A unitary operator that satisfies the constant Yang-Baxter equation immediately yields a unitary representation of the braid group B n for every $n ge 2$. If we view such an operator as a quantum-computational gate, then topological braiding corresponds to a quantum circuit. A basic question is when such a representation affords universal quantum computation. In this work, we show how to classically simulate these circuits when the gate in question belongs to certain families of solutions to the Yang-Baxter equation. These include all of the qubit (i.e., $d = 2$) solutions, and some simple families that include solutions for arbitrary $d ge 2$. Our main tool is a probabilistic classical algorithm for efficient simulation of a more general class of quantum circuits. This algorithm may be of use outside the present setting.
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