UNIT – IV Quantum Advancements: Problem Solving

Quantum Model of Computation: Historical Context and Development

The quantum model of computation is a revolutionary framework that builds on quantum
mechanics principles to process information in ways impossible for classical systems. Its
development is rooted in a blend of theoretical physics and computer science, tracing back to
the mid-20th century.
Historical Context
1. Birth of Quantum Mechanics (1920s-1930s):
o Quantum mechanics emerged as a framework to explain phenomena at
microscopic scales. Key contributors like Planck, Einstein, Bohr, and
Schrödinger laid the groundwork for the principles of superposition,
entanglement, and uncertainty.
o While initially focused on physical phenomena, these principles would later
inspire computational paradigms.
2. Turing Machines and Computability (1936):
o Alan Turing's work on the abstract concept of a universal computation
machine influenced theoretical computer science.
o Turing's ideas, along with contributions from Gödel and Church, defined the
classical model of computation, which quantum models would later challenge.
3. First Discussions on Quantum Computation (1970s):
o Stephen Wiesner (1970): Proposed the concept of quantum money, utilizing
quantum states' properties.
o Richard Feynman (1981): Suggested simulating quantum systems with
classical computers was inefficient. He proposed a "quantum computer" that
could handle such tasks naturally.
o David Deutsch (1985): Formalized the idea of a quantum Turing machine and
demonstrated that a quantum computer could simulate any physical process,
establishing quantum computation's theoretical foundation.
Key Developments in Quantum Computation
1. Quantum Algorithms (1990s):
o Peter Shor (1994): Shor's algorithm for integer factorization demonstrated
that quantum computers could outperform classical ones in specific tasks,
sparking widespread interest.
o Lov Grover (1996): Grover's algorithm showed a quadratic speedup for
unstructured database searches, broadening the application scope of quantum
algorithms.
2. Quantum Error Correction (Mid-1990s):
o Addressing decoherence and noise, foundational works by Shor, Steane, and
others introduced quantum error correction codes. This was critical for making
quantum computation feasible.
3. Development of Quantum Gates and Circuits:
o Analogous to classical logic gates, quantum gates (e.g., Hadamard, CNOT,
and Pauli-X) became building blocks for quantum algorithms.
 o The quantum circuit model emerged as a practical representation for quantum
computation.
4. Physical Realization of Quantum Computers (2000s-Present):
o Experimental advancements have been driven by technologies such as
trapped ions, superconducting qubits, and topological qubits.
o Companies like IBM, Google, and startups began building quantum
processors, making quantum computation increasingly practical.
5. Quantum Supremacy (2019):
o Google's Sycamore processor reportedly achieved quantum supremacy by
solving a specific problem much faster than the best classical supercomputer.
Modern Context and Future Directions
 Quantum computation is transitioning from theoretical constructs to experimental and
practical implementations.
 Challenges remain, including scaling up qubits, reducing noise, and finding more
powerful quantum algorithms.
 Emerging fields like quantum cryptography and quantum machine learning
demonstrate its transformative potential.
The quantum model of computation represents a paradigm shift, integrating physics and
information science to address challenges that classical systems cannot solve, promising
profound implications across disciplines.
Fundamental principles of quantum mechanics that form the basis of quantum
computation
Quantum mechanics provides the theoretical framework underlying quantum computation.
At its core, quantum computation leverages the following principles of quantum mechanics:
1. Superposition
In classical systems, a bit exists as either 0 or 1. In quantum systems, however, a qubit can
exist in a superposition of both states simultaneously. Mathematically, a qubit’s state is
represented as
∣ψ⟩=α∣0⟩+β∣1⟩,
where α and β are complex amplitudes satisfying ∣α∣2++∣β∣2 =1.
This enables quantum computers to process a vast number of combinations of states
concurrently, providing a significant advantage for certain computational problems.
2. Entanglement
Quantum entanglement is a fundamental phenomenon in quantum mechanics where two or
more particles become so interconnected that the state of one instantly influences the state of
the other, no matter the distance between them. It represents a departure from classical
physics, introducing non-locality and instant correlation between entangled particles.
Quantum entanglement describes a strong correlation between qubits that persists regardless
of their physical separation. When qubits are entangled, the state of one qubit instantaneously
influences the state of another. Entanglement is critical for many quantum algorithms and
ensures that information is shared and processed in ways that classical systems cannot
replicate.
3. Quantum Interference
Quantum mechanics allows the amplitudes of qubit states to interfere constructively or
destructively, akin to wave interference. By carefully designing quantum algorithms,
constructive interference amplifies desired solutions while destructive interference suppresses
incorrect ones. This principle is foundational in algorithms like Grover’s search and Shor’s
factoring.
4. Measurement and Collapse
When a quantum system is measured, its superposition collapses into a definite classical state
(0 or 1 for a single qubit), with probabilities determined by the squared magnitudes of the
amplitudes. The act of measurement is inherently probabilistic, which introduces challenges
in extracting information but also offers new possibilities for solving certain problems.
5. Unitary Evolution
The evolution of a quantum system is governed by unitary operations, which preserve the
total probability. These operations are represented by matrices that act on the state vector of
the qubits, transforming them in reversible ways. Quantum gates, the building blocks of
quantum circuits, implement these operations.
6. No-Cloning Theorem
This theorem states that an arbitrary quantum state cannot be copied perfectly. This principle
ensures quantum systems’ security features, such as in quantum cryptography, while also
imposing constraints on error correction methods.
These principles together enable quantum computers to solve specific problems, such as
factoring large numbers and simulating quantum systems, exponentially faster than classical
counterparts, laying the foundation for revolutionary advances in computation and
information processing.

