Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-introduction-to-quantum-information-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/1/e/solution
Past exam of the introduction to quantum information course of the University of Oxford 2015 1 e Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Each run of Simon's algorithm uses one oracle call and returns one uniform sample from . Collect samples as rows of a matrix and solve over the two-element field using Gaussian elimination. Once the rows have matrix rank , the kernel is , so the promised nonzero vector is uniquely determined. Dependent samples, including , must be allowed for; exactly runs need not suffice.
For a rough quantitative estimate, put . When the existing samples span an -dimensional vector subspace of , the next sample increases the matrix rank with probability . The random spanning of a binary vector space estimate givesAlternatively, samples fail to span with probability less than : failure means some nonzero linear functional on the -dimensional space vanishes on every sample, and a union bound gives . ConsequentlyThe Gaussian elimination requires only a polynomial amount of classical work, for example bit operations for samples. The degenerate case needs no calls because the promise already specifies .
Classically, distinct inputs with equal function values reveal . Uniformly sampling distinct inputs finds such a function collision after roughly calls, by the birthday square-root scale. For sampled inputs, the expected number of colliding pairs is . The usual randomized classical query complexity of Simon's problem is therefore exponential in , on the scaleA straightforward exhaustive classical search instead uses calls. The square-root collision estimate is the sharper classical comparison; the quantum advantage concerns access to the promised quantum oracle, rather than an explicit table of all function values.
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