145 research outputs found
Quantum speedup of classical mixing processes
Most approximation algorithms for #P-complete problems (e.g., evaluating the
permanent of a matrix or the volume of a polytope) work by reduction to the
problem of approximate sampling from a distribution over a large set
. This problem is solved using the {\em Markov chain Monte Carlo} method: a
sparse, reversible Markov chain on with stationary distribution
is run to near equilibrium. The running time of this random walk algorithm, the
so-called {\em mixing time} of , is as shown
by Aldous, where is the spectral gap of and is the minimum
value of . A natural question is whether a speedup of this classical
method to , the diameter of the graph
underlying , is possible using {\em quantum walks}.
We provide evidence for this possibility using quantum walks that {\em
decohere} under repeated randomized measurements. We show: (a) decoherent
quantum walks always mix, just like their classical counterparts, (b) the
mixing time is a robust quantity, essentially invariant under any smooth form
of decoherence, and (c) the mixing time of the decoherent quantum walk on a
periodic lattice is , which is indeed
and is asymptotically no worse than the
diameter of (the obvious lower bound) up to at most a logarithmic
factor.Comment: 13 pages; v2 revised several part
The utility of presentation and 4-hour high sensitivity troponin I to rule-out acute myocardial infarction in the emergency department
Objectives: International guidance recommends that early serial sampling of high sensitivity troponin be used to accurately identify acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in chest pain patients. The background evidence for this approach is limited. We evaluated whether on presentation and 4-hour high-sensitivity troponin I (hs-cTnI) could be used to accurately rule-out AMI. Design and methods: hs-cTnI was measured on presentation and at 4-hours in adult patients attending an emergency department with possible acute coronary syndrome. We determined the sensitivity for AMI for at least one hs-cTnI above the 99th percentile for a healthy population or alone or in combination with new ischemic ECG changes. Both overall and sex-specific 99th percentiles were assessed. Patients with negative tests were designated low-risk. Results: 63 (17.1%) of 368 patients had AMI. The median (interquartile range) time from symptom onset to first blood sampling was 4.8. h (2.8-8.6). The sensitivity of the presentation and 4. h hs-cTnI using the overall 99th percentile was 92.1% (95% CI 82.4% to 97.4%) and negative predictive value 95.4% (92.3% to 97.4%) with 78.3% low-risk. Applying the sex-specific 99th percentile did not change the sensitivity. The addition of ECG did not change the sensitivity. Conclusion: Hs-cTnI >. 99th percentile thresholds measured on presentation and at 4-hours was not a safe strategy to rule-out AMI in this clinical setting irrespective of whether sex-specific 99th percentiles were used, or whether hs-cTnI was combined with ECG results
Non-intersecting Brownian walkers and Yang-Mills theory on the sphere
We study a system of N non-intersecting Brownian motions on a line segment
[0,L] with periodic, absorbing and reflecting boundary conditions. We show that
the normalized reunion probabilities of these Brownian motions in the three
models can be mapped to the partition function of two-dimensional continuum
Yang-Mills theory on a sphere respectively with gauge groups U(N), Sp(2N) and
SO(2N). Consequently, we show that in each of these Brownian motion models, as
one varies the system size L, a third order phase transition occurs at a
critical value L=L_c(N)\sim \sqrt{N} in the large N limit. Close to the
critical point, the reunion probability, properly centered and scaled, is
identical to the Tracy-Widom distribution describing the probability
distribution of the largest eigenvalue of a random matrix. For the periodic
case we obtain the Tracy-Widom distribution corresponding to the GUE random
matrices, while for the absorbing and reflecting cases we get the Tracy-Widom
distribution corresponding to GOE random matrices. In the absorbing case, the
reunion probability is also identified as the maximal height of N
non-intersecting Brownian excursions ("watermelons" with a wall) whose
distribution in the asymptotic scaling limit is then described by GOE
Tracy-Widom law. In addition, large deviation formulas for the maximum height
are also computed.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figures, revised and published version. A typo has been
corrected in Eq. (10
Heart Fatty Acid Binding Protein and cardiac troponin: development of an optimal rule-out strategy for acute myocardial infarction
