It is easy to see how $\theta$ (rotation from the positive z-axis) and $\varphi$ (rotation from the positive z-axis) affect the initial state of the qubit when looking at the Bloch sphere but I have been playing around with different $\lambda$ values and can't see a clear transformation. Geometrically, how does lambda transform the state?
1 Answer
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$\lambda$ is also a rotation around the $z$ axis. However, there is an ordering issue. There's a sequence of $z$-rotation ($\lambda$), $y$-rotation ($\theta$), $z$-rotation ($\varphi$).
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1$\begingroup$ Is it a typo we don't have any x-rotation here? $\endgroup$– 26118inCommented Sep 25, 2020 at 13:13
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$\begingroup$ no. This question was (implicitly) about the u3 rotation in qiskit, which is essentially a sequence of rotations z-y-z. $\endgroup$ Commented Sep 25, 2020 at 15:28
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