The quantum query models is one of the most important models in quantum computing. Several well-known quantum algorithms are captured by this model, including the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, the Simon algorithm, the Grover algorithm and others. In this paper, we characterize the computational power of exact one-query quantum algorithms. It is proved that a total Boolean function $f:\{0,1\}^n \rightarrow \{0,1\}$ can be exactly computed by a one-query quantum algorithm if and only if $f(x)=x_{i_1}$ or ${x_{i_1} \oplus x_{i_2} }$ (up to isomorphism). Note that unlike most work in the literature based on the polynomial method, our proof does not resort to any knowledge about the polynomial degree of $f$.
We will show that if there exists a quantum query algorithm that exactly computes some total Boolean function f by making T queries, then there is a classical deterministic algorithm A that exactly computes f making O(T^3) queries. The best know bound previously was O(T^4) due to Beals et al.
The query model (or black-box model) has attracted much attention from the communities of both classical and quantum computing. Usually, quantum advantages are revealed by presenting a quantum algorithm that has a better query complexity than its classical counterpart. For example, the well-known quantum algorithms including Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, Simon algorithm and Grover algorithm all show a considerable advantage of quantum computing from the viewpoint of query complexity. Recently we have considered in (Phys. Rev. A. {\bf 101}, 02232 (2020)) the problem: what functions can be computed b…
We present several families of total boolean functions which have exact quantum query complexity which is a constant multiple (between 1/2 and 2/3) of their classical query complexity, and show that optimal quantum algorithms for these functions cannot be obtained by simply computing parities of pairs of bits. We also characterise the model of nonadaptive exact quantum query complexity in terms of coding theory and completely characterise the query complexity of symmetric boolean functions in this context. These results were originally inspired by numerically solving the semidefinite programs …
In this paper we study the complexity of quantum query algorithms computing the value of Boolean function and its relation to the degree of algebraic polynomial representing this function. We pay special attention to Boolean functions with quantum query algorithm complexity lower than the deterministic one. Relation between the degree of representing polynomial and potentially possible quantum algorithm complexity has been already described; unfortunately, there are few examples of quantum algorithms to illustrate theoretical evaluation of the complexity. Work in this direction was aimed (1) t…
Quantum algorithms can be analyzed in a query model to compute Boolean functions. Function input is provided in a black box, and the aim is to compute the function value using as few queries to the black box as possible. A repetition code is an error detection scheme that repeats each bit of the original message r times. After a message with redundant bits is transmitted via a communication channel, it must be verified. If the received message consists of r-size blocks of equal bits, the conclusion is that there were no errors. The verification procedure can be interpreted as an application of…
In the exact quantum query model a successful algorithm must always output the correct function value. We investigate the function that is true if exactly $k$ or $l$ of the $n$ input bits given by an oracle are 1. We find an optimal algorithm (for some cases), and a nontrivial general lower and upper bound on the minimum number of queries to the black box.
Many quantum algorithms can be analyzed in a query model to compute Boolean functions where input is given by a black box. As in the classical version of decision trees, different kinds of quantum query algorithms are possible: exact, zero-error, bounded-error and even nondeterministic. In this paper, we study the latter class of algorithms. We introduce a fresh notion in addition to already studied nondeterministic algorithms and introduce dual nondeterministic quantum query algorithms. We examine properties of such algorithms and prove relations with exact and nondeterministic quantum query …
A quantum algorithm is exact if it always produces the correct answer, on any input. Coming up with exact quantum algorithms that substantially outperform the best classical algorithm has been a quite challenging task. In this paper, we present two new exact quantum algorithms for natural problems: 1) for the problem EXACT_k^n in which we have to determine whether the sequence of input bits x_1, ..., x_n contains exactly k values x_i=1; 2) for the problem THRESHOLD_k^n in which we have to determine if at least k of n input bits are equal to 1.
We present an O(\sqrt{N}) discrete query quantum algorithm for evaluating balanced binary NAND formulas and an O(N^{{1/2}+O(\frac{1}{\sqrt{\log N}})}) discrete query quantum algorithm for evaluating arbitrary binary NAND formulas.