Background: Improved ability to rapidly rule-out Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) in patients presenting with chest pain will promote decongestion of the Emergency Department (ED) and reduce unnecessary hospital admissions. We assessed a new commercial Heart Fatty Acid Binding Protein (H-FABP) assay for additional diagnostic value when combined with cardiac troponin (using a high sensitivity assay). Methods: H-FABP and high-sensitivity troponins I (hs-cTnI) and T (hs-cTnT) were measured in samples taken on-presentation from patients, attending the ED, with symptoms triggering investigation for possible acute coronary syndrome. The optimal combination of H-FABP with each hs-cTn was defined as that which maximized the proportion of patients with a negative test (low-risk) whilst maintaining at least 99 % sensitivity for AMI. A negative test comprised both H-FABP and hs-cTn below the chosen threshold in the absence of ischemic changes on the ECG. Results: One thousand seventy-nine patients were recruited including 248 with AMI. H-FABP 99 % sensitivity for AMI whilst classifying 40.9 % of patients as low-risk. The combination of H-FABP < 3.9 ng/mL and hs-cTnT < 7.6 ng/L with a negative ECG maintained the same sensitivity whilst classifying 32.1 % of patients as low risk. Conclusions: In patients requiring rule-out of AMI, the addition of H-FABP to hs-cTn at presentation (in the absence of new ischaemic ECG findings) may accelerate clinical diagnostic decision making by identifying up to 40 % of such patients as low-risk for AMI on the basis of blood tests performed on presentation. If implemented this has the potential to significantly accelerate triaging of patients for early discharge from the ED
Increasing subsequences and the hard-to-soft edge transition in matrix ensembles
Our interest is in the cumulative probabilities Pr(L(t) \le l) for the
maximum length of increasing subsequences in Poissonized ensembles of random
permutations, random fixed point free involutions and reversed random fixed
point free involutions. It is shown that these probabilities are equal to the
hard edge gap probability for matrix ensembles with unitary, orthogonal and
symplectic symmetry respectively. The gap probabilities can be written as a sum
over correlations for certain determinantal point processes. From these
expressions a proof can be given that the limiting form of Pr(L(t) \le l) in
the three cases is equal to the soft edge gap probability for matrix ensembles
with unitary, orthogonal and symplectic symmetry respectively, thereby
reclaiming theorems due to Baik-Deift-Johansson and Baik-Rains.Comment: LaTeX, 19 page
Growth models, random matrices and Painleve transcendents
The Hammersley process relates to the statistical properties of the maximum
length of all up/right paths connecting random points of a given density in the
unit square from (0,0) to (1,1). This process can also be interpreted in terms
of the height of the polynuclear growth model, or the length of the longest
increasing subsequence in a random permutation. The cumulative distribution of
the longest path length can be written in terms of an average over the unitary
group. Versions of the Hammersley process in which the points are constrained
to have certain symmetries of the square allow similar formulas. The derivation
of these formulas is reviewed. Generalizing the original model to have point
sources along two boundaries of the square, and appropriately scaling the
parameters gives a model in the KPZ universality class. Following works of Baik
and Rains, and Pr\"ahofer and Spohn, we review the calculation of the scaled
cumulative distribution, in which a particular Painlev\'e II transcendent plays
a prominent role.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figure
Almost uniform sampling via quantum walks
Many classical randomized algorithms (e.g., approximation algorithms for
#P-complete problems) utilize the following random walk algorithm for {\em
almost uniform sampling} from a state space of cardinality : run a
symmetric ergodic Markov chain on for long enough to obtain a random
state from within total variation distance of the uniform
distribution over . The running time of this algorithm, the so-called {\em
mixing time} of , is , where
is the spectral gap of .
We present a natural quantum version of this algorithm based on repeated
measurements of the {\em quantum walk} . We show that it
samples almost uniformly from with logarithmic dependence on
just as the classical walk does; previously, no such
quantum walk algorithm was known. We then outline a framework for analyzing its
running time and formulate two plausible conjectures which together would imply
that it runs in time when is
the standard transition matrix of a constant-degree graph. We prove each
conjecture for a subclass of Cayley graphs.Comment: 13 pages; v2 added NSF grant info; v3 incorporated feedbac
Longest Increasing Subsequence under Persistent Comparison Errors
We study the problem of computing a longest increasing subsequence in a
sequence of distinct elements in the presence of persistent comparison
errors. In this model, every comparison between two elements can return the
wrong result with some fixed (small) probability , and comparisons cannot
be repeated. Computing the longest increasing subsequence exactly is impossible
in this model, therefore, the objective is to identify a subsequence that (i)
is indeed increasing and (ii) has a length that approximates the length of the
longest increasing subsequence.
We present asymptotically tight upper and lower bounds on both the
approximation factor and the running time. In particular, we present an
algorithm that computes an -approximation in time , with
high probability. This approximation relies on the fact that that we can
approximately sort elements in time such that the maximum
dislocation of an element is at most . For the lower bounds, we
prove that (i) there is a set of sequences, such that on a sequence picked
randomly from this set every algorithm must return an -approximation with high probability, and (ii) any -approximation
algorithm for longest increasing subsequence requires
comparisons, even in the absence of errors
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