Quantum Search on Bounded-Error Inputs

Abstract

Suppose we have n algorithms, quantum or classical, each computing some bit-value with bounded error probability. We describe a quantum algorithm that uses O($\sqrt n$) repetitions of the base algorithms and with high probability finds the index of a 1-bit among these n bits (if there is such an index). This shows that it is not necessary to first significantly reduce the error probability in the base algorithms to O(1/poly(n)) (which would require O($\sqrt n \log n$ log n) repetitions in total). Our technique is a recursive interleaving of amplitude amplification and error-reduction, and may be of more general interest. Essentially, it shows that quantum amplitude amplification can be made to work also with a bounded-error verifier. As a corollary we obtain optimal quantum upper bounds of O($\sqrt N$) queries for all constant-depth AND-OR trees on N variables, improving upon earlier upper bounds of O($\sqrt N$ polylog(N)).

Supported in part by the Alberta Ingenuity Fund and the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences.

This research was (partially) funded by projects QAIP (IST-1999-11234) and RESQ (IST-2001-37559) of the IST-FET programme of the EC.