Questions tagged [mathematics]

Use this tag for questions about mathematics relevant to quantum computing and/or quantum information theory. DO NOT use this tag for general mathematics questions.

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How to derive the CNOT matrix for a 3-qubit system where the control & target qubits are not adjacent?

In a three-qubit system, it's easy to derive the CNOT operator when the control & target qubits are adjacent in significance - you just tensor the 2-bit CNOT operator with the identity matrix in ...
ahelwer's user avatar
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15 votes
2 answers
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Can arbitrary matrices be decomposed using the Pauli basis? [duplicate]

Is it possible to decompose a hermitian and unitrary matrix $A$ into the sum of the Pauli matrix Kronecker products? For example, I have a matrix 16x16 and want it to be decomposed into something ...
C-Roux's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
659 views

How does $\mathcal E(\rho)=\mathrm{Tr}_{env}[U(\rho\otimes\rho_{env})U^\dagger]$ turn into $P_0\rho P_0+P_1\rho P_1$?

In the Quantum Operations section in Nielsen and Chuang, (page 358 in the 2002 edition), they have the following equation: $$\mathcal E(\rho) = \mathrm{Tr}_{env} [U(\rho \otimes \rho_{env})U^\dagger]$$...
Mahathi Vempati's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
1k views

How is Grover's operator represented as a rotation matrix?

I have seen that it is possible to represent the Grover iterator as a rotation matrix $G$. My question is, how can you do that exactly? So we say that $|\psi\rangle$ is a superposition of the states ...
user avatar
4 votes
3 answers
913 views

Purity of mixed states as a function of radial distance from origin of Bloch ball

@AHusain mentions here that the purity of a qubit state can be expressed as a function of the radius from the center of a Bloch sphere. The state corresponding to the origin is maximally mixed whereas ...
Sanchayan Dutta's user avatar
18 votes
1 answer
3k views

Is the Pauli group for $n$-qubits a basis for $\mathbb{C}^{2^n\times 2^n}$?

The $n$-fold Pauli operator set is defined as $G_n=\{I,X,Y,Z \}^{\otimes n}$, that is as the set containing all the possible tensor products between $n$ Pauli matrices. It is clear that the Pauli ...
Josu Etxezarreta Martinez's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
889 views

How can you decompose Grover's diffusion operator into gates?

I know how Grover's diffusion operator works ($U_s = 2|s\rangle\langle s|-I$) with the inversion around the mean. However, I want to implement it in simpler gates, to use the algorithm. How can I do ...
BrockenDuck's user avatar
4 votes
2 answers
461 views

Why is the boundary of the set of states in the generalised Bloch representation comprised of singular matrices?

Consider an arbitrary qudit state $\rho$ over $d$ modes. Any such state can be represented as a point in $\mathbb R^{d^2-1}$ via the standard Bloch representation: $$\rho=\frac{1}{d}\left(\mathbb I +\...
glS's user avatar
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5 votes
3 answers
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When can a matrix be "extended" into a unitary?

DaftWulie's answer to Extending a square matrix to a Unitary matrix says that extending a matrix into a unitary cannot be done unless there's constraints on the matrix. What are the constraints?
Pablo LiManni's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
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Nielsen & Chuang Exercise 2.2 - “Matrix representations: example” [closed]

Reproduced from Exercise 2.2 of Nielsen & Chuang's Quantum Computation and Quantum Information (10th Anniversary Edition): Suppose $V$ is a vector space with basis vectors $|0\rangle$ and $|1\...
SLesslyTall's user avatar
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3 votes
4 answers
514 views

Can a Kraus representation act as the identity on any operator?

In the textbook “Quantum Computation and Quantum Information” by Nielsen and Chuang, it is stated that there exists a set of unitaries $U_i$ and a probability distribution $p_i$ for any matrix A, $$\...
Amplituhedron's user avatar
3 votes
3 answers
308 views

How does one create the unitary sending $|0\rangle$ into a target quantum state?

