Quantum Computers, Factoring, and Decoherence

In a quantum computer any superposition of inputs evolves unitarily into the corresponding superposition of outputs. It has been recently demonstrated that such computers can dramatically speed up the task of finding factors of large numbers -- a problem of great practical significance because of its cryptographic applications. Instead of the nearly exponential ($\sim \exp L^{1/3}$, for a number with $L$ digits) time required by the fastest classical algorithm, the quantum algorithm gives factors in a time polynomial in $L$ ($\sim L^2$). This enormous speed-up is possible in principle because quantum computation can simultaneously follow all of the paths corresponding to the distinct classical inputs, obtaining the solution as a result of coherent quantum interference between the alternatives. Hence, a quantum computer is sophisticated interference device, and it is essential for its quantum state to remain coherent in the course of the operation. In this report we investigate the effect of decoherence on the quantum factorization algorithm and establish an upper bound on a ``quantum factorizable'' $L$ based on the decoherence suffered per operational step.Comment: 7 pages,LaTex + 2 postcript figures in a uuencoded fil

On the distribution of minor planet inclinations

The distribution of minor planet orbits with inclination to the ecliptic plane and with respect to the Jupiter orbit is studied. Position of the plane considered as the mean plane of the asteroid belt is determined

Optimizing local protocols implementing nonlocal quantum gates

We present a method of optimizing recently designed protocols for implementing an arbitrary nonlocal unitary gate acting on a bipartite system. These protocols use only local operations and classical communication with the assistance of entanglement, and are deterministic while also being "one-shot", in that they use only one copy of an entangled resource state. The optimization is in the sense of minimizing the amount of entanglement used, and it is often the case that less entanglement is needed than with an alternative protocol using two-way teleportation.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure. This is a companion paper to arXiv:1001.546

Nonlocal resources in the presence of Superselection Rules

Superselection rules severely alter the possible operations that can be implemented on a distributed quantum system. Whereas the restriction to local operations imposed by a bipartite setting gives rise to the notion of entanglement as a nonlocal resource, the superselection rule associated with particle number conservation leads to a new resource, the \emph{superselection induced variance} of local particle number. We show that, in the case of pure quantum states, one can quantify the nonlocal properties by only two additive measures, and that all states with the same measures can be asymptotically interconverted into each other by local operations and classical communication. Furthermore we discuss how superselection rules affect the concepts of majorization, teleportation and mixed state entanglement.Comment: 4 page

Property testing of unitary operators

In this paper, we systematically study property testing of unitary operators. We first introduce a distance measure that reflects the average difference between unitary operators. Then we show that, with respect to this distance measure, the orthogonal group, quantum juntas (i.e. unitary operators that only nontrivially act on a few qubits of the system) and Clifford group can be all efficiently tested. In fact, their testing algorithms have query complexities independent of the system's size and have only one-sided error. Then we give an algorithm that tests any finite subset of the unitary group, and demonstrate an application of this algorithm to the permutation group. This algorithm also has one-sided error and polynomial query complexity, but it is unknown whether it can be efficiently implemented in general

Quantum divisibility test and its application in mesoscopic physics

We present a quantum algorithm to transform the cardinality of a set of charged particles flowing along a quantum wire into a binary number. The setup performing this task (for at most N particles) involves log_2 N quantum bits serving as counters and a sequential read out. Applications include a divisibility check to experimentally test the size of a finite train of particles in a quantum wire with a one-shot measurement and a scheme allowing to entangle multi-particle wave functions and generating Bell states, Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states, or Dicke states in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

Extremal covariant measurements

We characterize the extremal points of the convex set of quantum measurements that are covariant under a finite-dimensional projective representation of a compact group, with action of the group on the measurement probability space which is generally non-transitive. In this case the POVM density is made of multiple orbits of positive operators, and, in the case of extremal measurements, we provide a bound for the number of orbits and for the rank of POVM elements. Two relevant applications are considered, concerning state discrimination with mutually unbiased bases and the maximization of the mutual information.Comment: 11 pages, no figure

On the Solution of Linear Programming Problems in the Age of Big Data

The Big Data phenomenon has spawned large-scale linear programming problems. In many cases, these problems are non-stationary. In this paper, we describe a new scalable algorithm called NSLP for solving high-dimensional, non-stationary linear programming problems on modern cluster computing systems. The algorithm consists of two phases: Quest and Targeting. The Quest phase calculates a solution of the system of inequalities defining the constraint system of the linear programming problem under the condition of dynamic changes in input data. To this end, the apparatus of Fejer mappings is used. The Targeting phase forms a special system of points having the shape of an n-dimensional axisymmetric cross. The cross moves in the n-dimensional space in such a way that the solution of the linear programming problem is located all the time in an "-vicinity of the central point of the cross.Comment: Parallel Computational Technologies - 11th International Conference, PCT 2017, Kazan, Russia, April 3-7, 2017, Proceedings (to be published in Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 753

Bitcoin Crypto - bounties for quantum capable adversaries

With the advances in quantum computing taking place over the last few years, researchers have started considering the implications on cryptocurrencies. As most digital signature schemes would be impacted, it is somewhat reassuring that transition schemes to quantum resistant signatures are already being considered for Bitcoin. In this work, we stress the danger of public key reuse, as it prevents users from recovering their funds in the presence of a quantum enabled adversary despite any transition scheme the developers decide to implement. We emphasize this threat by quantifying the damage a functional quantum computer could inflict on Bitcoin (and Bitcoin Cash) by breaking exposed public keys