Kolmogorov complexity is a measure of the information contained in a binary string. We investigate here the notion of quantum Kolmogorov complexity, a measure of the information required to describe a quantum state. We show that for any definition of quantum Kolmogorov complexity measuring the number of classical bits required to describe a pure quantum state, there exists a pure n-qubit state which requires exponentially many bits of description. This is shown by relating the classical communication complexity to the quantum Kolmogorov complexity. Furthermore we give some examples of how quantum Kolmogorov complexity can be applied to prove results in different fields, such as quantum computation and thermodynamics, and we generalize it to the case of mixed quantum states.
The Kolmogorov complexity of a physical state is the minimal physical resources required to reproduce that state. We define a second quantized quantum Turing machine and use it to define second quantized Kolmogorov complexity. There are two advantages to our approach - our measure of second quantized Kolmogorov complexity is closer to physical reality and unlike other quantum Kolmogorov complexities it is continuous. We give examples where second quantized and quantum Kolmogorov complexity differ.
The Kolmogorov complexity of a string is the length of its shortest description. We define a second quantised Kolmogorov complexity where the length of a description is defined to be the average length of its superposition. We discuss this complexity's basic properties. We define the corresponding prefix complexity and show that the inequalities obeyed by this prefix complexity are also obeyed by von Neumann entropy.
In this paper, a representation of the information-disturbance theorem based on the quantum Kolmogorov complexity that was defined by P. Vitanyi has been examined. In the quantum information theory, the information-disturbance relationship, which treats the trade-off relationship between information gain and its caused disturbance, is a fundamental result that is related to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle. The problem was formulated in a cryptographic setting and quantitative relationships between complexities have been derived.
We show that classical and quantum Kolmogorov complexity of binary strings agree up to an additive constant. Both complexities are defined as the minimal length of any (classical resp. quantum) computer program that outputs the corresponding string. It follows that quantum complexity is an extension of classical complexity to the domain of quantum states. This is true even if we allow a small probabilistic error in the quantum computer's output. We outline a mathematical proof of this statement, based on an inequality for outputs of quantum operations and a classical program for the simulation…
In this paper we give a definition for quantum Kolmogorov complexity. In the classical setting, the Kolmogorov complexity of a string is the length of the shortest program that can produce this string as its output. It is a measure of the amount of innate randomness (or information) contained in the string. We define the quantum Kolmogorov complexity of a qubit string as the length of the shortest quantum input to a universal quantum Turing machine that produces the initial qubit string with high fidelity. The definition of Vitanyi (Proceedings of the 15th IEEE Annual Conference on Computation…
Different observers do not have to agree on how they identify a quantum system. We explore a condition based on algorithmic complexity that allows a system to be described as an objective "element of reality". We also suggest an experimental test of the hypothesis that any system, even much smaller than a human being, can be a quantum mechanical observer.
We discuss the Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) quantum key distribution protocol in the light of quantum algorithmic information. While Shannon's information theory needs a probability to define a notion of information, algorithmic information theory does not need it and can assign a notion of information to an individual object. The program length necessary to describe an object, Kolmogorov complexity, plays the most fundamental role in the theory. In the context of algorithmic information theory, we formulate a security criterion for the quantum key distribution by using the quantum Kolmogorov …
In this study, the effect of bounded quantum memory in a primitive information protocol has been examined using the quantum Kolmogorov complexity as a measure of information. We employed a toy two-party protocol in which Bob by using a bounded quantum memory and an unbounded classical memory estimates a message that was encoded in qubits by Alice in one of the bases X or Z. Our theorem gave a nontrivial effect of the memory boundedness. In addition, a generalization of the uncertainty principle in the presence of quantum memory has been obtained.