The Hadamard gate allows us to construct an equal superposition of states. If one wants to construct an arbitrary superposition e.g. $\alpha\vert 0\rangle + \beta\vert 1\rangle + ..$, how does one ...
bg827's user avatar
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2 votes
1 answer
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Grover algorithm for more than one element

I am currently working on the Grover algorithm again. In many lectures and documents, as well as books, I noticed that there is always talk of looking for a single element of $N$ elements. Now I read ...
user avatar
16 votes
1 answer
736 views

Is there a closure property for the entire Clifford hierarchy?

TL;DR Is the entire Clifford hierarchy (as opposed to any one level), a group? Background. The Clifford hierarchy (on $n$ qubits), is a collection of nested subsets $\mathcal C^{(1)} \subset \mathcal ...
Niel de Beaudrap's user avatar
12 votes
1 answer
4k views

General parametrisation of an arbitrary $2 \times 2$ unitary matrix

From Nielsen & Chuang's Quantum Computation and Quantum Information (QCQI): Since $U$ is unitary, the rows and columns of $U$ are orthonormal, form which it follows that there exist real numbers $...
Tech Solver's user avatar
10 votes
2 answers
3k views

How can I calculate the inner product of two quantum registers of different sizes?

I found an algorithm that can compute the distance of two quantum states. It is based on a subroutine known as swap test (a fidelity estimator or inner product of two state, btw I don't understand ...
Aman's user avatar
  • 483
3 votes
2 answers
334 views

What is the probability of observing a search string $\omega$ after $r$ iterations of Grover's algorithm?

Per Wikipedia, in Grover's algorithm the probability of observing search string $\omega$ after $r$ iterations is: $$\left|\begin{bmatrix}\langle \omega | \omega \rangle &\langle \omega | s \...
Sanchayan Dutta's user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
3k views

How do I apply the Hadamard gate to one qubit in a two-qubit pure state?

So in lectures I see lots of these: And somehow I intuitively understand it (at least for the 1 qubit case), but I don't understand the math – especially for 2 qubits.
John T's user avatar
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13 votes
2 answers
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Automatic compilation of quantum circuits

A recent question here asked how to compile the 4-qubit gate CCCZ (controlled-controlled-controlled-Z) into simple 1-qubit and 2-qubit gates, and the only answer given so far requires 63 gates! The ...
user1271772's user avatar
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13 votes
3 answers
766 views

Is acting with a positive map on a state not part of a larger system allowed?

In the comments to a question I asked recently, there is a discussion between user1271772 and myself on positive operators. I know that for a positive trace-preserving operator $\Lambda$ (e.g. the ...
Quantum spaghettification's user avatar
11 votes
2 answers
909 views

How to check if a quantum circuit can be constructed for a given matrix representation?

Let's say I have a matrix representation, e.g. $$ \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix}. $$ How ...
Dorijan Cirkveni's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
331 views

Is there an algorithm for determining if a given vector is separable or entangled?

I'm trying to understand if there is some sort of formula or procedural way to determine if a vector is separable or entangled – aka whether or not a vector of size $m$ could be represented by the ...
A Poor's user avatar
  • 225
8 votes
2 answers
1k views

Minimum number of 2 qubit gates to build any unitary

Any unitary $U$ acting on $N$ qubits can be decomposed in a finite product $U=U_1U_2...U_n$ where every $U_i$ acts on only 2 qubits, for example through decomposition in CNOT, phase shifts and 1 qubit ...
Nichola's user avatar
  • 348
8 votes
3 answers
1k views

Is the tensor product of two states commutative?

I'm reading "Quantum Computing Expained" of David McMahon, and encountered a confusing concept. In the beginning of Chapter 4, author described the tensor product as below: To construct a ...
akawarren's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
2k views

When would I consider using an outer product of quantum states, to describe aspects of a quantum algorithm?

I know the inner product has a relationship to the angle between two vectors and I know it can be used to quantify the distance between two vectors. Similarly, what's an use case for the outer ...
R. Chopin's user avatar
  • 1,179
7 votes
2 answers
681 views

What is a separable decomposition for the Werner state?