Basic Quantum Algorithm

A basic quantum algorithm leverages the principles of quantum mechanics—such as
superposition, entanglement, and interference
Deutsch's Algorithm
Deutsch's algorithm, also known as the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, is a quantum algorithm that
determines if a Boolean function is constant or balanced. David Deutsch and Richard Jozsa
proposed the algorithm in 1992.
The algorithm uses quantum parallelism and interference to determine if a function that takes
0s and 1s as input and outputs 0s and 1s is constant or balanced. A function is constant if all
outputs are 0 or all outputs are 1, and balanced if half of the inputs are 0s and half are 1s.
Deutsch's algorithm demonstrates quantum speedup for determining whether a function is
constant or balanced.
Problem:
 You are given a black-box function f(x) where x∈{0,1}. The function is:
o Constant: f(0) = f(1) or
o Balanced: f(0) ≠ f(1)
 Classical solution: Requires two evaluations of f(x) (one for f(0) and one for f(1)).
 Quantum solution: Requires only one evaluation using superposition.
Steps:
 1. Prepare Qubits:
o Start with two qubits in the state ∣0⟩∣|1⟩.
o Apply a Hadamard gate to both qubits to create superposition:
1/√ 2(∣0⟩+∣1⟩)⊗1/√ 2 (∣0⟩−∣1⟩).
2. Apply Oracle Uf:
o The quantum oracle encodes f(x) such that the second qubit undergoes a phase
change based on f(x).
3. Interference:
o Apply another Hadamard gate to the first qubit.
4. Measure:
o The first qubit's state reveals whether f(x) is constant or balanced:
 |0⟩: Constant.
 |1⟩: Balanced.
Advantage:
Quantum parallelism evaluates f(0) and f(1) simultaneously in superposition, requiring only
one call to the oracle.

Shor's Algorithm
Shor's algorithm is a quantum algorithm that can factor large numbers into their prime factors
more quickly than classical computers. It was developed by MIT mathematician Peter Shor in
1994. It's one of the most famous and impactful algorithms in quantum computing, as it
provides an exponential speedup over the best-known classical algorithms for factoring. The
ability to factor large numbers has significant implications for cryptography,

Shor's algorithm is considered a landmark in quantum computing because it:

Demonstrated the practical use of quantum mechanics
Challenged cryptographic protocols that rely on the difficulty of factoring large numbers
Inspired a new wave of research and development in quantum computing

Shor's algorithm is based on Quantum Phase Estimation (QPE), a quantum routine that
estimates the phase of an eigenvalue.

