26 Search Results for "Kretschmer, William"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.10
On the Complexity of Unique Quantum Witnesses and Quantum Approximate Counting

Authors: Anurag Anshu, Jonas Haferkamp, Yeongwoo Hwang, and Quynh T. Nguyen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
We study the long-standing open question on the power of unique witnesses in quantum protocols, which asks if UniqueQMA, a variant of QMA whose accepting witness space is 1-dimensional, contains QMA under quantum reductions. This work rules out any black-box reduction from QMA to UniqueQMA by showing a quantum oracle separation between BQP^UniqueQMA and QMA. This provides a contrast to the classical case, where the Valiant-Vazirani theorem shows a black-box randomized reduction from UniqueNP to NP, and suggests the need for studying the structure of the ground space of local Hamiltonians in distilling a potential unique witness. Via similar techniques, we show, relative to a quantum oracle, that QMA^QMA cannot decide quantum approximate counting, ruling out a quantum analogue of Stockmeyer’s algorithm in the black-box setting. Our results employ a subspace reflection oracle, previously considered in [Scott Aaronson and Greg Kuperberg, 2007; Scott Aaronson et al., 2020; She and Yuen, 2023], but we introduce new tools which allow us to exploit the unique witness constraint. We also show a strong "polarization" behavior of QMA circuits, which could be of independent interest in studying quantum polynomial hierarchies. We then ask a natural question; what structural properties of the local Hamiltonian problem can we exploit? We introduce a physically motivated candidate by showing that the ground energy of local Hamiltonians that satisfy a computational variant of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis (ETH) can be estimated through a UniqueQMA protocol. Our protocol can be viewed as a quantum expander test in a low energy subspace of the Hamiltonian and verifies a unique entangled state across two copies of the subspace. This allows us to conclude that if UniqueQMA is not equivalent to QMA, then QMA-hard Hamiltonians must violate ETH under adversarial perturbations (more accurately, further assuming the quantum PCP conjecture if ETH only applies to extensive energy subspaces). Under the same assumption, this also serves as evidence that chaotic local Hamiltonians, such as the SYK model may be computationally simpler than general local Hamiltonians.
Cite as

Anurag Anshu, Jonas Haferkamp, Yeongwoo Hwang, and Quynh T. Nguyen. On the Complexity of Unique Quantum Witnesses and Quantum Approximate Counting. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 10:1-10:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{anshu_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.10,
  author =	{Anshu, Anurag and Haferkamp, Jonas and Hwang, Yeongwoo and Nguyen, Quynh T.},
  title =	{{On the Complexity of Unique Quantum Witnesses and Quantum Approximate Counting}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{10:1--10:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.10},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252978},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.10},
  annote =	{Keywords: Quantum complexity, approximate counting, Valiant-Vazirani, eigenstate thermalization hypothesis}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.56
The Hardness of Learning Quantum Circuits and Its Cryptographic Applications

Authors: Bill Fefferman, Soumik Ghosh, Makrand Sinha, and Henry Yuen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
We show that concrete hardness assumptions about learning or cloning the output state of a random quantum circuit can be used as the foundation for secure quantum cryptography. In particular, under these assumptions we construct secure one-way state generators (OWSGs), digital signature schemes, quantum bit commitments, and private key encryption schemes. We also discuss evidence for these hardness assumptions by analyzing the best-known quantum learning algorithms, as well as proving black-box lower bounds for cloning and learning given state preparation oracles. Our random circuit-based constructions provide concrete instantiations of quantum cryptographic primitives whose security do not depend on the existence of one-way functions. The use of random circuits in our constructions also opens the door to {NISQ-friendly quantum cryptography}. We discuss noise tolerant versions of our OWSG and digital signature constructions which can potentially be implementable on noisy quantum computers connected by a quantum network. On the other hand, they are still secure against {noiseless} quantum adversaries, raising the intriguing possibility of a useful implementation of an end-to-end cryptographic protocol on near-term quantum computers. Finally, our explorations suggest that the rich interconnections between learning theory and cryptography in classical theoretical computer science also extend to the quantum setting.
Cite as

Bill Fefferman, Soumik Ghosh, Makrand Sinha, and Henry Yuen. The Hardness of Learning Quantum Circuits and Its Cryptographic Applications. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 56:1-56:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{fefferman_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.56,
  author =	{Fefferman, Bill and Ghosh, Soumik and Sinha, Makrand and Yuen, Henry},
  title =	{{The Hardness of Learning Quantum Circuits and Its Cryptographic Applications}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{56:1--56:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.56},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253431},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.56},
  annote =	{Keywords: quantum learning, quantum circuits, cryptographic hardness, one-way state generators}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.2
Oracle Separations for the Quantum-Classical Polynomial Hierarchy

