5,632 research outputs found
Quantum Sampling Problems, BosonSampling and Quantum Supremacy
There is a large body of evidence for the potential of greater computational
power using information carriers that are quantum mechanical over those
governed by the laws of classical mechanics. But the question of the exact
nature of the power contributed by quantum mechanics remains only partially
answered. Furthermore, there exists doubt over the practicality of achieving a
large enough quantum computation that definitively demonstrates quantum
supremacy. Recently the study of computational problems that produce samples
from probability distributions has added to both our understanding of the power
of quantum algorithms and lowered the requirements for demonstration of fast
quantum algorithms. The proposed quantum sampling problems do not require a
quantum computer capable of universal operations and also permit physically
realistic errors in their operation. This is an encouraging step towards an
experimental demonstration of quantum algorithmic supremacy. In this paper, we
will review sampling problems and the arguments that have been used to deduce
when sampling problems are hard for classical computers to simulate. Two
classes of quantum sampling problems that demonstrate the supremacy of quantum
algorithms are BosonSampling and IQP Sampling. We will present the details of
these classes and recent experimental progress towards demonstrating quantum
supremacy in BosonSampling.Comment: Survey paper first submitted for publication in October 2016. 10
pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Surveying structural complexity in quantum many-body systems
Quantum many-body systems exhibit a rich and diverse range of exotic
behaviours, owing to their underlying non-classical structure. These systems
present a deep structure beyond those that can be captured by measures of
correlation and entanglement alone. Using tools from complexity science, we
characterise such structure. We investigate the structural complexities that
can be found within the patterns that manifest from the observational data of
these systems. In particular, using two prototypical quantum many-body systems
as test cases - the one-dimensional quantum Ising and Bose-Hubbard models - we
explore how different information-theoretic measures of complexity are able to
identify different features of such patterns. This work furthers the
understanding of fully-quantum notions of structure and complexity in quantum
systems and dynamics.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity
Constraint satisfaction problems are a central pillar of modern computational
complexity theory. This survey provides an introduction to the rapidly growing
field of Quantum Hamiltonian Complexity, which includes the study of quantum
constraint satisfaction problems. Over the past decade and a half, this field
has witnessed fundamental breakthroughs, ranging from the establishment of a
"Quantum Cook-Levin Theorem" to deep insights into the structure of 1D
low-temperature quantum systems via so-called area laws. Our aim here is to
provide a computer science-oriented introduction to the subject in order to
help bridge the language barrier between computer scientists and physicists in
the field. As such, we include the following in this survey: (1) The
motivations and history of the field, (2) a glossary of condensed matter
physics terms explained in computer-science friendly language, (3) overviews of
central ideas from condensed matter physics, such as indistinguishable
particles, mean field theory, tensor networks, and area laws, and (4) brief
expositions of selected computer science-based results in the area. For
example, as part of the latter, we provide a novel information theoretic
presentation of Bravyi's polynomial time algorithm for Quantum 2-SAT.Comment: v4: published version, 127 pages, introduction expanded to include
brief introduction to quantum information, brief list of some recent
developments added, minor changes throughou
The Computational Complexity of Linear Optics
We give new evidence that quantum computers -- moreover, rudimentary quantum
computers built entirely out of linear-optical elements -- cannot be
efficiently simulated by classical computers. In particular, we define a model
of computation in which identical photons are generated, sent through a
linear-optical network, then nonadaptively measured to count the number of
photons in each mode. This model is not known or believed to be universal for
quantum computation, and indeed, we discuss the prospects for realizing the
model using current technology. On the other hand, we prove that the model is
able to solve sampling problems and search problems that are classically
intractable under plausible assumptions. Our first result says that, if there
exists a polynomial-time classical algorithm that samples from the same
probability distribution as a linear-optical network, then P^#P=BPP^NP, and
hence the polynomial hierarchy collapses to the third level. Unfortunately,
this result assumes an extremely accurate simulation. Our main result suggests
that even an approximate or noisy classical simulation would already imply a
collapse of the polynomial hierarchy. For this, we need two unproven
conjectures: the "Permanent-of-Gaussians Conjecture", which says that it is
#P-hard to approximate the permanent of a matrix A of independent N(0,1)
Gaussian entries, with high probability over A; and the "Permanent
Anti-Concentration Conjecture", which says that |Per(A)|>=sqrt(n!)/poly(n) with
high probability over A. We present evidence for these conjectures, both of
which seem interesting even apart from our application. This paper does not
assume knowledge of quantum optics. Indeed, part of its goal is to develop the
beautiful theory of noninteracting bosons underlying our model, and its
connection to the permanent function, in a self-contained way accessible to
theoretical computer scientists.Comment: 94 pages, 4 figure
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