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Random Measurement Bases, Quantum State Distinction and Applications to the Hidden Subgroup Problem

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Abstract

We show that measuring any two low rank quantum states in a random orthonormal basis gives, with high probability, two probability distributions having total variation distance at least a universal constant times the Frobenius distance between the two states. This implies that for any finite ensemble of quantum states there is a single POVM that distinguishes between every pair of states from the ensemble by at least a constant times their Frobenius distance; in fact, with high probability a random POVM, under a suitable definition of randomness, suffices. There are examples of ensembles with constant pairwise trace distance where a single POVM cannot distinguish pairs of states by much better than their Frobenius distance, including the important ensemble of coset states of hidden subgroups of the symmetric group (Moore et al., Proceedings of the 46th Annual IEEE Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, 2005).

We next consider the random Fourier method for the hidden subgroup problem (HSP) which consists of Fourier sampling the coset state of the hidden subgroup using random orthonormal bases for the group representations. In cases where every representation of the group has polynomially bounded rank when averaged over the hidden subgroup, the random Fourier method gives a POVM for the HSP operating on one coset state at a time and using totally a polynomial number of coset states. In particular, we get such POVMs whenever the group and the hidden subgroup form a Gel’fand pair, e.g., Abelian, dihedral and Heisenberg groups. This gives a positive counterpart to earlier negative results about random Fourier sampling when the above rank is exponentially large (Grigni et al., Combinatorica 24(1):137–154, 2004), which happens for example in the HSP in the symmetric group.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. NEC Laboratories America, Inc., Princeton, NJ, USA

    Martin Rötteler

  2. School of Technology and Computer Science, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai, India

    Jaikumar Radhakrishnan & Pranab Sen

Authors
  1. Jaikumar Radhakrishnan
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  2. Martin Rötteler
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  3. Pranab Sen
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Correspondence to Pranab Sen.

Additional information

This paper is the journal version of the conference papers [23] and [24].

Work of J. Radhakrishnan done while visiting Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Work of M. Rötteler done as a postdoctoral researcher at Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Most of the work of P. Sen done while working at NEC Laboratories America, Princeton, NJ, USA, and partly as a postdoctoral researcher at Institute for Quantum Computing, University of Waterloo, Canada.

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Radhakrishnan, J., Rötteler, M. & Sen, P. Random Measurement Bases, Quantum State Distinction and Applications to the Hidden Subgroup Problem. Algorithmica 55, 490–516 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00453-008-9231-x

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