Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser causal set actions by quantum counting

Fuente: arXiv
Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Adamson, Sean A., Wallden, Petros
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
Subjects:
Online Access:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866913153534656512
author Adamson, Sean A.
Wallden, Petros
author_facet Adamson, Sean A.
Wallden, Petros
contents Causal set theory is an approach to quantum gravity in which spacetime is fundamentally discrete while retaining local Lorentz invariance. The Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser action is the causal set equivalent to the Einstein-Hilbert action underpinning Einstein's general theory of relativity. We present a $\tilde{O}(n^{2})$ running-time quantum algorithm to compute the Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser action in arbitrary spacetime dimensions for causal sets with $n$ elements which is asymptotically optimal and offers a polynomial speedup compared to all known classical or quantum algorithms. To do this, we prepare a uniform superposition over an $O(n^{2})$-size arbitrary subset of computational basis states encoding the classical description of a causal set of interest. We then construct depth $\tilde{O}(n)$ oracle circuits testing for different discrete volumes between pairs of causal set elements. Repeatedly performing a two-stage variant of quantum counting using these oracles yields the desired algorithm.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_22217
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser causal set actions by quantum counting
Adamson, Sean A.
Wallden, Petros
Quantum Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
Causal set theory is an approach to quantum gravity in which spacetime is fundamentally discrete while retaining local Lorentz invariance. The Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser action is the causal set equivalent to the Einstein-Hilbert action underpinning Einstein's general theory of relativity. We present a $\tilde{O}(n^{2})$ running-time quantum algorithm to compute the Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser action in arbitrary spacetime dimensions for causal sets with $n$ elements which is asymptotically optimal and offers a polynomial speedup compared to all known classical or quantum algorithms. To do this, we prepare a uniform superposition over an $O(n^{2})$-size arbitrary subset of computational basis states encoding the classical description of a causal set of interest. We then construct depth $\tilde{O}(n)$ oracle circuits testing for different discrete volumes between pairs of causal set elements. Repeatedly performing a two-stage variant of quantum counting using these oracles yields the desired algorithm.
title Benincasa-Dowker-Glaser causal set actions by quantum counting
topic Quantum Physics
General Relativity and Quantum Cosmology
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.22217