Quantum algorithms can be analyzed in a query model to compute Boolean functions where input is given in a black box, but the aim is to compute function value for arbitrary input using as few queries as possible. In this paper we concentrate on quantum query algorithm designing tasks. The main aim of research was to find new efficient algorithms and develop general algorithm designing techniques. We present several exact quantum query algorithms for certain problems that are better than classical counterparts. Next we introduce algorithm transformation methods that allow significant enlarging …
In Exact Quantum Query model, almost all of the Boolean functions for which non-trivial query algorithms exist are symmetric in nature. The most well known techniques in this domain exploit parity decision trees, in which the parity of two bits can be obtained by a single query. Thus, exact quantum query algorithms outperforming parity decision trees are rare. In this paper we first obtain optimal exact quantum query algorithms ($Q_{algo}(f)$) for a direct sum based class of $Ω\left( 2^{\frac{\sqrt{n}}{2}} \right)$ non-symmetric functions. We construct these algorithms by analyzing the algebra…
We show that any boolean function can be evaluated optimally by a quantum query algorithm that alternates a certain fixed, input-independent reflection with a second reflection that coherently queries the input string. Originally introduced for solving the unstructured search problem, this two-reflections structure is therefore a universal feature of quantum algorithms. Our proof goes via the general adversary bound, a semi-definite program (SDP) that lower-bounds the quantum query complexity of a function. By a quantum algorithm for evaluating span programs, this lower bound is known to be ti…
The continuous-time query model is a variant of the discrete query model in which queries can be interleaved with known operations (called "driving operations") continuously in time. Interesting algorithms have been discovered in this model, such as an algorithm for evaluating nand trees more efficiently than any classical algorithm. Subsequent work has shown that there also exists an efficient algorithm for nand trees in the discrete query model; however, there is no efficient conversion known for continuous-time query algorithms for arbitrary problems. We show that any quantum algorithm in t…
Recently, Farhi, Goldstone, and Gutmann gave a quantum algorithm for evaluating NAND trees that runs in time O(sqrt(N log N)) in the Hamiltonian query model. In this note, we point out that their algorithm can be converted into an algorithm using O(N^{1/2 + epsilon}) queries in the conventional quantum query model, for any fixed epsilon > 0.
In this Letter we present a quantum deletion algorithm that deletes a marked state from an unsorted database of $N$ items with only a single query. This algorithm achieves exponential speedup compared with classical algorithm where O(N) number of query is required. General property of this deleting algorithm is also studied.
In the thesis, we use a recently developed tight characterisation of quantum query complexity, the adversary bound, to develop new quantum algorithms and lower bounds. Our results are as follows: * We develop a new technique for the construction of quantum algorithms: learning graphs. * We use learning graphs to improve quantum query complexity of the triangle detection and the $k$-distinctness problems. * We prove tight lower bounds for the $k$-sum and the triangle sum problems. * We construct quantum algorithms for some subgraph-finding problems that are optimal in terms of query, time and s…
Quantum algorithms can be analyzed in a query model to compute Boolean functions where input is given in a black box and the aim is to compute function value for arbitrary input using as few queries as possible. We concentrate on quantum query algorithm designing tasks in this paper. The main aim of the research was to find new efficient algorithms and develop general algorithm designing techniques. First, we present several exact quantum query algorithms for certain problems that are better than classical counterparts. Next, we introduce algorithm transformation methods that allow significant…
Bernstein-Vazirani algorithm (the one-query algorithm) can identify a completely specified linear Boolean function using a single query to the oracle with certainty. The first aim of the paper is to show that if the provided Boolean function is affine, then one more query to the oracle (the two-query algorithm) is required to identify the affinity of the function with certainty. The second aim of the paper is to show that if the provided Boolean function is incompletely defined, then the one-query and the two-query algorithms can be used as bounded-error quantum polynomial algorithms to identi…
Simon's problem is an essential example demonstrating the faster speed of quantum computers than classical computers for solving some problems. The optimal separation between exact quantum and classical query complexities for Simon's problem has been proved by Cai $\&$ Qiu. Generalized Simon's problem can be described as follows. Given a function $f:{\{0, 1\}}^n \to {\{0, 1\}}^m$, with the property that there is some unknown hidden subgroup $S$ such that $f(x)=f(y)$ iff $x \oplus y\in S$, for any $x, y\in {\{0, 1\}}^n$, where $|S|=2^k$ for some $0\leq k\leq n$. The goal is to find $S$. For the…
