Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 iii Paper 60 3 e Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The claimed universality is false for the particular gate specified in part (d). Every allowed single-qubit gate is local, and is local too. Products of these gates remain of the form . They preserve all product states and cannot, for example, implement the CNOT gate that sends to . Equivalently, its diagonal two-qubit phase entanglement criterion gives the alternating phase modulo . No construction with only the printed phase gate and local rotations implements arbitrary two-qubit gates.
The intended universality argument works after replacing that local gate by an entangling controlled phase. The same tunable Ising coupling suppliesThus this quarter-area Ising pulse, with local corrections, realizes the Controlled-Z gate. Conjugating it by the Hadamard gate on the second qubit gives , with harmless scalar phases if the Hadamards are implemented using traceless control Hamiltonians.
The Cartan decomposition of a two-qubit gate writes a target aswith local factors. The three central Pauli-product operators commute, so their exponential is a product of three variable interaction gates. From two fixed CNOT gates and a variable local rotation about the z-axis,because . Conjugating this interaction by on both qubits yields ; conjugating by on both yields . Part (c) implements all outer local factors. This gives the full requested Cartan construction with an entangling phase gate, and pinpoints the defect in the printed version. Exact arbitrary scalar phase requires an identity Hamiltonian term; the physical gate construction is up to global phase.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2008 iii Paper 57 1 d Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Define and . From the branch calculation in part (b), outcome leavesThus the effective input teleported was . A Pauli X gate flips every bit and hence maps a Dicke state with excitations to one with excitations. Since , applying at every receiving party interchanges the two logical basis states and restores . ThereforeIn particular Bob's uncorrected reduced density matrix is , and his correction returns it to the matrix in part (c). The remaining branches can likewise be corrected: implements logical up to the common global phase , while implements logical . Thus the outcome dependence can be removed by local Pauli gates even though the resulting copies remain imperfect.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 51 1 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
The answer qubit enters the Boolean quantum oracle in , because the Pauli X gate followed by the Hadamard gate maps to . Since , quantum phase kickback multiplies the component by and leaves the answer qubit unchanged. The two input qubits enter in the uniform quantum superposition . ThusEquivalently, using the Controlled-Z gate and the Pauli Z gate,Here the exponent in the phase may be evaluated as an ordinary integer, since its parity agrees with the exclusive or expression. In particular, contributes only a global phase.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 51 1 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
When , the first two qubits after the Boolean quantum oracle are . The Hadamard gate obeys for . Applying the Walsh-Hadamard transform therefore givesConsequently the quantum measurement in the computational basis has the deterministic outcomesThese four distinct answers identify the four promised Boolean quantum oracles with one query and certainty. The constant term does not affect the measurement in quantum mechanics, because a global phase does not change its probabilities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 51 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Using the printed measurement-vector convention, the unitary operator isThus it is a phase gate followed by a Hadamard gate, with angle sign opposite to the parameter in the catalogued J gate. Its rows are the conjugate transposes of the orthonormal measurement vectors, so it is unitary. Right multiplication by the Pauli Z gate changes the sign of the second column, which is exactly the effect of left multiplication by the Pauli X gate, exchanging the two rows. Explicitly,Similarly, right multiplication by the Pauli X gate exchanges columns, givingTherefore the exact identities, retaining the global phase in the second one, areThese supply Pauli-frame propagation along a measurement wire.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2009 iii Paper 51 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Label the chain cluster state from top to bottom by , and let be the phase-measurement outcomes on the first three vertices, with raw computational basis outcome on vertex four. Repeated one-bit teleportation leaves the last qubit, up to global phase, inThis sequential description applies even though the whole graph state is prepared first: a later Controlled-Z gate acts only on unmeasured qubits and commutes with earlier single-qubit measurement operators. It can therefore be moved past those measurements for the purpose of calculating each conditional branch.
