Quantum dissipative search via Lindbladians
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Abstract
Closed quantum systems follow a unitary time evolution that can be simulated on quantum computers. By incorporating nonunitary effects via, e.g., measurements on ancilla qubits, these algorithms can be extended to open-system dynamics, such as Markovian processes described by the Lindblad master equation. In this paper, we analyze the convergence criteria and speed of a Markovian, purely dissipative quantum random walk on an unstructured classical search space. Notably, we show that certain jump operators make the quantum process replicate a classical one, while others yield differences between open quantum (OQRW) and classical random walks. We also clarify a previously observed quadratic speedup, demonstrating that OQRWs are no more efficient than classical search. Finally, we analyze a dissipative discrete-time ground-state preparation algorithm with a lower implementation cost. This allows us to interpolate between the dissipative and the unitary domain and thereby illustrate the important role of coherence for the quadratic speedup. Published by the American Physical Society 2025