Quantum walks, both discrete (coined) and continuous time, on a general graph of N vertices with undirected edges are reviewed in some detail. The resource requirements for implementing a quantum walk as a program on a quantum computer are compared and found to be very similar for both discrete and continuous time walks. The role of the oracle, and how it changes if more prior information about the graph is available, is also discussed.
Quantum walks, both discrete (coined) and continuous time, on a general graph of N vertices with undirected edges are reviewed in some detail. The resource requirements for implementing a quantum walk as a program on a quantum computer are compared and found to be very similar for both discrete and continuous time walks. The role of the oracle, and how it changes if more prior information about the graph is available, is also discussed.
I obtain the dynamics of the continuous time quantum walk on a d-dimensional lattice, with periodic boundary conditions, as an appropriate limit of the dynamics of the discrete time quantum walk on the same lattice. This extends the main result of [8] which proved this limit for the case of the quantum walk on the infinite line and the quantum cellular automaton proposed in [1]. By highlighting the main features of the limiting procedure, I then extend it to general graphs. For a given discrete time quantum walk on a general graph, I single out the type of continuous dynamics (Hamiltonians) that can be obtained as a limit of the discrete time dynamics. 1 Generalities on quantum walks; continuous and discrete time Consider a graph G: = {V, E} with a set of vertices V of cardinality N and a set of edges E. We assume G to be undirected and without self-loops. In the interval of time ∆t a certain fraction γ∆t of a quantity pj leaves the location of the j-th vertex to move to a neighboring vertex k. The quantity pj, j = 1,..., N, at time t + ∆t is given by 1 pj(t + ∆t) = pj(t) − deg (j)γ∆tpj(t) + ∑ (k,j)∈E γ∆tpk(t). (1) Define ⃗p the N−vector whose components are the pj’s quantities, and L the Laplacian matrix defined by Ljj = − deg (j), Ljk = 1 if (j, k) ∈ E and Ljk = 0 otherwise. L is
Quantum walks, the quantum mechanical counterpart of classical random walks, is an advanced tool for building quantum algorithms that has been recently shown to constitute a universal model of quantum computation. Quantum walks is now a solid field of research of quantum computation full of exciting open problems for physicists, computer scientists and engineers. In this paper we review theoretical advances on the foundations of both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks, together with the role that randomness plays in quantum walks, the connections between the mathematical models of coined discrete quantum walks and continuous quantum walks, the quantumness of quantum walks, a summary of papers published on discrete quantum walks and entangle-ment as well as a succinct review of experimental proposals and realizations of discrete-time quantum walks. Furthermore, we have reviewed several algorithms based on both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks as well as a most important result: the computational universality of both continuous- and discrete-time quantum walks.
Random walks are a powerful tool for the efficient implementation of algorithms in classical computation. Their quantum-mechanical analogues, called quantum walks, hold similar promise. Quantum walks provide a model of quantum computation that has recently been shown to be equivalent in power to the standard circuit model. As in the classical case, quantum walks take place on graphs and can undergo discrete or continuous evolution, though quantum evolution is unitary and therefore deterministic until a measurement is made. This thesis considers the usefulness of continuous-time quantum walks to quantum computation from the perspectives of both their fundamental power under various formulations, and their applicability in practical experiments. In one extant scheme, logical gates are effected by scattering processes. The results of an exhaustive search for single-qubit operations in this model are presented. It is shown that the number of distinct operations increases exponentially with the number of vertices in the scattering graph. A catalogue of all graphs on up to nine vertices that implement single-qubit unitaries at a specific set of momenta is included in an appendix. I develop a novel scheme for universal quantum computation called the discontinuous quantum walk, in which a continuous-time quantum walker takes discrete steps of evolution via perfect quantum state transfer through small `widget' graphs. The discontinuous quantum-walk scheme requires an exponentially sized graph, as do prior discrete and continuous schemes. To eliminate the inefficient vertex resource requirement, a computation scheme based on multiple discontinuous walkers is presented. In this model, n interacting walkers inhabiting a graph with 2n vertices can implement an arbitrary quantum computation on an input of length n, an exponential savings over previous universal quantum walk schemes. This is the first quantum walk scheme that allows for the application of quantum error correction. The many-particle quantum walk can be viewed as a single quantum walk undergoing perfect state transfer on a larger weighted graph, obtained via equitable partitioning. I extend this formalism to non-simple graphs. Examples of the application of equitable partitioning to the analysis of quantum walks and many-particle quantum systems are discussed.
We provide a brief survey of perfect state transfer in quantum walks on finite graphs. The ability to transfer a quantum state from one part of a quantum computer to another is a key ingredient of scalable architectures. Transfer through structures that do not require locally varying dynamic control simplifies the design and hence reduces the opportunities for errors to arise. Continuous time walks quantum walks on highly structured graphs exhibit perfect state transfer for the complete graph of size 2, the path of length 3, and the cycle of size 4. From these, larger graphs can be constructed, and the use of edge weights widens this set considerably. Discrete-time quantum walks have more flexibility through exploiting the coin degrees of freedom, but with the disadvantage that local control of the coin is required if the degree of the vertices varies. The closely related property of periodicity (exact return to the starting state) is also mentioned.
Quantum walks can be defined in two quite distinct ways: discrete-time and continuous-time quantum walks (DTQWs and CTQWs). For classical random walks, there is a natural sense in which continuous-time walks are a limit of discrete-time walks. Quantum mechanically, in the discrete-time case, an additional ``coin space'' must be appended for the walk to have nontrivial time evolution. Continuous-time quantum walks, however, have no such constraints. This means that there is no completely straightforward way to treat a CTQW as a limit of a DTQW, as can be done in the classical case. Various approaches to this problem have been taken in the past. We give a construction for walks on d-regular, d-colorable graphs when the coin flip operator is Hermitian: from a standard DTQW we construct a family of discrete-time walks with a well-defined continuous-time limit on a related graph. One can think of this limit as a ``coined'' continuous-time walk. We show that these CTQWs share some properties with coined DTQWs. In particular, we look at a spatial search by a DTQW over the two-dimensional (2D) torus (a grid with periodic boundary conditions) of size $\sqrt{N}\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}\sqrt{N}$, where it was shown that a coined DTQW can search in time O(NlogN), but a standard CTQW takes $\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}(N)$ time to search for a marked element. The continuous limit of the DTQW search over the 2D torus exhibits the O(NlogN) scaling, like the coined walk it is derived from. We also look at the effects of graph symmetry on the limiting walk, and show that the properties are similar to those of the DTQW as shown in Krovi and Brun, Phys. Rev. A 75, 062332 (2007).
Discrete quantum walks are quantum analogues of classical random walks. They are an important tool in quantum computing and a number of algorithms can be viewed as discrete quantum walks, in particular Grover's search algorithm. These walks are constructed on an underlying graph, and so there is a relation between properties of walks and properties of the graph. This book studies the mathematical problems that arise from this connection, and the different classes of walks that arise. Written at a level suitable for graduate students in mathematics, the only prerequisites are linear algebra and basic graph theory; no prior knowledge of physics is required. The text serves as an introduction to this important and rapidly developing area for mathematicians and as a detailed reference for computer scientists and physicists working on quantum information theory.