}}_{(1\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1)}t{)}^{1+1/2k}/{\ensuremath{\epsilon}}^{1/2k})$ for any integer k. Inspired by developments in Hamiltonian simulation, a decomposition and recombination technique is utilized which allows for the exploitation of recently developed methods for the approximation of arbitrary single-qubit channels. In particular, as a result of these methods the algorithm requires only a single ancilla qubit, the minimal possible dilation for a nonunitary single-qubit quantum channel.