Nonlinear variants of quantum mechanics can solve tasks that are impossible in standard quantum theory, such as perfectly distinguishing nonorthogonal states. Here we derive the optimal protocol for distinguishing two states of a qubit using the Gros
s-Pitaevskii equation, a model of nonlinear quantum mechanics that arises as an effective description of Bose-Einstein condensates. Using this protocol, we present an algorithm for unstructured search in the Gross-Pitaevskii model, obtaining an exponential improvement over a previous algorithm of Meyer and Wong. This result establishes a limitation on the effectiveness of the Gross-Pitaevskii approximation. More generally, we demonstrate similar behavior under a family of related nonlinearities, giving evidence that the ability to quickly discriminate nonorthogonal states and thereby solve unstructured search is a generic feature of nonlinear quantum mechanics.
We describe a simple, efficient method for simulating Hamiltonian dynamics on a quantum computer by approximating the truncated Taylor series of the evolution operator. Our method can simulate the time evolution of a wide variety of physical systems.
As in another recent algorithm, the cost of our method depends only logarithmically on the inverse of the desired precision, which is optimal. However, we simplify the algorithm and its analysis by using a method for implementing linear combinations of unitary operations to directly apply the truncated Taylor series.
We provide a quantum algorithm for simulating the dynamics of sparse Hamiltonians with complexity sublogarithmic in the inverse error, an exponential improvement over previous methods. Specifically, we show that a $d$-sparse Hamiltonian $H$ acting on
$n$ qubits can be simulated for time $t$ with precision $epsilon$ using $Obig(tau frac{log(tau/epsilon)}{loglog(tau/epsilon)}big)$ queries and $Obig(tau frac{log^2(tau/epsilon)}{loglog(tau/epsilon)}nbig)$ additional 2-qubit gates, where $tau = d^2 |{H}|_{max} t$. Unlike previous approaches based on product formulas, the query complexity is independent of the number of qubits acted on, and for time-varying Hamiltonians, the gate complexity is logarithmic in the norm of the derivative of the Hamiltonian. Our algorithm is based on a significantly improved simulation of the continuous- and fractional-query models using discrete quantum queries, showing that the former models are not much more powerful than the discrete model even for very small error. We also simplify the analysis of this conversion, avoiding the need for a complex fault correction procedure. Our simplification relies on a new form of oblivious amplitude amplification that can be applied even though the reflection about the input state is unavailable. Finally, we prove new lower bounds showing that our algorithms are optimal as a function of the error.
We describe an efficient quantum algorithm for computing discrete logarithms in semigroups using Shors algorithms for period finding and discrete log as subroutines. Thus proposed cryptosystems based on the presumed hardness of discrete logarithms in
semigroups are insecure against quantum attacks. In contrast, we show that some generalizations of the discrete log problem are hard in semigroups despite being easy in groups. We relate a shifted version of the discrete log problem in semigroups to the dihedral hidden subgroup problem, and we show that the constructive membership problem with respect to $k ge 2$ generators in a black-box abelian semigroup of order $N$ requires $tilde Theta(N^{frac{1}{2}-frac{1}{2k}})$ quantum queries.
Local operations with classical communication (LOCC) and separable operations are two classes of quantum operations that play key roles in the study of quantum entanglement. Separable operations are strictly more powerful than LOCC, but no simple exp
lanation of this phenomenon is known. We show that, in the case of von Neumann measurements, the ability to interpolate measurements is an operational principle that sets apart LOCC and separable operations.
We consider the class of protocols that can be implemented by local quantum operations and classical communication (LOCC) between two parties. In particular, we focus on the task of discriminating a known set of quantum states by LOCC. Building on th
e work in the paper Quantum nonlocality without entanglement [BDF+99], we provide a framework for bounding the amount of nonlocality in a given set of bipartite quantum states in terms of a lower bound on the probability of error in any LOCC discrimination protocol. We apply our framework to an orthonormal product basis known as the domino states and obtain an alternative and simplified proof that quantifies its nonlocality. We generalize this result for similar bases in larger dimensions, as well as the rotated domino states, resolving a long-standing open question [BDF+99].
We prove an analog of Levinsons theorem for scattering on a weighted (m+1)-vertex graph with a semi-infinite path attached to one of its vertices. In particular, we show that the number of bound states in such a scattering problem is equal to m minus
half the winding number of the phase of the reflection coefficient (where each so-called half-bound state is counted as half a bound state).
We study quantum algorithms for testing bipartiteness and expansion of bounded-degree graphs. We give quantum algorithms that solve these problems in time O(N^(1/3)), beating the Omega(sqrt(N)) classical lower bound. For testing expansion, we also pr
ove an Omega(N^(1/4)) quantum query lower bound, thus ruling out the possibility of an exponential quantum speedup. Our quantum algorithms follow from a combination of classical property testing techniques due to Goldreich and Ron, derandomization, and the quantum algorithm for element distinctness. The quantum lower bound is obtained by the polynomial method, using novel algebraic techniques and combinatorial analysis to accommodate the graph structure.
Quantum walk is one of the main tools for quantum algorithms. Defined by analogy to classical random walk, a quantum walk is a time-homogeneous quantum process on a graph. Both random and quantum walks can be defined either in continuous or discrete
time. But whereas a continuous-time random walk can be obtained as the limit of a sequence of discrete-time random walks, the two types of quantum walk appear fundamentally different, owing to the need for extra degrees of freedom in the discrete-time case. In this article, I describe a precise correspondence between continuous- and discrete-time quantum walks on arbitrary graphs. Using this correspondence, I show that continuous-time quantum walk can be obtained as an appropriate limit of discrete-time quantum walks. The correspondence also leads to a new technique for simulating Hamiltonian dynamics, giving efficient simulations even in cases where the Hamiltonian is not sparse. The complexity of the simulation is linear in the total evolution time, an improvement over simulations based on high-order approximations of the Lie product formula. As applications, I describe a continuous-time quantum walk algorithm for element distinctness and show how to optimally simulate continuous-time query algorithms of a certain form in the conventional quantum query model. Finally, I discuss limitations of the method for simulating Hamiltonians with negative matrix elements, and present two problems that motivate attempting to circumvent these limitations.
We study the quantum query complexity of finding a certificate for a d-regular, k-level balanced NAND formula. Up to logarithmic factors, we show that the query complexity is Theta(d^{(k+1)/2}) for 0-certificates, and Theta(d^{k/2}) for 1-certificate
s. In particular, this shows that the zero-error quantum query complexity of evaluating such formulas is O(d^{(k+1)/2}) (again neglecting a logarithmic factor). Our lower bound relies on the fact that the quantum adversary method obeys a direct sum theorem.
