On the Necessity of Entanglement for the Explanation of Quantum Speedup

In this paper I argue that entanglement is a necessary component for any explanation of quantum speedup and I address some purported counter-examples that some claim show that the contrary is true. In particular, I address Biham et al.'s mixed-state version of the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, and Knill & Laflamme's deterministic quantum computation with one qubit (DQC1) model of quantum computation. I argue that these examples do not demonstrate that entanglement is unnecessary for the explanation of quantum speedup, but that they rather illuminate and clarify the role that entanglement does play.Comment: Many clarificatory changes, and improved argumentation. Comments and criticisms are still welcom

Information-Theoretic Meaning of Quantum Information Flow and Its Applications to Amplitude Amplification Algorithms

The advantages of quantum information processing are in many cases obtained as consequences of quantum interactions, especially for computational tasks where two-qubit interactions are essential. In this work, we establish the framework of analyzing and quantifying loss or gain of information on a quantum system when the system interacts with its environment. We show that the information flow, the theoretical method of characterizing (non-)Markovianity of quantum dynamics, corresponds to the rate of the minimum uncertainty about the system given quantum side information. Thereafter, we analyze the information exchange among subsystems that are under the performance of quantum algorithms, in particular, the amplitude amplification algorithms where the computational process relies fully on quantum evolution. Different realizations of the algorithm are considered, such as i)quantum circuits, ii) analog computation, and iii) adiabatic computation. It is shown that, in all the cases, our formalism provides insights about the process of amplifying the amplitude from the information flow or leakage on the subsystems.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, close to the published versio

Statistical comparison of ensemble implementations of Grover's search algorithm to classical sequential searches

We compare pseudopure state ensemble implementations, quantified by their initial polarization and ensemble size, of Grover's search algorithm to probabilistic classical sequential search algorithms in terms of their success and failure probabilities. We propose a criterion for quantifying the resources used by the ensemble implementation via the aggregate number of oracle invocations across the entire ensemble and use this as a basis for comparison with classical search algorithms. We determine bounds for a critical polarization such that the ensemble algorithm succeeds with a greater probability than the probabilistic classical sequential search. Our results indicate that the critical polarization scales as N^(-1/4) where N is the database size and that for typical room temperature solution state NMR, the polarization is such that the ensemble implementation of Grover's algorithm would be advantageous for N > 10^2

Hands-on Quantum Programming Labs for EECS Students

This report presents a practical approach to teaching quantum computing to Electrical Engineering & Computer Science (EECS) students through dedicated hands-on programming labs. The labs cover a diverse range of topics, encompassing fundamental elements, such as entanglement, quantum gates and circuits, as well as advanced algorithms including Quantum Key Distribution, Deutsch and Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithms, Simon's algorithm, and Grover's algorithm. As educators, we aim to share our teaching insights and resources with fellow instructors in the field. The full lab handouts and program templates are provided for interested instructors. Furthermore, the report elucidates the rationale behind the design of each experiment, enabling a deeper understanding of quantum computing.Comment: 68 pages, 29 figures; several typos correcte