We consider the problem of $\textit{subgroup testing}$ for a quantum circuit $C$: given access to $C$, determine whether it implements a unitary that is $a$-close or $b$-far from a subgroup $\mathcal{G}$ of the unitary group. It encompasses the problem of exact testing, property testing and tolerant testing. In this work, we study these problems with the group $\mathcal{G}$ as the trivial subgroup (i.e. identity testing) or the Pauli or Clifford group and their $q$-ary extension, and a $\textit{promise}$ version of these problems where $C$ is promised to be in some subgroup of the unitaries that contains $\mathcal{G}$ (e.g. identity testing for Clifford circuits).
Our main result is an equivalence between Pauli testing, Clifford testing and Identity testing. We derive the equivalence between Clifford and Identity testing by showing a structural property of the Clifford unitaries. Namely, that their (normalized) trace lies in the discrete set $\{2^{-k/2}: k \in \mathbb{N}\} \cup \{0\}$, regardless of the dimension. We also state and prove the analogous property for the $q$-ary Cliffords. This result allows us to analyze a very simple single-query identity test under the Clifford/Pauli promise. To prove the equivalence between Pauli and Identity testing, we analyze the conjugation action of a non-Pauli unitary on the Pauli group and show that its distance from the Pauli group affects the number of fixed points. We believe that these results are of interest, independent of their application to establish the equivalences.
We use the equivalences to compare (and thus establish) computational hardness for the problems of Pauli and Clifford testing.
We classify, up to local unitary equivalence, the set of $n$-qubit states that is stabilized by the diagonal subgroup of the local unitary group. We exhibit a basis for this set, parameterized by diagrams of nonintersecting chords connecting pairs of points on a circle, and give a criterion for when the stabilizer is precisely the diagonal subgroup and not larger. This investigation is part of a larger program to partially classify entanglement type (local unitary equivalence class) via analysis of stabilizer structure.
We study unitary property testing, where a quantum algorithm is given query access to a black-box unitary and has to decide whether it satisfies some property. In addition to containing the standard quantum query complexity model (where the unitary encodes a binary string) as a special case, this model contains "inherently quantum" problems that have no classical analogue. Characterizing the query complexity of these problems requires new algorithmic techniques and lower bound methods. Our main contribution is a generalized polynomial method for unitary property testing problems. By leveraging…
The study of entanglement properties of multi-qubit states that are invariant under permutations of qubits is motivated by potential applications in quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum metrology. In this work, we generalize the notions of symmetrization, Dicke states, and the Majorana representation to the alternating, cyclic, and dihedral subgroups of the full group of permutations. We use these tools to characterize states that are invariant under these subgroups and analyze their entanglement properties.
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 g…
We derive necessary and sufficient conditions for local unitary (LU) operators to leave invariant the set of 1-qubit reduced density matrices of a multi-qubit state. LU operators with this property are tensor products of {\it cyclic local} operators, and form a subgroup, the centralizer subgroup of the set of reduced states, of the Lie group $SU(2)^{\otimes n}$. The dimension of this subgroup depends on the type of reduced density matrices. It is maximum when all reduced states are maximally mixed and it is minimum when none of them is maximally mixed. For any given multi-qubit state, pure or …
We classify local unitary equivalence classes of symmetric states via a classification of their local unitary stabilizer subgroups. For states whose local unitary stabilizer groups have a positive number of continuous degrees of freedom, the classification is exhaustive. We show that local unitary stabilizer groups with no continuous degrees of freedom are isomorphic to finite subgroups of the rotation group SO(3), and give examples of states with discrete stabilizers.
It has recently been shown that quantum computers can efficiently solve the Heisenberg hidden subgroup problem, a problem whose classical query complexity is exponential. This quantum algorithm was discovered within the framework of using pretty-good measurements for obtaining optimal measurements in the hidden subgroup problem. Here we show how to solve the Heisenberg hidden subgroup problem using arguments based instead on the symmetry of certain hidden subgroup states. The symmetry we consider leads naturally to a unitary transform known as the Clebsch-Gordan transform over the Heisenberg g…
In terms of the analysis of fixed point subgroup and tensor decomposability of certain matrices, we study the equivalence of of quantum bipartite mixed states under local unitary transformations. For non-degenerate case an operational criterion for the equivalence of two such mixed bipartite states under local unitary transformations is presented.
We refine recent local unitary entanglement classification for symmetric pure states of $n$ qubits (that is, states invariant under permutations of qubits) using local unitary stabilizer subgroups and Majorana configurations. Stabilizer subgroups carry more entanglement distinguishing power than do the stabilizer subalgebras used in our previous work. We extend to mixed states recent results about local operations on pure symmetric states by showing that if two symmetric density operators are equivalent by a local unitary operation, then they are equivalent via a local unitary operation that i…
In this paper the geometry of two-qubit systems under local unitary group $SO(2)\otimes SU(2)$ is discussed. It is shown that the quaternionic conformal map intertwines between this local unitary subgroup of $Sp(2)$ and the quaternionic Möbius transformation which is rather a generalization of the results of Lee et al (2002 Quantum Inf. Process. 1 129).