In analogy of classical Kolmogorov complexity we develop a theory of the algorithmic information in bits contained in any one of continuously many pure quantum states: quantum Kolmogorov complexity. Classical Kolmogorov complexity coincides with the new quantum Kolmogorov complexity restricted to the classical domain. Quantum Kolmogorov complexity is upper bounded and can be effectively approximated from above. With high probability a quantum object is incompressible. There are two alternative approaches possible: to define the complexity as the length of the shortest qubit program that effect…
We prove a very general lower bound technique for quantum and randomized query complexity, that is easy to prove as well as to apply. To achieve this, we introduce the use of Kolmogorov complexity to query complexity. Our technique generalizes the weighted, unweighted methods of Ambainis, and the spectral method of Barnum, Saks and Szegedy. As an immediate consequence of our main theorem, adversary methods can only prove lower bounds for boolean functions $f$ in $O(\min(\sqrt{n C_0(f)},\sqrt{n C_1(f)}))$, where $C_0, C_1$ is the certificate complexity, and $n$ is the size of the input. We also…
In the mentioned paper we presented results of the estimation of Kolmogorov complexity of sequences of random numbers generated in a famous Bell's experiment, aimed to study the security of QKD. We focused on series of time differences between successive detections of coincidences, and found that randomness cannot be taken for granted. It was then criticized that the theorems that demonstrate the randomness of series produced in Bell's experiments involve series of measurement outcomes, not of measurement times. Here we reply to this objection and present data of series of outcomes, showing th…
The purpose of this thesis is to give a formal definition of quantum Kolmogorov complexity (QC), and rigorous mathematical proofs of its basic properties. The definition used here is similar to that by Berthiaume, van Dam, and Laplante. It defines the QC of some indeterminate-length qubit string ρas the minimum base length of any quantum input which makes a quantum Turing machine (QTM) halt and output ρ, up to some error tolerance. First, we prove that there is a QTM which is universal in the sense of input base length. Furthermore, we show several general properties of QTMs, including a resul…
Quantum systems are the ultimate touchstone for the production of random sequences of numbers. Spatially spread entangled systems allow the generation of identical random sequences in remote locations. The impossibility of observing a quantum system, without disturbing it, ensures that the messages encoded using these sequences cannot be eavesdropped. This is the basis of Quantum Key Distribution. It is then of crucial importance knowing whether the sequences generated in the practice by spatially spread entangled states are truly random, or not. Yet, that knowledge is not immediate. One of th…
We introduce a notion of Kolmogorov complexity of unitary transformation, which can (roughly) be understood as the least possible amount of information required to fully describe and reconstruct a given finite unitary transformation. In the context of quantum computing, it corresponds to the least possible amount of data to define and describe a quantum circuit or quantum computer program. Our Kolmogorov complexity of unitary transformation is built upon Kolmogorov "qubit complexity" of Berthiaume, W. Van Dam and S. Laplante via mapping from unitary transformations to positive operators, which…
In quantum mechanics, a state is an element of a Hilbert space whose dimension exponentially grows with the increase of the number of particles (or qubits, in quantum computing). The vague question "is this huge Hilbert space really there?" has been rigorously formalized inside the computational complexity theory; the research suggests a positive answer to the question. Along this line, I give a definition of the (classical) information content of a quantum state, taking inspiration from the Kolmogorov complexity. I show that, for some well-known quantum circuits (having a number of gates poly…
We extend algorithmic information theory to quantum mechanics, taking a universal semicomputable density matrix (``universal probability'') as a starting point, and define complexity (an operator) as its negative logarithm. A number of properties of Kolmogorov complexity extend naturally to the new domain. Approximately, a quantum state is simple if it is within a small distance from a low-dimensional subspace of low Kolmogorov complexity. The von Neumann entropy of a computable density matrix is within an additive constant from the average complexity. Some of the theory of randomness translat…
We develop a theory of the algorithmic information in bits contained in an individual pure quantum state. This extends classical Kolmogorov complexity to the quantum domain retaining classical descriptions. Quantum Kolmogorov complexity coincides with the classical Kolmogorov complexity on the classical domain. Quantum Kolmogorov complexity is upper bounded and can be effectively approximated from above under certain conditions. With high probability a quantum object is incompressible. Upper- and lower bounds of the quantum complexity of multiple copies of individual pure quantum states are de…
We consider free fermion systems in arbitrary dimensions and represent the occupation pattern of each eigenstate as a classical binary string. We find that the Kolmogorov complexity of the string correctly captures the scaling behavior of its entanglement entropy (EE). In particular, the logarithmically-enhanced area law for EE in the ground state and the volume law for EE in typical highly excited states are reproduced. Since our approach does not require bipartitioning the system, it allows us to distinguish typical and atypical eigenstates directly by their intrinsic complexity. We reveal t…
In classical information theory, entropy rate and Kolmogorov complexity per symbol are related by a theorem of Brudno. In this paper, we prove a quantum version of this theorem, connecting the von Neumann entropy rate and two notions of quantum Kolmogorov complexity, both based on the shortest qubit descriptions of qubit strings that, run by a universal quantum Turing machine, reproduce them as outputs.
