2,210 research outputs found
Characterization of non-universal two-qubit Hamiltonians
It is known that almost all 2-qubit gates are universal for quantum computing (Lloyd 1995; Deutsch, Barenco, Eckert 1995). However, an explicit characterization of non-universal 2-qubit gates is not known. We consider a closely related problem of characterizing the set of non-universal 2-qubit Hamiltonians. We call a 2-qubit Hamiltonian n-universal if, when applied on different pairs of qubits, it can be used to approximate any unitary operation on n qubits. It follows directly from the results of Lloyd and Deutsch, Barenco, Eckert, that almost any 2-qubit Hamiltonian is 2-universal. Our main result is a complete characterization of 2-non-universal 2-qubit Hamiltonians. There are three cases when a 2-qubit Hamiltonian H is not universal:
(1) H shares an eigenvector with the gate that swaps two qubits;
(2) H acts on the two qubits independently (in any of a certain family of bases);
(3) H has zero trace.
The last condition rules out the Hamiltonians that generate SU(4)---it can be omitted if the global phase is not important.
A Hamiltonian that is not 2-universal can still be 3-universal. We give a (possibly incomplete) list of 2-qubit Hamiltonians that are not 3-universal. If this list happens to be complete, it actually gives a classification of n-universal 2-qubit Hamiltonians for all n >= 3
Simulation of quantum dynamics with quantum optical systems
We propose the use of quantum optical systems to perform universal simulation
of quantum dynamics. Two specific implementations that require present
technology are put forward for illustrative purposes. The first scheme consists
of neutral atoms stored in optical lattices, while the second scheme consists
of ions stored in an array of micro--traps. Each atom (ion) supports a
two--level system, on which local unitary operations can be performed through a
laser beam. A raw interaction between neighboring two--level systems is
achieved by conditionally displacing the corresponding atoms (ions). Then,
average Hamiltonian techniques are used to achieve evolutions in time according
to a large class of Hamiltonians.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
Using Quantum Computers for Quantum Simulation
Numerical simulation of quantum systems is crucial to further our
understanding of natural phenomena. Many systems of key interest and
importance, in areas such as superconducting materials and quantum chemistry,
are thought to be described by models which we cannot solve with sufficient
accuracy, neither analytically nor numerically with classical computers. Using
a quantum computer to simulate such quantum systems has been viewed as a key
application of quantum computation from the very beginning of the field in the
1980s. Moreover, useful results beyond the reach of classical computation are
expected to be accessible with fewer than a hundred qubits, making quantum
simulation potentially one of the earliest practical applications of quantum
computers. In this paper we survey the theoretical and experimental development
of quantum simulation using quantum computers, from the first ideas to the
intense research efforts currently underway.Comment: 43 pages, 136 references, review article, v2 major revisions in
response to referee comments, v3 significant revisions, identical to
published version apart from format, ArXiv version has table of contents and
references in alphabetical orde
Decoherence-Free Subspaces for Multiple-Qubit Errors: (I) Characterization
Coherence in an open quantum system is degraded through its interaction with
a bath. This decoherence can be avoided by restricting the dynamics of the
system to special decoherence-free subspaces. These subspaces are usually
constructed under the assumption of spatially symmetric system-bath coupling.
Here we show that decoherence-free subspaces may appear without spatial
symmetry. Instead, we consider a model of system-bath interactions in which to
first order only multiple-qubit coupling to the bath is present, with
single-qubit system-bath coupling absent. We derive necessary and sufficient
conditions for the appearance of decoherence-free states in this model, and
give a number of examples. In a sequel paper we show how to perform universal
and fault tolerant quantum computation on the decoherence-free subspaces
considered in this paper.Comment: 18 pages, no figures. Major changes. Section on universal fault
tolerant computation removed. This section contained a crucial error. A new
paper [quant-ph/0007013] presents the correct analysi
Time-optimal Hamiltonian simulation and gate synthesis using homogeneous local unitaries
Motivated by experimental limitations commonly met in the design of solid
state quantum computers, we study the problems of non-local Hamiltonian
simulation and non-local gate synthesis when only homogeneous local unitaries
are performed in order to tailor the available interaction. Homogeneous (i.e.
identical for all subsystems) local manipulation implies a more refined
classification of interaction Hamiltonians than the inhomogeneous case, as well
as the loss of universality in Hamiltonian simulation. For the case of
symmetric two-qubit interactions, we provide time-optimal protocols for both
Hamiltonian simulation and gate synthesis.Comment: 7 page
Practical characterization of quantum devices without tomography
Quantum tomography is the main method used to assess the quality of quantum
information processing devices, but its complexity presents a major obstacle
for the characterization of even moderately large systems. The number of
experimental settings required to extract complete information about a device
grows exponentially with its size, and so does the running time for processing
the data generated by these experiments. Part of the problem is that tomography
generates much more information than is usually sought. Taking a more targeted
approach, we develop schemes that enable (i) estimating the fidelity of an
experiment to a theoretical ideal description, (ii) learning which description
within a reduced subset best matches the experimental data. Both these
approaches yield a significant reduction in resources compared to tomography.
In particular, we demonstrate that fidelity can be estimated from a number of
simple experimental settings that is independent of the system size, removing
an important roadblock for the experimental study of larger quantum information
processing units.Comment: (v1) 11 pages, 1 table, 4 figures. (v2) See also the closely related
work: arXiv:1104.4695 (v3) method extended to continuous variable systems
(v4) updated to published versio
On Quantum Control via Encoded Dynamical Decoupling
I revisit the ideas underlying dynamical decoupling methods within the
framework of quantum information processing, and examine their potential for
direct implementations in terms of encoded rather than physical degrees of
freedom. The usefulness of encoded decoupling schemes as a tool for engineering
both closed- and open-system encoded evolutions is investigated based on simple
examples.Comment: 12 pages, no figures; REVTeX style. This note collects various
theoretical considerations complementing/motivated by the experimental
demonstration of encoded control by Fortunato et a
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