Simon's problem is one of the most important problems demonstrating the power of quantum computers, which achieves a large separation between quantum and classical query complexities. However, Simon's discussion on his problem was limited to bounded-error setting, which means his algorithm can not always get the correct answer. Exact quantum algorithms for Simon's problem have also been proposed, which deterministically solve the problem with O(n) queries. Also the quantum lower bound Ω(n) for Simon's problem is known. Although these algorithms are either complicated or specialized, their resu…
We show how to efficiently simulate continuous-time quantum query algorithms that run in time T in a manner that preserves the query complexity (within a polylogarithmic factor) while also incurring a small overhead cost in the total number of gates between queries. By small overhead, we mean T within a factor that is polylogarithmic in terms of T and a cost measure that reflects the cost of computing the driving Hamiltonian. This permits any continuous-time quantum algorithm based on an efficiently computable driving Hamiltonian to be converted into a gate-efficient algorithm with similar run…
We give and prove an optimal exact quantum query algorithm with complexity $k+1$ for computing the promise problem (i.e., symmetric and partial Boolean function) $DJ_n^k$ defined as: $DJ_n^k(x)=1$ for $|x|=n/2$, $DJ_n^k(x)=0$ for $|x|$ in the set $\{0, 1,\ldots, k, n-k, n-k+1,\ldots,n\}$, and it is undefined for the rest cases, where $n$ is even, $|x|$ is the Hamming weight of $x$. The case of $k=0$ is the well-known Deutsch-Jozsa problem. We outline all symmetric (and partial) Boolean functions with degrees 1 and 2, and prove their exact quantum query complexity. Then we prove that any symmet…
One of the most important quantum algorithms ever discovered is Grover's algorithm for searching an unordered set. We give a new lower bound in the query model which proves that Grover's algorithm is exactly optimal. Similar to existing methods for proving lower bounds, we bound the amount of information we can gain from a single oracle query, but we bound this information in terms of angles. This allows our proof to be simple, self-contained, based on only elementary mathematics, capturing our intuition, while obtaining at the same an exact bound.
We study randomized and quantum query (a.k.a. decision tree) complexity for all total Boolean functions, with emphasis to derandomization and dequantization (removing quantumness from algorithms). Firstly, we show that $D(f) = O(Q_1(f)^3)$ for any total function $f$, where $D(f)$ is the minimal number of queries made by a deterministic query algorithm and $Q_1(f)$ is the number of queries made by any quantum query algorithm (decision tree analog in quantum case) with one-sided constant error; both algorithms compute function $f$. Secondly, we show that for all total Boolean functions $f$ holds…
We construct a new quantum algorithm for the graph collision problem; that is, the problem of deciding whether the set of marked vertices contains a pair of adjacent vertices in a known graph G. The query complexity of our algorithm is O(sqrt(n)+sqrt(alpha*(G))), where n is the number of vertices and alpha*(G) is the maximum total degree of the vertices in an independent set of G. Notably, if G is a random graph where every edge is present with a fixed probability independently of other edges, then our algorithm requires O(sqrt(n log n)) queries on most graphs, which is optimal up to the sqrt(…
We introduce a ``Statistical Query Sampling'' model, in which the goal of an algorithm is to produce an element in a hidden set $Ssubseteqbit^n$ with reasonable probability. The algorithm gains information about $S$ through oracle calls (statistical queries), where the algorithm submits a query function $g(cdot)$ and receives an approximation to $Pr_{x in S}[g(x)=1]$. We show how this model is related to NMR quantum computing, in which only statistical properties of an ensemble of quantum systems can be measured, and in particular to the question of whether one can translate standard quantum a…
An important and usual problem is to search all states we want from a database with a large number of states. In such, recall is vital. Grover's original quantum search algorithm has been generalized to the case of multiple solutions, but no one has calculated the query complexity in this case. We will use a generalized algorithm with higher precision to solve such a search problem that we should find all marked states and show that the practical query complexity increases with the number of marked states. In the end we will introduce an algorithm for the problem on a ``duality computer'' and …
This paper shows that a quantum mechanical algorithm that can query information relating to multiple items of the database, can search a database in a single query (a query is defined as any question to the database to which the database has to return a (YES/NO) answer). A classical algorithm will be limited to the information theoretic bound of at least O(log N) queries (which it would achieve by using a binary search).
We present a quantum algorithm which identifies with certainty a hidden subgroup of an arbitrary finite group G in only a polynomial (in log |G|) number of calls to the oracle. This is exponentially better than the best classical algorithm. However our quantum algorithm requires exponential time, as in the classical case. Our algorithm utilizes a new technique for constructing error-free algorithms for non-decision problems on quantum computers.