Take and , so . After the second measurement the logical state isFor binary , the identities proved above imply the Pauli-frame propagation along a measurement wire rulewhere means equality up to global phase. Choose the third angle adaptively as . Then , andReading the target circuit in temporal order gives its premeasurement stateConsequentlyThe Pauli Z gate changes only phases in the computational basis, while the Pauli X gate exchanges its two measurement outcomes. Thus the explicit choices areIndeed, for every earlier outcome branch,Hence averaging over the earlier random outcomes leaves exactly the target probability distribution. This implements the desired measurement-based quantum computation without physically removing the final Pauli frame.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 49 2 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Prepare the three-vertex graph-state wire: start all three qubits in and apply Controlled-Z gates on edges and . In this paper's equatorial qubit measurement convention the basis vectors can be chosen asThe given identity means that measuring an input qubit at angle , with outcome , teleports its state to the next qubit as . Each outcome has probability , since is unitary. This is one-bit teleportation with a known Pauli frame.
Measure vertex 1 at angle and record . Then measure vertex 2 at angle , taken modulo , and record . The controlled-Z on edge commutes with the first measurement, so the two teleportation steps can be applied successively. The remaining normalized state isFor this is . For , the relation proved above gives . Thus in every branch the remaining state isThe scalar is a global phase and has no effect on probabilities.
Finally measure vertex 3 in the computational basis, obtaining , and reportThe byproduct changes only computational-basis phases; changes the output label by . Hence the corrected bit has exactly the ideal circuit's probability distribution in every branch, not merely on average. The procedure uses only single-qubit measurements after preparing the graph state, adaptive classical angle selection, and deterministic classical output processing.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 50 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
For reachability in control theory, a state is reachable from if an admissible input and a permitted duration drive the dynamical system from to . Controllability requires this for every initial-target pair in the specified state space. Restrictions on duration or field amplitudes change the reachable set, so the admissible controls are part of the definition.
For a closed quantum system, , , and states evolve as or . This gives three notions of quantum controllability. Unitary operator controllability requires every desired to be reachable from the identity; when a global phase is immaterial, one instead asks for every special unitary operation. Density operator controllability requires every pair of density operators with the same spectrum to be connected. The spectral qualification is necessary because unitary time evolution cannot change eigenvalues; the natural state space is a unitary orbit of a density operator. Pure-state controllability requires any normalized initial state to be transferred to any target ray, .
Thus , with the operator implication also valid if global phase is discarded. The converse implications need not hold. A pure-state task concerns one vector, whereas an operator task must act correctly on every input vector at once.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2010 iii Paper 50 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Assume the usual real Hamiltonian controls with freely chosen finite duration, rather than a fixed-time or amplitude-restricted task. Define the Dynamical Lie algebrathe real linear span closed under all nested commutators. Replacing each generator by gives the same algebra. The associated connected reachable group acts on propagators, on each unitary orbit of a density operator, and on pure states. For , the necessary and sufficient conditions are as follows.
For exact unitary operator controllability, . For operator control up to global phase, the possibilities are or . If every Hamiltonian is traceless, , so the central phase direction is absent and exact access is to . The full special unitary Lie algebra has dimension and the Lie algebra of the unitary group has dimension .
For density operator controllability on every spectral orbit,Scalar phases do not affect conjugation. If only a particular density spectrum is being considered, a smaller group can suffice: for distinct eigenvalue multiplicities and centralizer , the orbit criterion is . A maximally mixed state has a one-point orbit and needs no controls. This restricted-orbit condition is weaker than controllability for every density spectrum.
For pure-state controllability, up to a fixed unitary change of basis,where the last two alternatives occur only for even . Here is the standard compact symplectic Lie algebra acting on , not the real noncompact symplectic algebra. These are precisely the unitary matrix algebras whose connected groups act transitively on normalized complex vectors, and also give the ray version of controllability. For , . For even , the symplectic cases show why pure-state control can be weaker than density control: is smaller than the nondegenerate density-orbit dimension , and its scalar center acts trivially on that orbit. For , the physical density and pure-state spaces are single points, while exact operator controllability still requires the phase algebra .
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 67 3 a Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Use five resource qubits, all initially , and prepare the graph state with edges , , , . The labels here identify resource vertices; logical wire 1 travels from vertex 1 to 3, and logical wire 2 travels from 2 to 4 to 5. Each edge is a Controlled-Z gate, and these entangling gates commute, so all can be applied when preparing the resource.