We introduce quantum-K ($QK$), a measure of the descriptive complexity of density matrices using classical prefix-free Turing machines and show that the initial segments of weak Solovay random and quantum Schnorr random states are incompressible in the sense of $QK$. Many properties enjoyed by prefix-free Kolmogorov complexity ($K$) have analogous versions for $QK$; notably a counting condition. Several connections between Solovay randomness and $K$, including the Chaitin type characterization of Solovay randomness, carry over to those between weak Solovay randomness and $QK$. We work towards …
A novel unitary quantum lattice gas algorithm is used to simulate quantum turbulence of a BEC described by the Gross-Pitaevskii equation on grids up to 5760^3. For the first time, an accurate power law scaling for the quantum Kelvin wave cascade is determined: k^{-3}. The incompressible kinetic energy spectrum exhibits very distinct power law spectra in 3 ranges of k-space: a classical Kolmogorov k^{-5/3} spectrum at scales much greater than the individual quantum vortex cores, and a quantum Kelvin wave cascade spectrum k^{-3} on scales of order the vortex cores. In the semiclassical regime be…
We present an experimental and numerical study of the effects of decoherence on a quantum system whose classical analogue has Kolmogorov-Arnol'd-Moser (KAM) tori in its phase space. Atoms are prepared in a caesium magneto-optical trap at temperatures and densities which necessitate a quantum description. This real quantum system is coupled to the environment via spontaneous emission. The degree of coupling is varied and the effects of this coupling on the quantum coherence of the system are studied. When the classical diffusion through a partially broken torus is < hbar, diffusion of quantum p…
We apply algorithmic information theory to quantum mechanics in order to shed light on an algorithmic structure which inheres in quantum mechanics. There are two equivalent ways to define the (classical) Kolmogorov complexity K(s) of a given classical finite binary string s. In the standard way, K(s) is defined as the length of the shortest input string for the universal self-delimiting Turing machine to output s. In the other way, we first introduce the so-called universal probability m, and then define K(s) as -log_2 m(s) without using the concept of program-size. We generalize the universal…
We show that there exists a universal quantum Turing machine (UQTM) that can simulate every other QTM until the other QTM has halted and then halt itself with probability one. This extends work by Bernstein and Vazirani who have shown that there is a UQTM that can simulate every other QTM for an arbitrary, but preassigned number of time steps. As a corollary to this result, we give a rigorous proof that quantum Kolmogorov complexity as defined by Berthiaume et al. is invariant, i.e. depends on the choice of the UQTM only up to an additive constant. Our proof is based on a new mathematical fram…
It is conjectured that in the geometric formulation of quantum computing, one can study quantum complexity through classical entropy of statistical ensembles established non-relativistically in the group manifold of unitary operators. The kinetic and positional decompositions of statistical entropy are conjectured to correspond to the Kolmogorov complexity and computational complexity, respectively, of corresponding quantum circuits. In this paper, we claim that by applying the virial theorem to the group manifold, one can derive a generic relation between Kolmogorov complexity and computation…
We discuss a quantum Kolmogorov-Sinai entropy defined as the entropy production per unit time resulting from coupling the system to a weak, auxiliary bath. The expressions we obtain are fully quantum, but require that the system is such that there is a separation between the Ehrenfest and the correlation timescales. We show that they reduce to the classical definition in the semiclassical limit, one instance where this separation holds. We show a quantum (Pesin) relation between this entropy and the sum of positive eigenvalues of a matrix describing phase-space expansion. Generalizations to th…
In this paper we translate the two higher levels of the Ergodic Hierarchy [1], the Kolmogorov level and the Bernoulli level, to quantum language. Moreover, this paper can be considered as the second part of [2]. As in paper [2], we consider the formalism where the states are positive functionals on the algebra of observables and we use the properties of the Wigner transform [3]. We illustrate the physical relevance of the Quantum Ergodic Hierarchy with two emblematic examples of the literature: the Casati-Prosen model [4], [5] and the kicked rotator [6], [7], [8].
