Computation in Finitary Stochastic and Quantum Processes

We introduce stochastic and quantum finite-state transducers as computation-theoretic models of classical stochastic and quantum finitary processes. Formal process languages, representing the distribution over a process's behaviors, are recognized and generated by suitable specializations. We characterize and compare deterministic and nondeterministic versions, summarizing their relative computational power in a hierarchy of finitary process languages. Quantum finite-state transducers and generators are a first step toward a computation-theoretic analysis of individual, repeatedly measured quantum dynamical systems. They are explored via several physical systems, including an iterated beam splitter, an atom in a magnetic field, and atoms in an ion trap--a special case of which implements the Deutsch quantum algorithm. We show that these systems' behaviors, and so their information processing capacity, depends sensitively on the measurement protocol.Comment: 25 pages, 16 figures, 1 table; http://cse.ucdavis.edu/~cmg; numerous corrections and update

Quantum finite automata: survey, status and research directions

Quantum computing is concerned with computer technology based on the principles of quantum mechanics, with operations performed at the quantum level. Quantum computational models make it possible to analyze the resources required for computations. Quantum automata can be classified thusly: quantum finite automata, quantum sequential machine, quantum pushdown automata, quantum Turing machine and orthomodular lattice-valued automata. These models are useful for determining the expressive power and boundaries of various computational features. In light of the current state of quantum computation theory research, a systematic review of the literature seems timely. This article seeks to provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of quantum finite automata models, quantum finite automata models with density operators and quantum finite automata models with classical states, interactive proof systems, quantum communication complexity and query complexity as described in the literature. The statistics of quantum finite automata related papers are shown and open problems are identified for more advanced research. The current status of quantum automata theory is distributed into various categories. This research work also highlights the previous research, current status and future directions of quantum automata models.Comment:

1-way quantum finite automata: strengths, weaknesses and generalizations

We study 1-way quantum finite automata (QFAs). First, we compare them with their classical counterparts. We show that, if an automaton is required to give the correct answer with a large probability (over 0.98), then the power of 1-way QFAs is equal to the power of 1-way reversible automata. However, quantum automata giving the correct answer with smaller probabilities are more powerful than reversible automata. Second, we show that 1-way QFAs can be very space-efficient. Namely, we construct a 1-way QFA which is exponentially smaller than any equivalent classical (even randomized) finite automaton. This construction may be useful for design of other space-efficient quantum algorithms. Third, we consider several generalizations of 1-way QFAs. Here, our goal is to find a model which is more powerful than 1-way QFAs keeping the quantum part as simple as possible.Comment: 23 pages LaTeX, 1 figure, to appear at FOCS'9

The class of languages recognizable by 1-way quantum finite automata is not closed under union

In this paper we develop little further the theory of quantum finite automata (QFA). There are already few properties of QFA known, that deterministic and probabilistic finite automata do not have e.g. they cannot recognize all regular languages. In this paper we show, that class of languages recognizable by QFA is not closed under union, even not under any Boolean operation, where both arguments are significant.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figure

Quantum Automata and Quantum Grammars

To study quantum computation, it might be helpful to generalize structures from language and automata theory to the quantum case. To that end, we propose quantum versions of finite-state and push-down automata, and regular and context-free grammars. We find analogs of several classical theorems, including pumping lemmas, closure properties, rational and algebraic generating functions, and Greibach normal form. We also show that there are quantum context-free languages that are not context-free.Comment: 21 page

Succinctness of two-way probabilistic and quantum finite automata

We prove that two-way probabilistic and quantum finite automata (2PFA's and 2QFA's) can be considerably more concise than both their one-way versions (1PFA's and 1QFA's), and two-way nondeterministic finite automata (2NFA's). For this purpose, we demonstrate several infinite families of regular languages which can be recognized with some fixed probability greater than ${1/2}$ by just tuning the transition amplitudes of a 2QFA (and, in one case, a 2PFA) with a constant number of states, whereas the sizes of the corresponding 1PFA's, 1QFA's and 2NFA's grow without bound. We also show that 2QFA's with mixed states can support highly efficient probability amplification. The weakest known model of computation where quantum computers recognize more languages with bounded error than their classical counterparts is introduced.Comment: A new version, 21 pages, late

Quantum finite automata: A modern introduction

We present five examples where quantum finite automata (QFAs) outperform their classical counterparts. This may be useful as a relatively simple technique to introduce quantum computation concepts to computer scientists. We also describe a modern QFA model involving superoperators that is able to simulate all known QFA and classical finite automaton variants.Comment: 15 page

On the class of languages recognizable by 1-way quantum finite automata

It is an open problem to characterize the class of languages recognized by quantum finite automata (QFA). We examine some necessary and some sufficient conditions for a (regular) language to be recognizable by a QFA. For a subclass of regular languages we get a condition which is necessary and sufficient. Also, we prove that the class of languages recognizable by a QFA is not closed under union or any other binary Boolean operation where both arguments are significant.Comment: 18 pages, 16 figures, extends quant-ph/000100

Quantum finite multitape automata

Quantum finite automata were introduced by C.Moore, J.P. Crutchfield, and by A.Kondacs and J.Watrous. This notion is not a generalization of the deterministic finite automata. Moreover, it was proved that not all regular languages can be recognized by quantum finite automata. A.Ambainis and R.Freivalds proved that for some languages quantum finite automata may be exponentially more concise rather than both deterministic and probabilistic finite automata. In this paper we introduce the notion of quantum finite multitape automata and prove that there is a language recognized by a quantum finite automaton but not by a deterministic or probabilistic finite automata. This is the first result on a problem which can be solved by a quantum computer but not by a deterministic or probabilistic computer. Additionally we discover unexpected probabilistic automata recognizing complicated languages.Comment: 14 pages, LaTe

Some observations on two-way finite automata with quantum and classical states

{\it Two-way finite automata with quantum and classical states} (2qcfa's) were introduced by Ambainis and Watrous. Though this computing model is more restricted than the usual {\it two-way quantum finite automata} (2qfa's) first proposed by Kondacs and Watrous, it is still more powerful than the classical counterpart. In this note, we focus on dealing with the operation properties of 2qcfa's. We prove that the Boolean operations (intersection, union, and complement) and the reversal operation of the class of languages recognized by 2qcfa's with error probabilities are closed; as well, we verify that the catenation operation of such class of languages is closed under certain restricted condition. The numbers of states of these 2qcfa's for the above operations are presented. Some examples are included, and \{xx^{R}|x\in \{a,b\}^{*},#_{x}(a)=#_{x}(b)\} is shown to be recognized by 2qcfa with one-sided error probability, where $x^{R}$ is the reversal of $x$, and #_{x}(a) denotes the $a$'s number in string $x$.Comment: Comments and suggestions are welcom