This work studies the quantum query complexity of Boolean functions in a scenario where it is only required that the query algorithm succeeds with a probability strictly greater than 1/2. We show that, just as in the communication complexity model, the unbounded error quantum query complexity is exactly half of its classical counterpart for any (partial or total) Boolean function. Moreover, we show that the "black-box" approach to convert quantum query algorithms into communication protocols by Buhrman-Cleve-Wigderson [STOC'98] is optimal even in the unbounded error setting. We also study a se…
We study the problem of computing the Hamming weight of an $n$-bit string modulo $m$, for any positive integer $m \leq n$ whose only prime factors are 2 and 3. We show that the exact quantum query complexity of this problem is $\left\lceil n(1 - 1/m) \right\rceil$. The upper bound is via an iterative query algorithm whose core components are the well-known 1-query quantum algorithm (essentially due to Deutsch) to compute the Hamming weight a 2-bit string mod 2 (i.e., the parity of the input bits), and a new 2-query quantum algorithm to compute the Hamming weight of a 3-bit string mod 3. We sho…
In the SEARCH WITH ADVICE problem, a single entry of interest within a database of N entries is to be found assuming that an ordering of the entries, from that with the highest probability of being the entry of interest (as determined by a so-called advice distribution) to that with the lowest, is provided. We present a quantum algorithm that, in the presence of significant levels of quantum noise, solves SEARCH WITH ADVICE for a power law advice distribution with average-case query complexity O(1) as N tends to infinity. Since as we also show the best classical algorithms for this problem exh…
We are concerned with the Hidden Subgroup Problem for finite groups. We present a simplified analysis of a quantum algorithm proposed by Hallgren, Russell and Ta-Shma as well as a detailed proof of a lower bound on the probability of success of the algorithm.
We present a class of fast quantum algorithms, based on Bernstein and Vazirani's parity problem, that retrieve the entire contents of a quantum database $Y$ in a single query. The class includes binary search problems and coin-weighing problems. Our methods far exceed the efficiency of classical algorithms which are bounded by the classical information-theoretic bound. We show the connection between classical algorithms based on several compression codes and our quantum-mechanical method.
It has long been known that any Boolean function that depends on n input variables has both degree and exact quantum query complexity of Omega(log n), and that this bound is achieved for some functions. In this paper we study the case of approximate degree and bounded-error quantum query complexity. We show that for these measures the correct lower bound is Omega(log n / loglog n), and we exhibit quantum algorithms for two functions where this bound is achieved.
It has been proved that almost all $n$-bit Boolean functions have exact classical query complexity $n$. However, the situation seemed to be very different when we deal with exact quantum query complexity. In this paper, we prove that almost all $n$-bit Boolean functions can be computed by an exact quantum algorithm with less than $n$ queries. More exactly, we prove that ${AND}_n$ is the only $n$-bit Boolean function, up to isomorphism, that requires $n$ queries.
Query complexity measures the amount of information an algorithm needs about a problem to compute a solution. On a quantum computer there are different realizations of a query and we will show that these are not always equivalent. Our definition of equivalence is based on the ability to simulate (or approximate) one query type by another. We show that a bit query can always approximate a phase query with just two queries, while there exist problems for which the number of phase queries which are necessary to approximate a bit query must grow exponentially with the precision of the bit query. T…
The weight decision problem, which requires to determine the Hamming weight of a given binary string, is a natural and important problem, with applications in cryptanalysis, coding theory, fault-tolerant circuit design and so on. In particular, both Deutsch-Jozsa problem and Grover search problem can be interpreted as special cases of weight decision problems. In this work, we investigate the exact quantum query complexity of weight decision problems, where the quantum algorithm must always output the correct answer. More specifically we consider a partial Boolean function which distinguishes …
We study the power of nonadaptive quantum query algorithms, which are algorithms whose queries to the input do not depend on the result of previous queries. First, we show that any bounded-error nonadaptive quantum query algorithm that computes some total boolean function depending on n variables must make Omega(n) queries to the input in total. Second, we show that, if there exists a quantum algorithm that uses k nonadaptive oracle queries to learn which one of a set of m boolean functions it has been given, there exists a nonadaptive classical algorithm using O(k log m) queries to solve the …
We study classical query algorithms with post-selection, and find that they are closely connected to rational functions with nonnegative coefficients. We show that the post-selected classical query complexity of a Boolean function is equal to the minimal degree of a rational function with nonnegative coefficients that approximates it (up to a factor of two). For post-selected quantum query algorithms, a similar relationship was shown by Mahadev and de Wolf, where the rational approximations are allowed to have negative coefficients. Using our characterisation, we find an exponentially large se…