Grover’s Algorithm
Lov Grover, an Indian-American computer scientist, published a paper in 1996 that brought
him fame in Quantum Computing.
An algorithm is a set of instructions used to perform some well-defined task on a computer.
A large part of the desire to develop a quantum computer has come from the discovery that
some algorithms work dramatically better on a quantum computer than they could ever work
on a classical computer. This is because the nature of quantum systems—captured in
superposition and interference of qubits—often allows a quantum system to compute in a
parallel way that is not possible even, in principle, with a classical computer.
Grover’s algorithm can be described as a quantum database-searching algorithm. The
algorithm significantly reduces the number of operations necessary to solve the problem as
compared to a classical computer. Once again, we have a function f (x) on bits with n inputs
and
x ∈ {0, 1}n.
The output of the function is a single bit, so we can have f (x) = 0 or f (x) = 1. The task at
hand, which is solved by Grover’s algorithm, is the following. There is a single x such that f
(x) = 1, and we want to find out what x that is. Note that it may be the case that f (x) ≡ 0
identically, in which case no such x exists. To solve this problem classically, we can generate
input strings x and simply test the function to find out if f (x) = 1. It turns out that doing this
will require 2n − 1 tries to solve the problem. In contrast, Grover’s algorithm solves the
problem with on order of √2n tries. Now suppose that the bit string is small, just 5 bits. The
classical algorithm would require 25 − 1 = 31 attempts to find the correct x, while Grover’s
algorithm would require √ 25 ≈ 6 attempts. We have a significant improvement on a small bit
string. As you might imagine, as the bit strings get larger and larger, the improvement offered
by Grover’s algorithm becomes very significant.
Quantum algorithms can be used for a variety of tasks, including:
Supervised learning
Unsupervised learning
Generative and discriminative models
Dimensionality reduction
Generalized eigenvalue problems in machine learning
Evaluating a classifier
Determining graph connectivity
Pattern matching

Quantum Error Correction

What is quantum error correction?
Quantum error correction (QEC) is a technique that allows us to protect quantum information
from errors. Error correction is especially important in quantum computers, because efficient
quantum algorithms make use of large-scale quantum computers, which are sensitive to
noise.
The basic principle behind quantum error correction is that the number of bits used to encode
a given amount of information is increased. This redundancy allows the code to detect and
correct errors.
The error rates for quantum computers are typically higher than classical computer's errors
due to the challenges associated with building and operating quantum systems. Noise,
decoherence, and imperfections in quantum gates can cause errors in quantum computations.
Current quantum computers have error rates in the range of 1% to 0.1%. In other words, this
means that on average one out of every 100 to 1000 quantum gate operations results in an
error.
Types of quantum errors
There are two fundamental types of quantum errors: bit flips and phase flips.
Bit flip errors occur when a qubit changes from |0⟩ to |1⟩ or vice versa. Bit flip errors are also
known as σx-errors, because they map the qubit states σx|0⟩=|1⟩ and σx|1⟩=|0⟩. This error is
analogous to a classical bit flip error.
Phase flip errors occur when a qubit changes its phase. They are also known as σz-errors,
because they map the qubit states σz|0⟩=|0⟩ and σz|1⟩=−|1⟩. This type of error has no classical
analog.
In quantum computing, quantum errors can manifest as bit flips, phase flips, or a combination
of both.
How does quantum error correction work?
Quantum error correction codes work by encoding the quantum information into a larger set
of qubits, called the physical qubits. The joint state of the physical qubits represents a logical
qubit.
The physical qubits are subject to errors due to decoherence and imperfections in quantum
gates. The code is designed so that errors can be detected and corrected by measuring some
of the qubits in the code.
For example, imagine you want to send the single-qubit message |0⟩. You could use three
physical qubits to encode the message, sending |000⟩, which is known as a codeword. This
error-correcting code is a repetition code, because the message is repeated three times.
Now, imagine that a single bit-flip error occurs during transmission so that what the recipient
receives is the state |010⟩. In this scenario, the recipient may be able to infer that the intended
message is |000⟩. However, if the message is subject to two bit-flip errors, the recipient may
infer an incorrect message. Finally, if all three bits are flipped so that the original message
|000⟩ becomes |111⟩, the recipient has no way of knowing an error occurred.
The code distance of a QEC code is the minimum number of errors that change one codeword
into another, that is, the number of errors that can't be detected. The code distance d can be
defined as
d=2t+1
where t is the number of errors the code can correct. For example, the three-bit code can
detect and correct one bit-flip error, so t=1, and thus the code distance is d=3.
Note that repetition codes, such as the three-bit code used in this example, can only correct
bit-flip errors, and not phase flip errors. To correct both types of errors, more sophisticated
quantum error correction codes are needed.