Five-vertex graph resource, adaptive measurement angle, and classical output corrections for the two-qubit circuit
. Details. Measure vertex 1 in the equatorial qubit measurement basis at angle , with outcome , and vertex 2 at angle , with outcome . These measurements can be simultaneous. The one-bit teleportation lemma leaves the state on vertices 3 and 4, before the last teleportation, equal up to global phase toIndeed commuting the two initial byproducts through creates precisely the crossed factors. The unused edge from 4 to the fresh vertex 5 is the last one-bit teleportation link.
Measure vertex 4 at angle , with outcome . By the printed J gate propagation identities,Thus the remaining two-qubit quantum state isup to global phase, where is the desired circuit output relabelled onto vertices 3 and 5. The sign choice cancels the unwanted angle reversal caused by the frame on vertex 4.
Finally measure vertices 3 and 5 in the computational basis, obtaining raw results . The Pauli Z gate affects only phases, while the Pauli X gate flips a computational result. The five-vertex graph-state circuit simulation therefore outputsThis deterministic classical correction reproduces the ideal joint probability distribution for every preceding measurement branch. The final fixed-basis measurements may share the second layer with the adaptive measurement of vertex 4, because their projectors act on different vertices; measuring them afterwards is also valid.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 67 3 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Replace every CNOT gate by . The resulting quantum circuit contains only Hadamard gates and Controlled-Z gates. Realize each Hadamard gate by a fresh one-bit teleportation link measured at angle zero, so every internal measurement is in the fixed basis. Insert a graph edge between the current wire vertices for each Controlled-Z gate. This gives a suitable graph state because the inputs are , and entangling gates can be moved to resource preparation: they commute with one another and with earlier measurements on vertices no longer used by the gate.
Track a Pauli frame . An angle-zero one-bit teleportation with raw result updates the frame on that wire bybecause equals up to global phase. A Controlled-Z gate updates and , leaving the bits unchanged. These are classical binary updates; no measurement angle depends on them.
All the internal quantum measurements consequently have predetermined bases. Their projectors act on distinct resource vertices and commute, so all internal measurements can be performed simultaneously: the logical measurement depth is at most one. If the output is to be read in the computational basis, those fixed-basis measurements can occur in the same layer; a raw output is relabelled . If quantum outputs are retained, the same calculation gives the desired output in a known Pauli frame. This nonadaptive Hadamard–CNOT measurement pattern concerns measurement depth, not the depth of resource preparation or classical frame computation.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2012 iii Paper 67 3 c Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-07
Write the single-qubit gate as , where . Thus it is, up to global phase, a rotation about the x-axis, and it commutes with . Compile it as a Hadamard gate followed by the J gate . Compile each CNOT gate as before into . The usual wire-link construction yields a resource graph state for the fixed inputs; the same frame algebra also works for logical input states supplied to an open resource.
The point is stronger than counting two gates per rotation: a long circuit must not acquire a new adaptive layer for every rotation. We show that every nonzero-angle basis depends only on outcomes of the angle-zero measurements.
For an gadget, let the incoming Pauli frame be . Denote the angle-zero outcome by , and the subsequent angle- outcome by . The two one-bit teleportations givewhere omits a global phase. Consequently the rotation gadget updatesOnly its angle-zero outcome enters the new frame. Its arbitrary-angle outcome enters only the frame, which commutes through all later gates.
For a CNOT gate from to , call the outcomes of its two angle-zero target-wire measurements , in that order. The Pauli frame update isThese follow by applying the preceding Hadamard gate and Controlled-Z gate frame updates twice. In particular, the new frames depend on old frames and angle-zero outcomes only; they never depend on old frames or arbitrary-angle outcomes. This is the measurement-level version of the given fact that a CNOT gate propagates operators into products of operators.
Starting with no frame, induction in the original circuit order now computes every solely from angle-zero results. Therefore every sign is known after one simultaneous layer containing all angle-zero measurements, including those appearing late in the circuit. Compute those signs classically, and perform all remaining equatorial measurements in a second simultaneous layer. An angle zero that occurs accidentally among these remaining choices may stay in that layer. Reordering is valid because, once a branch's bases have been fixed, the projectors on different vertices commute; no second-layer result is needed to choose another second-layer basis.