It is shown that optical experimental tests of Bell inequality violations can be described by SU(1,1) transformations of the vacuum state, followed by photon coincidence detections. The set of all possible tests are described by various SU(1,1) subgroups of Sp(8,$\Bbb R$). In addition to establishing a common formalism for physically distinct Bell inequality tests, the similarities and differences of post--selected tests of Bell inequality violations are also made clear. A consequence of this analysis is that Bell inequality tests are performed on a very general version of SU(1,1) coherent sta…
Nonproduct n-qubit pure states with maximum dimensional stabilizer subgroups of the group of local unitary transformations are precisely the generalized n-qubit Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger states and their local unitary equivalents, for n greater than or equal to 3 but not equal to 4. We characterize the Lie algebra of the stabilizer subgroup for these states. For n=4, there is an additional maximal stabilizer subalgebra, not local unitary equivalent to the former. We give a canonical form for states with this stabilizer as well.
Quantum Fourier transformation is important in many quantum algorithms. In this paper, we generalize quantum Fourier transformation over the Abelian group $\mathbb{Z}_N$ from two different points to get more efficient unitary transformations. The obtained unitary transformations are given in concise and explicit formula which can be used directly. A relationship between the generalized quantum Fourier transformation and the dihedral hidden subgroup problem are discussed in this paper. This may lead a way to solve the dihedral hidden subgroup problem. The second goal of this paper is to give an…
Local unitary stabilizer subgroups constitute powerful invariants for distinguishing various types of multipartite entanglement. In this paper, we show how stabilizers can be used as a basis for entanglement verification protocols on distributed quantum networks using minimal resources. As an example, we develop and analyze the performance of a protocol to verify membership in the space of Werner states, that is, multi-qubit states that are invariant under the action of any 1-qubit unitary applied to all the qubits.
Given oracle access to an unknown unitary C from the Clifford group and its conjugate, we give an exact algorithm for identifying C with O(n) queries, which we prove is optimal. We then extend this to all levels of the Gottesman-Chuang hierarchy (also known as the C_k hierarchy). Further, for unitaries not in the hierarchy itself but known to be close to an element of the hierarchy, we give a method of finding this close element. We also present a Clifford testing algorithm that decides whether a given black-box unitary is close to a Clifford or far from every Clifford.
In this paper we give a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for computing orders of solvable groups. Several other problems, such as testing membership in solvable groups, testing equality of subgroups in a given solvable group, and testing normality of a subgroup in a given solvable group, reduce to computing orders of solvable groups and therefore admit polynomial-time quantum algorithms as well. Our algorithm works in the setting of black-box groups, wherein none of these problems can be computed classically in polynomial time. As an important byproduct, our algorithm is able to produce a pur…
Resource Compatibility in Optimal Quantum Symmetry Testing
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou)（香港科技大学（广州））；Quantum Science Center of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area（粤港澳大湾区量子科学中心）；QudeLeap Research（QudeLeap研究）
In the past few years it has been shown that universal quantum computation can be obtained by projective measurements alone, with no need for unitary gates. This suggests that the underlying logic of quantum computing may be an algebra of sequences of quantum measurements rather than an algebra of products of unitary operators. Such a Sequential Quantum Logic (SQL) was developed in the late 70's and has more recently been applied to the consistent histories framework of quantum mechanics as a possible route to the theory of quantum gravity. In this letter, I give a method for deciding the trut…
A quantum computer can efficiently find the order of an element in a group, factors of composite integers, discrete logarithms, stabilisers in Abelian groups, and `hidden' or `unknown' subgroups of Abelian groups. It is already known how to phrase the first four problems as the estimation of eigenvalues of certain unitary operators. Here we show how the solution to the more general Abelian `hidden subgroup problem' can also be described and analysed as such. We then point out how certain instances of these problems can be solved with only one control qubit, or `flying qubits', instead of entir…
Superqubits provide a supersymmetric generalisation of the conventional qubit in quantum information theory. After a review of their current status, we address the problem of generating entangled states. We introduce the global unitary supergroup $\text{UOSp}((3^n+1)/2 | (3^n-1)/2)$ for an $n$-superqubit system, which contains as a subgroup the local unitary supergroup $[\text{UOSp}(2|1)]^n$. While for $4>n>1$ the bosonic subgroup in $\text{UOSp}((3^n+1)/2 | (3^n-1)/2)$ does not contain the standard global unitary group $\text{SU}(2^n)$, it does have an $\text{USp}(2^n)\subset\text{SU}(2^n)$ s…
The non-linear binary Kerdock codes are known to be Gray images of certain extended cyclic codes of length $N = 2^m$ over $\mathbb{Z}_4$. We show that exponentiating these $\mathbb{Z}_4$-valued codewords by $\imath \triangleq \sqrt{-1}$ produces stabilizer states, that are quantum states obtained using only Clifford unitaries. These states are also the common eigenvectors of commuting Hermitian matrices forming maximal commutative subgroups (MCS) of the Pauli group. We use this quantum description to simplify the derivation of the classical weight distribution of Kerdock codes. Next, we organi…
We consider pseudo-unitary quantum systems and discuss various properties of pseudo-unitary operators. In particular we prove a characterization theorem for block-diagonalizable pseudo-unitary operators with finite-dimensional diagonal blocks. Furthermore, we show that every pseudo-unitary matrix is the exponential of $i=\sqrt{-1}$ times a pseudo-Hermitian matrix, and determine the structure of the Lie groups consisting of pseudo-unitary matrices. In particular, we present a thorough treatment of $2\times 2$ pseudo-unitary matrices and discuss an example of a quantum system with a $2\times 2$ …