Types of QEC codes

There are many different types of QEC codes, each with its own properties and advantages.
Some common QEC codes are:
 Repetition code: The simplest quantum error correction code, where a single qubit is
encoded into multiple qubits by repeating it multiple times. The repetition code can
correct bit flip errors, but not phase flip errors.
 Shor code: The first quantum error correction code, developed by Peter Shor. It
encodes one logical qubit into nine physical qubits. Shor code can correct one-bit flip
error or one phase flip error, but it can't correct both types of errors at the same time.
 Steane code: This is a seven-qubit code that can correct both bit flip and phase flip
errors. It has the advantage of being fault-tolerant, meaning that the error correction
process itself doesn't introduce extra errors.
  Surface code: This is a topological error correction code that uses a two-dimensional
lattice of qubits to encode logical qubits. It has a high error correction threshold and is
considered one of the most promising techniques for large-scale, fault-tolerant
quantum computing.
 Hastings-Haah code: This quantum error correction code offers better space-time
costs than surface codes on Majorana qubits in many regimes.

Analyze the future potential of quantum models of computation by comparing them

with classical models across various fields.

Quantum models of computation hold immense potential to revolutionize various fields by

leveraging the unique properties of quantum mechanics. Let's compare quantum models with
classical models across several key areas:
1. Cryptography:
 Classical Models: Classical cryptography relies on mathematical problems that are
difficult to solve, such as factoring large numbers (RSA) or solving discrete logarithms
(Diffie-Hellman).

 Quantum Models: Quantum computers can potentially break these cryptographic

systems using algorithms like Shor's algorithm, which can factor large numbers
efficiently. However, quantum models also offer quantum key distribution (QKD), which
provides theoretically unbreakable encryption2.

2. Machine Learning:
 Classical Models: Classical machine learning algorithms process data sequentially
and require extensive computational resources for large datasets.
 Quantum Models: Quantum machine learning (QML) can exploit quantum
superposition and entanglement to analyze multiple data points simultaneously,
potentially leading to faster processing times and more efficient algorithms.

3. Drug Discovery:
 Classical Models: Classical computational methods simulate molecular interactions
and drug interactions, which can be time-consuming and computationally expensive.

 Quantum Models: Quantum computers can simulate molecular structures and

interactions more accurately and quickly, potentially accelerating the drug discovery
process and reducing costs.

4. Optimization:
 Classical Models: Classical optimization algorithms, such as linear programming and
genetic algorithms, are used to solve complex optimization problems but can be slow for
large-scale problems.
  Quantum Models: Quantum optimization algorithms, like the Quantum Approximate
Optimization Algorithm (QAOA), can potentially solve optimization problems more
efficiently by exploring multiple solutions simultaneously.

5. Artificial Intelligence:
 Classical Models: Classical AI models, such as neural networks, have been successful
in various applications but face limitations in handling extremely large and complex
datasets.

 Quantum Models: Quantum AI models can potentially enhance AI capabilities by

processing large datasets more efficiently and solving complex problems that are
intractable for classical models.

6. Natural Disaster Prediction:

 Classical Models: Classical models use historical data and statistical methods to
predict natural disasters, but they can be limited by the amount of data and
computational power.

 Quantum Models: Quantum models can process vast amounts of real-time data from
satellites and sensors, leading to more accurate and timely predictions of natural disasters.

Show that the state H ⊗ H |00> represents an entangled state.