The two-layer measurement pattern for CNOT and x-axis rotations thus hasindependently of the number or order of gates. Fixed computational-basis measurements of classical outputs can be included in layer two, followed by relabelling . For quantum outputs the final Pauli frame gives the required correction. The depth statement excludes graph preparation and classical processing, as in the definition in the paper.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2014 iii Paper 61 4 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The J gate is , with . Prepare a fresh qubit in and apply the Controlled-Z gate between it and the input . The resulting state isMeasure the input in the equatorial qubit measurement basis . The unnormalized output isEach outcome has probability . Thus one-bit teleportation realizeson the new qubit. Apply the known Pauli X gate correction for the literal output, or keep the correction in a Pauli frame and adapt later measurements. The old qubit is measured, so this is not cloning the input.
Direct multiplication of the given matrices gives . The displayed negative exponent in the supplied relation has the wrong sign for exact matrix equality. The discrepancy is only a global phase in a fixed measurement branch, so it does not change this measurement implementation or its outcome probabilities. The positive-sign identity is used when tracking exact matrices.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ib Paper 1 15B a ii Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
Each energy eigenstate acquires the phase under unitary time evolution. Consequently at the requested time ,and the wavefunction is zero outside the well. Equivalently, in elementary functions,The distinct phases retain their relative sign from the initial expansion; an overall global phase would not change measurement probabilities.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 324 4 a i Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The basic one-bit teleportation primitive uses the input as qubit 1 and a fresh quantum ancilla as qubit 2. Apply the Controlled-Z gate and measure qubit 1 in the equatorial qubit measurement basis with angle . If is the result, the normalized post-measurement state on qubit 2 isBoth results have probability one half. For example, writing , the unnormalized branch is . Thus is applied deterministically as a logical gate with known Pauli frame ; a permitted conditional Pauli X gate would remove this byproduct physically.
The literal resource restriction does not need an unstated direct Pauli X gate. A Pauli Z gate can be enacted by applying to the data and a fixed quantum ancilla. Two consecutive angle-zero one-bit teleportations, with results , map an arbitrary current state to . Apply the available to remove the latter factor, up to an irrelevant global phase. This implements a heralded : if , the input is unchanged; if , the required Pauli X gate has been applied.
If the original result is and a physically corrected output is required, repeat this heralded Pauli X correction using controlled-Z and measurements until . Each attempt succeeds with probability one half independent of the input, so it terminates with probability one, using two attempts on average. Only , fixed ancillary quantum states and single-qubit quantum measurements are used. This exact physical correction has no finite worst-case measurement bound; the standard finite deterministic realization is the logical Pauli frame version, which suffices for the later output-simulation parts.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 324 4 b Solution Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-06
The logical depth of a measurement pattern counts sequential layers of quantum measurements forced by dependence of measurement bases on earlier outcomes. Depth one means every basis can be fixed before measurements start, allowing all quantum measurements on distinct qubits to be performed in parallel. This does not require depth-one resource-state preparation or constant-depth classical parity processing.
Suppose the circuit contains gates in time order, with each . Prepare an -vertex path graph state from and Controlled-Z gates between neighbours. Its first qubit supplies the specified input . Measure vertex in the fixed equatorial qubit measurement basis at angle for , obtaining . Measure the final vertex in the computational basis, obtaining .
Track the Pauli frame as , starting with . A hypothetical sequential reading of the same quantum measurements gives the step . The supplied commutation rules imply, up to global phase,For , the sign is irrelevant. For , the identity absorbs the possible sign change into the Pauli frame. If for and for , the update isInductively the final unmeasured quantum state would be . The final computational basis outcome is corrected by and is unaffected by . The induction on a sequential interpretation proves the joint statistics; projectors on distinct vertices commute, so the identical fixed-basis pattern can actually be measured simultaneously, including its final vertex.
The first printed commutation formula has an incorrect exact scalar phase: with the printed matrix definition, , rather than the negative-exponent prefactor. For example, at the two versions differ by a factor . They agree up to global phase, so this error does not affect the Pauli frame recurrence or any quantum measurement probability.
Consequently a fixed-basis path-state pattern of logical depth one simulates every such circuit. Only Pauli measurements occur: the angle-zero basis measures , and the angle- basis measures with the printed eigenvector labels. Classical exclusive or processing suffices for all output corrections. These gates are Clifford gates, which explains why angle adaptation can be eliminated. For , simply measure the initial in the computational basis; it is already a depth-one pattern.