Consider the two-qubit Werner state, defined as $$\rho_z = z |\Psi_-\rangle\!\langle \Psi_-| + \frac{1-z}{4}I, \quad |\Psi_-\rangle\equiv\frac{1}{\sqrt2}(|00\rangle-|11\rangle),$$ for $z\ge0$. Using ...
glS's user avatar
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7 votes
2 answers
675 views

How do you represent the output of a quantum gate in terms of its basis vectors?

I'm stuck while trying to understand the Hadamard Gate in a more linear algebra understanding. (I understand the algebraic way). This is because I want to program a simulation of a quantum computer. ...
Vitulus's user avatar
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6 votes
2 answers
449 views

In Bell nonlocality, why does $P(ab|xy)\neq P(a|x)P(b|y)$ mean the variables are not statistically independent?

I've been working through the paper Bell nonlocality by Brunner et al. after seeing it in user glS' answer here. Early on in the paper, the standard Bell experimental setup is defined: Where $x, y \...
ahelwer's user avatar
  • 3,988
5 votes
1 answer
459 views

Extending a square matrix to a unitary matrix

Suppose we have a square matrix $M$ of size $n\times n$. It is given that any element $M_{ij}$ of $M$ is a real number and satisfies $0 \leq M_{ij} \leq 1$, $\forall$ $i,j$. No other property for $M$ ...
new2quantum's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
370 views

What types of quantum systems use infinite values?

Background I am curious to learn more about any work that has been done regarding quantum systems that deal with infinite values. I am primarily interested in photonic quantum computing; however I am ...
user820789's user avatar
  • 3,272
3 votes
1 answer
2k views

How to translate the Hadamard gate matrix into Dirac notation?

Hadamard gate matrix is: $$\frac{1}{\sqrt 2}\begin{bmatrix}1 && 1 \\ 1 && -1\end{bmatrix}$$ The Dirac notation for it is: $$\frac{|0\rangle+|1\rangle}{\sqrt 2}\langle0|+\frac{|0\...
Kumar's user avatar
  • 209
1 vote
1 answer
114 views

Two-qubit Bell measurement matrix where the two qubits are not contiguouis

In the answer here, it is explained that where the measurement operates on only a subset of the qubits of the system (for example qubits 2 and 3 out of five), the matrix can be constructed using the ...
Anna Naden's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
175 views

What happens if $|\psi\rangle$ = $|0\rangle$ or $|\psi\rangle$ = $|1\rangle$ is passed as an input to two Hadamard gates in sequence?

I'm a computer science student and soon I will have a math exam. I'm really struggling with this preparation question. Also, includes the following: How does this demonstrate that we need the “ket” ...
Natalo77's user avatar
25 votes
1 answer
5k views

How to understand the Haar measure from a quantum information perspective?

I found it a little difficult to understand it using Wikipedia and some mathematical documents. How to understand the Haar measure from a quantum information theory perspective? Are there any ...
raycosine's user avatar
  • 830
20 votes
6 answers
5k views

Quantum states are unit vectors... with respect to which norm?

The most general definition of a quantum state I found is (rephrasing the definition from Wikipedia) Quantum states are represented by a ray in a finite- or infinite-dimensional Hilbert space over ...
Adrien Suau's user avatar
  • 4,702
11 votes
2 answers
1k views

Rigorous security proof for Wiesner's quantum money

In his celebrated paper "Conjugate Coding" (written around 1970), Stephen Wiesner proposed a scheme for quantum money that is unconditionally impossible to counterfeit, assuming that the issuing bank ...
DIDIx13's user avatar
  • 785
10 votes
2 answers
624 views

What does it mean for a density matrix to "act on a Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}"$?

For a Hilbert space $\mathcal{H}_A$, I have seen the phrase density matrices acting on $\mathcal{H}_A$ multiple times, e.g. here. It is clear to me that if $\mathcal{H}_A$ has finite Hilbert ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 489
9 votes
1 answer
681 views

Why does representation theory often arise in the context of quantum algorithms for the hidden subgroup problem?

