Bernstein-Vazirani decoding controlled by a quantum register Created 2026-10-06 Updated 2026-10-07
For a Boolean quantum oracle whose function is , place its target in . Conjugating the oracle by a Walsh-Hadamard transform on the register translates that register by . This is Bernstein-Vazirani phase kickback without measuring its output, so the index may remain in an arbitrary quantum superposition. A second application undoes the translation. A phase evaluation between the two calls therefore transfers a hidden-label-dependent phase to the index register while uncomputation returns the decoding register to zero.
Let . The positive-exponent quantum Fourier transform gives . Reindexing the cyclic shift operator gives
Thus is an eigenstate with eigenvalue , with this sign fixed by the printed quantum Fourier transform convention.
Prepare the first two qutrits in and the answer qutrit in . The modular-addition quantum oracle applies to the answer. Its eigenvalue produces quantum phase kickback, leaving
Apply to each input qutrit, then measure them in the computational basis. The result is
The preparation, inverse transforms and measurements are independent of , and there is exactly one use of . This is qutrit linear-function identification, the ternary version of Bernstein-Vazirani phase kickback.
Prepare an additional qubit in by applying and then the Hadamard gate to . Apply to the data register. The Boolean quantum oracle then produces quantum phase kickback:
A final Walsh-Hadamard transform gives an amplitude for equal to
To see this identity, the sum factors over the bits; any position at which and differ contributes . This is Bernstein-Vazirani phase kickback, and its output is
There is exactly one oracle query, fixed quantum gates, and no probabilistic intermediate step. The ancilla qubit can be left in or reset to using its known inverse preparation. The construction includes the case .
If , then
so
In either promised case, construct by the one-query procedure in part (a), apply the Walsh-Hadamard transform to its two qubits, and perform a quantum measurement in the computational basis. The outcome is certainly for case (i) and certainly for case (ii). Therefore
This is a two-bit instance of Bernstein-Vazirani phase kickback, and also a promised Deutsch-Jozsa test.
Let . After the Hadamards and the oracle, Bernstein-Vazirani phase kickback gives