48 research outputs found
Grover's algorithm on a Feynman computer
We present an implementation of Grover's algorithm in the framework of
Feynman's cursor model of a quantum computer. The cursor degrees of freedom act
as a quantum clocking mechanism, and allow Grover's algorithm to be performed
using a single, time-independent Hamiltonian. We examine issues of locality and
resource usage in implementing such a Hamiltonian. In the familiar language of
Heisenberg spin-spin coupling, the clocking mechanism appears as an excitation
of a basically linear chain of spins, with occasional controlled jumps that
allow for motion on a planar graph: in this sense our model implements the idea
of "timing" a quantum algorithm using a continuous-time random walk. In this
context we examine some consequences of the entanglement between the states of
the input/output register and the states of the quantum clock
Quantum search by measurement
We propose a quantum algorithm for solving combinatorial search problems that
uses only a sequence of measurements. The algorithm is similar in spirit to
quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, in that the goal is to remain in
the ground state of a time-varying Hamiltonian. Indeed, we show that the
running times of the two algorithms are closely related. We also show how to
achieve the quadratic speedup for Grover's unstructured search problem with
only two measurements. Finally, we discuss some similarities and differences
between the adiabatic and measurement algorithms.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Implications of Lorentz covariance for the guidance equation in two-slit quantum interference
It is known that Lorentz covariance fixes uniquely the current and the
associated guidance law in the trajectory interpretation of quantum mechanics
for spin particles. In the non-relativistic domain this implies a guidance law
for the electron which differs by an additional spin-dependent term from that
originally proposed by de Broglie and Bohm. In this paper we explore some of
the implications of the modified guidance law. We bring out a property of
mutual dependence in the particle coordinates that arises in product states,
and show that the quantum potential has scalar and vector components which
implies the particle is subject to a Lorentz-like force. The conditions for the
classical limit and the limit of negligible spin are given, and the empirical
sufficiency of the model is demonstrated. We then present a series of
calculations of the trajectories based on two-dimensional Gaussian wave packets
which illustrate how the additional spin-dependent term plays a significant
role in structuring both the individual trajectories and the ensemble. The
single packet corresponds to quantum inertial motion. The distinct features
encountered when the wavefunction is a product or a superposition are explored,
and the trajectories that model the two-slit experiment are given. The latter
paths exhibit several new characteristics compared with the original de
Broglie-Bohm ones, such as crossing of the axis of symmetry.Comment: 27 pages including 6 pages of figure
Ambiguities of arrival-time distributions in quantum theory
We consider the definition that might be given to the time at which a
particle arrives at a given place, both in standard quantum theory and also in
Bohmian mechanics. We discuss an ambiguity that arises in the standard theory
in three, but not in one, spatial dimension.Comment: LaTex, 12 pages, no figure
The meeting problem in the quantum random walk
We study the motion of two non-interacting quantum particles performing a
random walk on a line and analyze the probability that the two particles are
detected at a particular position after a certain number of steps (meeting
problem). The results are compared to the corresponding classical problem and
differences are pointed out. Analytic formulas for the meeting probability and
its asymptotic behavior are derived. The decay of the meeting probability for
distinguishable particles is faster then in the classical case, but not
quadratically faster. Entangled initial states and the bosonic or fermionic
nature of the walkers are considered
The classical supersymmetric Coulomb problem
After setting up a general model for supersymmetric classical mechanics in
more than one dimension we describe systems with centrally symmetric potentials
and their Poisson algebra. We then apply this information to the investigation
and solution of the supersymmetric Coulomb problem, specified by an 1/|x|
repulsive bosonic potential.Comment: 25 pages, 2 figures; reference added, some minor modification
Bell-Type Quantum Field Theories
In [Phys. Rep. 137, 49 (1986)] John S. Bell proposed how to associate
particle trajectories with a lattice quantum field theory, yielding what can be
regarded as a |Psi|^2-distributed Markov process on the appropriate
configuration space. A similar process can be defined in the continuum, for
more or less any regularized quantum field theory; such processes we call
Bell-type quantum field theories. We describe methods for explicitly
constructing these processes. These concern, in addition to the definition of
the Markov processes, the efficient calculation of jump rates, how to obtain
the process from the processes corresponding to the free and interaction
Hamiltonian alone, and how to obtain the free process from the free Hamiltonian
or, alternatively, from the one-particle process by a construction analogous to
"second quantization." As an example, we consider the process for a second
quantized Dirac field in an external electromagnetic field.Comment: 53 pages LaTeX, no 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
Quantum random walks with history dependence
We introduce a multi-coin discrete quantum random walk where the amplitude
for a coin flip depends upon previous tosses. Although the corresponding
classical random walk is unbiased, a bias can be introduced into the quantum
walk by varying the history dependence. By mixing the biased random walk with
an unbiased one, the direction of the bias can be reversed leading to a new
quantum version of Parrondo's paradox.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, RevTe
Superconformal mechanics and nonlinear supersymmetry
We show that a simple change of the classical boson-fermion coupling
constant, , , in the superconformal mechanics
model gives rise to a radical change of a symmetry: the modified classical and
quantum systems are characterized by the nonlinear superconformal symmetry. It
is generated by the four bosonic integrals which form the so(1,2) x u(1)
subalgebra, and by the 2(n+1) fermionic integrals constituting the two spin-n/2
so(1,2)-representations and anticommuting for the order n polynomials of the
even generators. We find that the modified quantum system with an integer value
of the parameter is described simultaneously by the two nonlinear
superconformal symmetries of the orders relatively shifted in odd number. For
the original quantum model with , , this means the
presence of the order 2p nonlinear superconformal symmetry in addition to the
osp(2|2) supersymmetry.Comment: 16 pages; misprints corrected, note and ref added, to appear in JHE