The complexity of perfect quantum state classification

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Johnston, Nathaniel, Lovitz, Benjamin, Russo, Vincent, Sikora, Jamie
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Johnston, Nathaniel
Lovitz, Benjamin
Russo, Vincent
Sikora, Jamie
author_facet Johnston, Nathaniel
Lovitz, Benjamin
Russo, Vincent
Sikora, Jamie
contents The problem of quantum state classification asks how accurately one can identify an unknown quantum state that is promised to be drawn from a known set of pure states. In this work, we introduce the notion of $k$-learnability, which captures the ability to identify the correct state using at most $k$ guesses, with zero error. We show that deciding whether a given family of states is $k$-learnable can be solved via semidefinite programming. When there are $n$ states, we present polynomial-time (in $n$) algorithms for determining $k$-learnability for two cases: when $k$ is a fixed constant or the dimension of the states is a fixed constant. When both $k$ and the dimension of the states are part of the input, we prove that there exist succinct certificates placing the problem in NP, and we establish NP-hardness by a reduction from the classical $k$-clique problem. Together, our findings delineate the boundary between efficiently solvable and intractable instances of quantum state classification in the perfect (zero-error) regime.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_20789
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The complexity of perfect quantum state classification
Johnston, Nathaniel
Lovitz, Benjamin
Russo, Vincent
Sikora, Jamie
Quantum Physics
The problem of quantum state classification asks how accurately one can identify an unknown quantum state that is promised to be drawn from a known set of pure states. In this work, we introduce the notion of $k$-learnability, which captures the ability to identify the correct state using at most $k$ guesses, with zero error. We show that deciding whether a given family of states is $k$-learnable can be solved via semidefinite programming. When there are $n$ states, we present polynomial-time (in $n$) algorithms for determining $k$-learnability for two cases: when $k$ is a fixed constant or the dimension of the states is a fixed constant. When both $k$ and the dimension of the states are part of the input, we prove that there exist succinct certificates placing the problem in NP, and we establish NP-hardness by a reduction from the classical $k$-clique problem. Together, our findings delineate the boundary between efficiently solvable and intractable instances of quantum state classification in the perfect (zero-error) regime.
title The complexity of perfect quantum state classification
topic Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20789