An important question concerns what resources are required to perform universal quantum computation. There are several different theoretical frameworks for performing quantum computation, for example the gate-based, measurement-based, adiabatic, and topological models. Each have different sets of requirements and resources used to implement underlying logical computations. By examining what sets of resources are required or allow universal quantum computation, we hope to understand not only how to build practical devices but also fundamental questions about computation itself.
Schematic of Ancilla-Driven Quantum Computation. A fixed entangling operation between the system and ancilla is sufficient to allow coherent operations to be performed on the computational register conditional on the measurements made on the ancilla.
A recent model called ancilla driven quantum computation (ADQC) takes different elements from the gate and measurement based models to synthesize a hybrid computing paradigm [1]. By varying different resource components, we can study what trade-offs are required in order for universality to be maintained. For example, by eliminating the requirement that the computation proceed in a deterministic manner, the range of available interactions is enormously expanded at the cost of a variable runtime. Ultimately, these insights can be applied to real devices to optimize their use of available physical capabilities.
Researchers: Dr Daniel Oi
PUBLICATIONS
[1] Ancilla-driven universal quantum computation, Janet Anders, Daniel K. L. Oi, Elham Kashefi, Dan E. Browne, and Erika Andersson, Phys. Rev. A 82, 020301(R) (2010).