Authors: Avantika Agarwal and Shalev Ben{-}David

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
We study the quantum-classical polynomial hierarchy, QCPH, which is the class of languages solvable by a constant number of alternating classical quantifiers followed by a quantum verifier. Our main result is that QCPH is infinite relative to a random oracle (previously, this was not even known relative to any oracle). We further prove that higher levels of PH are not contained in lower levels of QCPH relative to a random oracle; this is a strengthening of the somewhat recent result that PH is infinite relative to a random oracle (Rossman, Servedio, and Tan 2016). The oracle separation requires lower bounding a certain type of low-depth alternating circuit with some quantum gates. To establish this, we give a new switching lemma for quantum algorithms which may be of independent interest. Our lemma says that for any d, if we apply a random restriction to a function f with quantum query complexity Q(f) ≤ n^{1/3}, the restricted function becomes exponentially close (in terms of d) to a depth-d decision tree. Our switching lemma works even in a "worst-case" sense, in that only the indices to be restricted are random; the values they are restricted to are chosen adversarially. Moreover, the switching lemma also works for polynomial degree in place of quantum query complexity.
Cite as

Avantika Agarwal and Shalev Ben-David. Oracle Separations for the Quantum-Classical Polynomial Hierarchy. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 2:1-2:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{agarwal_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.2,
  author =	{Agarwal, Avantika and Ben\{-\}David, Shalev},
  title =	{{Oracle Separations for the Quantum-Classical Polynomial Hierarchy}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{2:1--2:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.2},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-252893},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.2},
  annote =	{Keywords: Switching Lemma, Polynomial Hierarchy, Approximate Degree, Random Oracles, Query Complexity, Quantum Computing}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.24
Unitary Complexity and the Uhlmann Transformation Problem

Authors: John Bostanci, Yuval Efron, Tony Metger, Alexander Poremba, Luowen Qian, and Henry Yuen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
State transformation problems such as compressing quantum information or breaking quantum commitments are fundamental quantum tasks. However, their computational difficulty cannot easily be characterized using traditional complexity theory, which focuses on tasks with classical inputs and outputs. To study the complexity of such state transformation tasks, we introduce a framework for unitary synthesis problems, including notions of reductions and unitary complexity classes. We use this framework to study the complexity of transforming one entangled state into another via local operations. We formalize this as the Uhlmann Transformation Problem, an algorithmic version of Uhlmann’s theorem. Then, we prove structural results relating the complexity of the Uhlmann Transformation Problem, polynomial space quantum computation, and zero knowledge protocols. The Uhlmann Transformation Problem allows us to characterize the complexity of a variety of tasks in quantum information processing, including decoding noisy quantum channels, breaking falsifiable quantum cryptographic assumptions, implementing optimal prover strategies in quantum interactive proofs, and decoding the Hawking radiation of black holes. Our framework for unitary complexity thus provides new avenues for studying the computational complexity of many natural quantum information processing tasks.
Cite as

John Bostanci, Yuval Efron, Tony Metger, Alexander Poremba, Luowen Qian, and Henry Yuen. Unitary Complexity and the Uhlmann Transformation Problem. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 24:1-24:17, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{bostanci_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.24,
  author =	{Bostanci, John and Efron, Yuval and Metger, Tony and Poremba, Alexander and Qian, Luowen and Yuen, Henry},
  title =	{{Unitary Complexity and the Uhlmann Transformation Problem}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{24:1--24:17},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.24},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253111},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.24},
  annote =	{Keywords: Uhlmann’s theorem, unitary complexity theory}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.70
Unconditional Pseudorandomness Against Shallow Quantum Circuits

Authors: Soumik Ghosh, Sathyawageeswar Subramanian, and Wei Zhan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
Quantum computational pseudorandomness has emerged as a fundamental notion that spans connections to complexity theory, cryptography and fundamental physics. However, all known constructions of efficient quantum-secure pseudorandom objects rely on complexity theoretic assumptions. In this work, we establish the first unconditionally secure efficient pseudorandom constructions against shallow-depth quantum circuit classes. We prove that: - Any quantum state 2-design yields unconditional pseudorandomness against both QNC⁰ circuits with arbitrarily many ancillae and AC⁰∘QNC⁰ circuits with nearly linear ancillae. - Random phased subspace states, where the phases are picked using a 4-wise independent function, are unconditionally pseudoentangled against the above circuit classes. - Any unitary 2-design yields unconditionally secure parallel-query pseudorandom unitaries against geometrically local QNC⁰ adversaries, even with limited AC⁰ postprocessing. Our results stand in stark contrast to the standard guarantee of the 2-design property, which only ensures that they cannot be distinguished from Haar random ensembles using two copies or queries. Our work demonstrates that quantum computational pseudorandomness can be achieved unconditionally for natural classes of restricted adversaries, opening new directions in quantum complexity theory.
Cite as

