Probabilistic Storage and Retrieval of Quantum Superchannels for "Retrospective'' Intervention

Abstract

Storing an unknown quantum computation in a quantum state and retrieving it at a desired later time is a challenging task, hindered by the no-programming theorem of quantum computations. In the previous studies on the task of probabilistic storage-and-retrieval (pSAR) of quantum channels, the maximum probability of exactly retrieving a single unknown unitary channel from a quantum state in which the unknown unitary has been encoded via multiple calls to the unknown unitary channel is derived. In this work, we consider a higher-order version of pSAR, the probabilistic storage-and-retrieval of definite-causal unitary superchannels, which are physically modeled by sequences of unitary channels with open slots where arbitrary channels can be inserted between the unitary channels for intervention. This task requires activating the ``retrospective'' intervention functionality on the superchannel, beyond its normal intervention functionality. We propose two protocols: partial teleportation, which is optimal for a small number of storage queries, and staircase backstitch, which achieves unit success probability asymptotically as the number of queries increases. We also derive a universal inversion protocol for unitary superchannels.