39,626 research outputs found
Quantum computation with devices whose contents are never read
In classical computation, a "write-only memory" (WOM) is little more than an
oxymoron, and the addition of WOM to a (deterministic or probabilistic)
classical computer brings no advantage. We prove that quantum computers that
are augmented with WOM can solve problems that neither a classical computer
with WOM nor a quantum computer without WOM can solve, when all other resource
bounds are equal. We focus on realtime quantum finite automata, and examine the
increase in their power effected by the addition of WOMs with different access
modes and capacities. Some problems that are unsolvable by two-way
probabilistic Turing machines using sublogarithmic amounts of read/write memory
are shown to be solvable by these enhanced automata.Comment: 32 pages, a preliminary version of this work was presented in the 9th
International Conference on Unconventional Computation (UC2010
A lower bound on the quantum query complexity of read-once functions
We establish a lower bound of on the bounded-error
quantum query complexity of read-once Boolean functions, providing evidence for
the conjecture that is a lower bound for all Boolean
functions. Our technique extends a result of Ambainis, based on the idea that
successful computation of a function requires ``decoherence'' of initially
coherently superposed inputs in the query register, having different values of
the function. The number of queries is bounded by comparing the required total
amount of decoherence of a judiciously selected set of input-output pairs to an
upper bound on the amount achievable in a single query step. We use an
extension of this result to general weights on input pairs, and general
superpositions of inputs.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe
Efficient and long-lived quantum memory with cold atoms inside a ring cavity
Quantum memories are regarded as one of the fundamental building blocks of
linear-optical quantum computation and long-distance quantum communication. A
long standing goal to realize scalable quantum information processing is to
build a long-lived and efficient quantum memory. There have been significant
efforts distributed towards this goal. However, either efficient but
short-lived or long-lived but inefficient quantum memories have been
demonstrated so far. Here we report a high-performance quantum memory in which
long lifetime and high retrieval efficiency meet for the first time. By placing
a ring cavity around an atomic ensemble, employing a pair of clock states,
creating a long-wavelength spin wave, and arranging the setup in the
gravitational direction, we realize a quantum memory with an intrinsic spin
wave to photon conversion efficiency of 73(2)% together with a storage lifetime
of 3.2(1) ms. This realization provides an essential tool towards scalable
linear-optical quantum information processing.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Exponential Separation of Quantum and Classical Online Space Complexity
Although quantum algorithms realizing an exponential time speed-up over the
best known classical algorithms exist, no quantum algorithm is known performing
computation using less space resources than classical algorithms. In this
paper, we study, for the first time explicitly, space-bounded quantum
algorithms for computational problems where the input is given not as a whole,
but bit by bit. We show that there exist such problems that a quantum computer
can solve using exponentially less work space than a classical computer. More
precisely, we introduce a very natural and simple model of a space-bounded
quantum online machine and prove an exponential separation of classical and
quantum online space complexity, in the bounded-error setting and for a total
language. The language we consider is inspired by a communication problem (the
set intersection function) that Buhrman, Cleve and Wigderson used to show an
almost quadratic separation of quantum and classical bounded-error
communication complexity. We prove that, in the framework of online space
complexity, the separation becomes exponential.Comment: 13 pages. v3: minor change
Maintaining coherence in Quantum Computers
The effect of the inevitable coupling to external degrees of freedom of a
quantum computer are examined. It is found that for quantum calculations (in
which the maintenance of coherence over a large number of states is important),
not only must the coupling be small but the time taken in the quantum
calculation must be less than the thermal time scale, . For longer
times the condition on the strength of the coupling to the external world
becomes much more stringent.Comment: 13 page
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