Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-computer-science-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019/quantum-information/1/c/solution
Past exam of the computer science course of the University of Oxford 2019 Quantum information 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Let and . The first basic measurement has outcome probabilities and , obtained by conjugating the amplitudes in the bras. Conditional on its first outcome, the next computational-basis measurement returns 0 with probability ; conditional on its second outcome, that probability is . The law of total probability therefore givesConsequently the minimum is , attained exactly when . The relative complex phases do not affect this result. The alternatives after the first measurement form a classical mixture; their amplitudes must not be added coherently as if no measurement occurred.
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