We present a strong connection between quantum information and quantum
permutation groups. Specifically, we define a notion of quantum isomorphisms of
graphs based on quantum automorphisms from the theory of quantum groups, and
then show that this is equivalent to the previously defined notion of quantum
isomorphism corresponding to perfect quantum strategies to the isomorphism
game. Moreover, we show that two connected graphs X and Y are quantum
isomorphic if and only if there exists x∈V(X) and y∈V(Y) that are
in the same orbit of the quantum automorphism group of the disjoint union of
X and Y. This connection links quantum groups to the more concrete notion
of nonlocal games and physically observable quantum behaviours. We exploit this
link by using ideas and results from quantum information in order to prove new
results about quantum automorphism groups, and about quantum permutation groups
more generally. In particular, we show that asymptotically almost surely all
graphs have trivial quantum automorphism group. Furthermore, we use examples of
quantum isomorphic graphs from previous work to construct an infinite family of
graphs which are quantum vertex transitive but fail to be vertex transitive,
answering a question from the quantum group literature.
Our main tool for proving these results is the introduction of orbits and
orbitals (orbits on ordered pairs) of quantum permutation groups. We show that
the orbitals of a quantum permutation group form a coherent
configuration/algebra, a notion from the field of algebraic graph theory. We
then prove that the elements of this quantum orbital algebra are exactly the
matrices that commute with the magic unitary defining the quantum group. We
furthermore show that quantum isomorphic graphs admit an isomorphism of their
quantum orbital algebras which maps the adjacency matrix of one graph to that
of the other.Comment: 39 page