Physics and computer science: quantum computation and other approaches

This is a position paper written as an introduction to the special volume on quantum algorithms I edited for the journal Mathematical Structures in Computer Science (Volume 20 - Special Issue 06 (Quantum Algorithms), 2010)

Quantum walks: a comprehensive review

Quantum walks, the quantum mechanical counterpart of classical random walks, is an advanced tool for building quantum algorithms that has been recently shown to constitute a universal model of quantum computation. Quantum walks is now a solid field of research of quantum computation full of exciting open problems for physicists, computer scientists, mathematicians and engineers. In this paper we review theoretical advances on the foundations of both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks, together with the role that randomness plays in quantum walks, the connections between the mathematical models of coined discrete quantum walks and continuous quantum walks, the quantumness of quantum walks, a summary of papers published on discrete quantum walks and entanglement as well as a succinct review of experimental proposals and realizations of discrete-time quantum walks. Furthermore, we have reviewed several algorithms based on both discrete- and continuous-time quantum walks as well as a most important result: the computational universality of both continuous- and discrete- time quantum walks.Comment: Paper accepted for publication in Quantum Information Processing Journa

Discrete Quantum Walks and Quantum Image Processing

... Processing. Our work is a contribution within the field of quantum computation from the perspective of a computer scientist. With the purpose of finding new techniques to develop quantum algorithms, there has been an increasing interest in studying Quantum Walks, the quantum counterparts of classical random walks. Our work in quantum walks begins with a critical and comprehensive assessment of those elements of classical random walks and discrete quantum walks on undirected graphs relevant to algorithm development. We propose a model of discrete quantum walks on an infinite line using pairs of quantum coins under different degrees of entanglement, as well as quantum walkers in different initial state configurations, including superpositions of corresponding basis states. We have found that the probability distributions of such quantum walks have particular forms which are different from the probability distributions of classical random walks. Also, our numerical results show that the symmetry properties of quantum walks with entangled coins have a non-trivial relationship with corresponding initial states and evolution operators. In addition, we have studied the properties of the entanglement generated between walkers, in