Quantum query complexity

The quantum query complexity of a task counts uses of an input oracle by a quantum circuit, for a specified success probability. Known gates and workspace operations are not counted as oracle queries, although they contribute to the circuit's full runtime. An efficient query bound therefore need not, by itself, be an efficient gate bound.

Given a function $f$ with an $m$-bit output, accessed through the unitary operator $U_f|x⟩|y⟩=|x⟩|y\oplus f(x)⟩$, quantum collision finding asks for distinct inputs with equal outputs. Here $\oplus$ is bitwise exclusive or on the $m$-bit answer quantum register. The distinctness requirement excludes the uninformative pair $(x,x)$. For a two-to-one function on $N$ inputs, Grover search algorithm methods yield a cube-root quantum query complexity, despite a square-root cost for finding a partner of just one preselected input.

Query a known set of $m$ inputs and store its output table. If no function collision occurs there, each of its $m$ distinct outputs has exactly one partner in the complement, for a two-to-one function. A compute-phase-uncompute construction marks those partners using two function queries and reversible table comparison. Known-subset Grover search then uses $O(\sqrt{(N-m)/m})$ such phase queries. Including table preparation and a final verification query givesChoosing $m\asymp N^{1/3}$ balances both terms and gives $T(m)=O(N^{1/3})$. The Grover rotation angle rounding bound gives success tending to one. This is a query bound; it does not make reversible table lookup free in a gate or physical-memory cost model.