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arXiv:quant-ph/0403127

Quantum Algorithms and Covering Spaces

Tobias J. Osborne, Simone Severini B

Published Mar 17, 2004• 1 citation
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

In this paper we isolate the combinatorial property responsible (at least in part) for the computational speedups recently observed in some quantum walk algorithms. We find that continuous-time quantum walks can exploit the covering space property of certain graphs. We demonstrate that a quantum walk on a graph Y which covers a smaller graph X can be equivalent to a quantum walk on the smaller graph X. This equivalence occurs only when the walk begins on certain initial states, fibre-constant states, which respect the graph covering space structure. We illustrate these observations with walks on Cayley graphs; we show that walks on fibre-constant initial states for Cayley graphs are equivalent to walks on the induced Schreier graph. We also consider the problem of constructing efficient gate sequences simulating the time evolution of a continuous-time quantum walk. For the case of the walk on the m-torus graph T^m on 2^n vertices we construct a gate sequence which uses O(\poly(n)) gates which is independent of the time t the walk is simulated for (and so the sequence can simulate the walk for exponential times). We argue that there exists a wide class of nontrivial operators based on quantum walks on graphs which can be measured efficiently. We introduce a new general class of computational problems, HiddenCover, which includes a variant of the general hidden subgroup problem as a subclass. We argue that quantum computers ought to be able to utilise covering space structures to efficiently solve HiddenCover problems.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/0403127

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In this paper we isolate the combinatorial property responsible (at least in part) for the computational speedups recently observed in some quantum walk algorithms. We find that continuous-time quantum walks can exploit the covering space property of certain graphs. We demonstrate that a quantum walk on a graph Y which covers a smaller graph X can be equivalent to a quantum walk on the smaller graph X. This equivalence occurs only when the walk begins on certain initial states, fibre-constant states, which respect the graph covering space structure. We illustrate these observations with walks on Cayley graphs; we show that walks on fibre-constant initial states for Cayley graphs are equivalent to walks on the induced Schreier graph. We also consider the problem of constructing efficient gate sequences simulating the time evolution of a continuous-time quantum walk. For the case of the walk on the m-torus graph T^m on 2^n vertices we construct a gate sequence which uses O(\poly(n)) gates which is independent of the time t the walk is simulated for (and so the sequence can simulate the walk for exponential times). We argue that there exists a wide class of nontrivial operators based on quantum walks on graphs which can be measured efficiently. We introduce a new general class of computational problems, HiddenCover, which includes a variant of the general hidden subgroup problem as a subclass. We argue that quantum computers ought to be able to utilise covering space structures to efficiently solve HiddenCover problems.
We address the problem of the construction of quantum walks on Cayley graphs. Our main motivation is the relationship between quantum algorithms and quantum walks. In particular, we discuss the choice of the dimension of the local Hilbert space and consider various classes of graphs on which the structure of quantum walks may differ. We completely characterize quantum walks on free groups and present partial results on more general cases. Some examples are given including a family of quantum walks on the hypercube involving a Clifford algebra.
Abstract. We address the problem of the construction of quantum walks on Cayley graphs. Our main motivation is the relationship between quantum algorithms and quantum walks. In particular, we discuss the choice of the dimension of the local Hilbert space and consider various classes of graphs on which the structure of quantum walks may differ. We completely characterise quantum walks on free groups and present partial results on more general cases. Some examples are given including a family of quantum walks on the hypercube involving a Clifford Algebra. PACS number: 03.67.LxQuantum walks on Cayley graphs 2 1.
Abstract In this paper, we investigate the simulation of continuous-time quantum walks on specific classes of graphs, for which it is possible to fast-forward the time-evolution operator to achieve constant-time simulation complexity and to perform the simulation exactly, i.e. ϵ = 0 , while maintaining p o l y ( l o g ( n ) ) efficiency. In particular, we discuss two classes of composite graphs, commuting graphs and Cartesian product of graphs, that contain classes of graphs which can be simulated in this fashion. This allows us to identify new families of graphs that we can efficiently simulate in a quantum circuit framework, providing practical and explicit means to explore quantum-walk based algorithms in laboratories.
A discrete-time quantum walk on a graph $\ensuremath{\Gamma}$ is the repeated application of a unitary evolution operator to a Hilbert space corresponding to the graph. If this unitary evolution operator has an associated group of symmetries, then for certain initial states the walk will be confined to a subspace of the original Hilbert space. Symmetries of the original graph, given by its automorphism group, can be inherited by the evolution operator. 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 HHH of the automorphism group and illustrate it with examples. The automorphisms of the quotient graph which are inherited from the original graph are the original automorphism group modulo the subgroup HHH used to construct it. The quotient graph is constructed by removing the symmetries of the subgroup HHH from the original graph. We then analyze the behavior of hitting times on quotient graphs. Hitting time is the average time it takes a walk to reach a given final vertex from a given initial vertex. It has been shown in earlier work [Phys. Rev. A 74, 042334 (2006)] that the hitting time for certain initial states of a quantum walks can be infinite, in contrast to classical random walks. We give a condition which determines whether the quotient graph has infinite hitting times given that they exist in the original graph. We apply this condition for the examples discussed and determine which quotient graphs have infinite hitting times. All known examples of quantum walks with hitting times which are short compared to classical random walks correspond to systems with quotient graphs much smaller than the original graph; we conjecture that the existence of a small quotient graph with finite hitting times is necessary for a walk to exhibit a quantum speedup.
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.
It was recently shown that continuous-time quantum walks on dynamic graphs, i.e., sequences of static graphs whose edges change at specific times, can implement a universal set of quantum gates. This result treated all isolated vertices as having self-loops, so they all evolved by a phase under the quantum walk. In this paper, we permit isolated vertices to be loopless or looped, and loopless isolated vertices do not evolve at all under the quantum walk. Using this distinction, we construct simpler dynamic graphs that implement the Pauli gates and a set of universal quantum gates consisting of the Hadamard, TTT, and controlled-not gates, and these gates are easily extended to multiqubit systems. For example, the TTT gate is simplified from a sequence of six graphs to a single graph, and the number of vertices is reduced by a factor of 4. We also construct a generalized phase gate, of which ZZZ, SSS, and TTT are specific instances. Finally, we validate our implementations by numerically simulating a quantum circuit consisting of layers of one- and two-qubit gates, similar to those in recent quantum supremacy experiments, using a quantum walk.