I noticed that approaches for finding quantum algorithms the hidden subgroup problem for both Abelian groups ($(\Bbb Z_n\times \Bbb Z_n, +)$, $(\Bbb R, +)$, etc.) and non-Abelian finite groups like ...
Sanchayan Dutta's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
3k views

How to prove that antipodal points on the Bloch sphere are orthogonal?

I started by assuming two antipodal states $$ |(\theta,\psi)\rangle = \cos\dfrac{\theta}{2}|0\rangle + \sin\dfrac{\theta}{2}e^{i\psi}|1\rangle\\ |(\theta+\pi,\psi+\pi)\rangle= \cos\dfrac{\theta+\pi}{2}...
apen's user avatar
  • 213
7 votes
2 answers
737 views

Homeomorphism or stereographic projection corresponding to the set of mixed states within the Bloch sphere

The Bloch sphere is homeomorphic to the Riemann sphere, and there exists a stereographic projection $\Bbb S^2\to \Bbb C_\infty$. But this only holds for pure states. To quote Wikipedia: Quantum ...
Sanchayan Dutta's user avatar
7 votes
1 answer
213 views

Does conjugation by a Clifford send each non-identity Pauli to every other non-identity Pauli with equal frequency?

I see here in Olivia DeMatteo's notes, she states: When we consider the action of the entire Clifford group on a single non-identity Pauli, it maps that Pauli to each of the $d^2 − 1$ other possible ...
Quantum Guy 123's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
3k views

How to show a density matrix is in a pure/mixed state?

Say we have a single qubit with some density matrix, for example lets say we have the density matrix $\rho=\begin{pmatrix}3/4&1/2\\1/2&1/2\end{pmatrix}$. I would like to know what is the ...
bhapi's user avatar
  • 869
6 votes
1 answer
469 views

How to check if a two-qubit gate is entangling?

I would like to know if there's an analog for Schmidt rank that can tell me if a two-qubit unitary is entangling? Suppose I have a parametrized two-qubit unitary $U^{(2)}(\theta)$. I would like to ...
forky40's user avatar
  • 5,770
6 votes
1 answer
1k views

Understanding a quantum algorithm to estimate inner products

While reading the paper "Compiling basic linear algebra subroutines for quantum computers", here, in the Appendix, the author/s have included a section on quantum inner product estimation. Consider ...
IntegrateThis's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
223 views

Definition of locality in Bell experiments

Continuing from my previous question on Brunner et al.'s paper; so given a standard Bell experimental setup: where independent inputs $x,y \in \{0, 1\}$ decide the measurement performed by Alice &...
ahelwer's user avatar
  • 3,988
6 votes
1 answer
505 views

Are nearly all pure two-qubit state entangled?

I am using the code below, utilizing QETLAB's RandomStateVector(4) and IsPPT, to generate a random state and to judge whether the state is entangled or separable: ...
Sherlock's user avatar
  • 593
6 votes
1 answer
737 views

What kind of mathematics is common in quantum computing? [closed]

From what I have seen so far, there is a lot of linear algebra. Curious what other kinds of maths are used in QC & the specific fields in which they are most predominately invoked.
user820789's user avatar
  • 3,272
6 votes
1 answer
681 views

Can we process infinite matrices with a quantum computer?

Can we process infinite matrices with a quantum computer? If then, how can we do that?
KYHSGeekCode's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
307 views

In the Clifford group, is the center of $ \overline{\text{Cl}_n} \equiv\text{Cl}_n/U(1)$ trivial?

My question: Is the center of $ \overline{\text{Cl}_n} $ trivial? Recall that the algebra generated by the Pauli group is the full matrix algebra. So any matrix that commutes with the Pauli group must ...
Ian Gershon Teixeira's user avatar
5 votes
3 answers
664 views

Writing state $ |\Psi⟩ =\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}|00⟩+\frac{i}{\sqrt{2}}|01⟩$ as separate qubits (qiskit textbook)

While going through the IBM qiskit textbook online, I came across the following question in section 2.2: Write the state: $ |\Psi⟩ =\frac{1}{\sqrt{2}}|00⟩+\frac{i}{\sqrt{2}}|01⟩$ as two separate ...
aikky's user avatar
  • 169