We design quantum algorithms for maximum matching. Working in the query model, in both adjacency matrix and adjacency list settings, we improve on the best known algorithms for general graphs, matching previously obtained results for bipartite graphs. In particular, for a graph with $n$ nodes and $m$ edges, our algorithm makes $O(n^{7/4})$ queries in the matrix model and $O(n^{3/4}(m+n)^{1/2})$ queries in the list model. Our approach combines Gabow's classical maximum matching algorithm [Gabow, Fundamenta Informaticae, '17] with the guessing tree method of Beigi and Taghavi [Beigi and Taghavi,…
Inspired by the Elitzur-Vaidman bomb testing problem [arXiv:hep-th/9305002], we introduce a new query complexity model, which we call bomb query complexity $B(f)$. We investigate its relationship with the usual quantum query complexity $Q(f)$, and show that $B(f)=Θ(Q(f)^2)$. This result gives a new method to upper bound the quantum query complexity: we give a method of finding bomb query algorithms from classical algorithms, which then provide nonconstructive upper bounds on $Q(f)=Θ(\sqrt{B(f)})$. We subsequently were able to give explicit quantum algorithms matching our upper bound method. We…
Query complexity is a model of computation in which we have to compute a function $f(x_1, \ldots, x_N)$ of variables $x_i$ which can be accessed via queries. The complexity of an algorithm is measured by the number of queries that it makes. Query complexity is widely used for studying quantum algorithms, for two reasons. First, it includes many of the known quantum algorithms (including Grover's quantum search and a key subroutine of Shor's factoring algorithm). Second, one can prove lower bounds on the query complexity, bounding the possible quantum advantage. In the last few years, there hav…
It has recently been shown that starting with a classical query algorithm (decision tree) and a guessing algorithm that tries to predict the query answers, we can design a quantum algorithm with query complexity $O(\sqrt{GT})$ where $T$ is the query complexity of the classical algorithm (depth of the decision tree) and $G$ is the maximum number of wrong answers by the guessing algorithm [arXiv:1410.0932, arXiv:1905.13095]. In this paper we show that, given some constraints on the classical algorithms, this quantum algorithm can be implemented in time $\tilde O(\sqrt{GT})$. Our algorithm is bas…
Let $H$ be a fixed $k$-vertex graph with $m$ edges and minimum degree $d >0$. We use the learning graph framework of Belovs to show that the bounded-error quantum query complexity of determining if an $n$-vertex graph contains $H$ as a subgraph is $O(n^{2-2/k-t})$, where $ t = \max{\frac{k^2- 2(m+1)}{k(k+1)(m+1)}, \frac{2k - d - 3}{k(d+1)(m-d+2)}}$. The previous best algorithm of Magniez et al. had complexity $\widetilde O(n^{2-2/k})$.
Quantum span program algorithms for function evaluation commonly have reduced query complexity when promised that the input has a certain structure. We design a modified span program algorithm to show these speed-ups persist even without having a promise ahead of time, and we extend this approach to the more general problem of state conversion. For example, there is a span program algorithm that decides whether two vertices are connected in an $n$-vertex graph with $O(n^{3/2})$ queries in general, but with $O(\sqrt{k}n)$ queries if promised that, if there is a path, there is one with at most $…
This note complements the paper "One-Way Ticket to Las Vegas and the Quantum Adversary" (arxiv:2301.02003). I develop the ideas behind the adversary bound - universal algorithm duality therein in a different form, using the same perspective as Barnum-Saks-Szegedy in which query algorithms are defined as sequences of feasible reduced density matrices rather than sequences of unitaries. This form may be faster to understand for a general quantum information audience: It avoids defining the "unidirectional relative $γ_{2}$-bound" and relating it to query algorithms explicitly. This proof is also …
The first application of a quantum algorithm to Feynman loop integrals is reviewed. The connection between quantum computing and perturbative quantum field theory is feasible due to fact that the two on-shell states of a Feynman propagator are naturally encoded in a qubit. The particular problem to be addressed is the identification of the causal singular configurations of multiloop Feynman diagrams. The identification of such configurations is carried out through the implementation of a modified Grover's quantum algorithm for querying multiple solutions over unstructured datasets.
We study the complexity of quantum query algorithms that make p queries in parallel in each timestep. This model is in part motivated by the fact that decoherence times of qubits are typically small, so it makes sense to parallelize quantum algorithms as much as possible. We show tight bounds for a number of problems, specifically Theta((n/p)^{2/3}) p-parallel queries for element distinctness and Theta((n/p)^{k/(k+1)} for k-sum. Our upper bounds are obtained by parallelized quantum walk algorithms, and our lower bounds are based on a relatively small modification of the adversary lower bound m…
Quantum query complexity is known to be characterized by the so-called quantum adversary bound. While this result has been proved in the standard discrete-time model of quantum computation, it also holds for continuous-time (or Hamiltonian-based) quantum computation, due to a known equivalence between these two query complexity models. In this work, we revisit this result by providing a direct proof in the continuous-time model. One originality of our proof is that it draws new connections between the adversary bound, a modern technique of theoretical computer science, and early theorems of qu…