Soumik Ghosh, Sathyawageeswar Subramanian, and Wei Zhan. Unconditional Pseudorandomness Against Shallow Quantum Circuits. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 70:1-70:25, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{ghosh_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.70,
  author =	{Ghosh, Soumik and Subramanian, Sathyawageeswar and Zhan, Wei},
  title =	{{Unconditional Pseudorandomness Against Shallow Quantum Circuits}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{70:1--70:25},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.70},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253578},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.70},
  annote =	{Keywords: quantum pseudorandomness, shallow quantum circuits, pseudorandomness, t-designs}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.72
Forrelation Is Extremally Hard

Authors: Uma Girish and Rocco Servedio

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
The Forrelation problem is a central problem that demonstrates an exponential separation between quantum and classical capabilities. In this problem, given query access to n-bit Boolean functions f and g, the goal is to estimate the Forrelation function forr(f,g), which measures the correlation between g and the Fourier transform of f. In this work we provide a new linear algebraic perspective on the Forrelation problem, as opposed to prior analytic approaches. We establish a connection between the Forrelation problem and bent Boolean functions and through this connection, analyze an extremal version of the Forrelation problem where the goal is to distinguish between extremal instances of Forrelation, namely (f,g) with forr(f,g) = 1 and forr(f,g) = -1. We show that this problem can be solved with one quantum query and success probability one, yet requires Ω̃(2^{n/4}) classical randomized queries, even for algorithms with a one-third failure probability, highlighting the remarkable power of one exact quantum query. We also study a restricted variant of this problem where the inputs f,g are computable by small classical circuits and show classical hardness under cryptographic assumptions.
Cite as

Uma Girish and Rocco Servedio. Forrelation Is Extremally Hard. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 72:1-72:22, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{girish_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.72,
  author =	{Girish, Uma and Servedio, Rocco},
  title =	{{Forrelation Is Extremally Hard}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{72:1--72:22},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.72},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253594},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.72},
  annote =	{Keywords: Forrelation, exact quantum, query complexity}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.109
Cloning Games, Black Holes and Cryptography

Authors: Alexander Poremba, Seyoon Ragavan, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
In this work, we introduce a new toolkit for analyzing cloning games, a notion that captures stronger and more quantitative versions of the celebrated quantum no-cloning theorem. This framework allows us to analyze a new cloning game based on binary phase states. Our results provide evidence that these games may be able to overcome important limitations of previous candidates based on BB84 states and subspace coset states: in a model where the adversaries are restricted to making a single oracle query, we show that the binary phase variant is t-copy secure when t = o(n/log n). Moreover, for constant t, we obtain the first optimal bounds of O(2^{-n}), asymptotically matching the value attained by a trivial adversarial strategy. We also show a worst-case to average-case reduction which allows us to show the same quantitative results for the new and natural notion of Haar cloning games. Our analytic toolkit, which we believe will find further applications, is based on binary subtypes and uses novel bounds on the operator norms of block-wise tensor products of matrices. To illustrate the effectiveness of these new techniques, we present two applications: first, in black-hole physics, where our asymptotically optimal bound offers quantitative insights into information scrambling in idealized models of black holes; and second, in unclonable cryptography, where we (a) construct succinct unclonable encryption schemes from the existence of pseudorandom unitaries, and (b) propose and provide evidence for the security of multi-copy unclonable encryption schemes.
Cite as

Alexander Poremba, Seyoon Ragavan, and Vinod Vaikuntanathan. Cloning Games, Black Holes and Cryptography. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 109:1-109:21, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{poremba_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.109,
  author =	{Poremba, Alexander and Ragavan, Seyoon and Vaikuntanathan, Vinod},
  title =	{{Cloning Games, Black Holes and Cryptography}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{109:1--109:21},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.109},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253961},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.109},
  annote =	{Keywords: Unclonable cryptography, quantum pseudorandomness, black hole physics}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.34
Testing Classical Properties from Quantum Data

Authors: Matthias C. Caro, Preksha Naik, and Joseph Slote

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
Many properties of Boolean functions can be tested far more efficiently than the function itself can be learned. However, this dramatic advantage often disappears when testers are limited to random samples of f instead of adaptively chosen queries to f. In this work we investigate the quantum version of this restriction: quantum algorithms that test properties of a Boolean function f solely from copies of either the function state |f⟩∝ ∑_x|x,f(x)⟩ or the phase state |(-1)^f⟩∝ ∑_x (-1)^{f(x)}|x⟩. Quantum advantage in testing from data. For monotonicity, symmetry, and triangle-freeness, we show passive quantum testers are unboundedly or super-polynomially better than their classical passive testing counterparts. They are competitive with classic query-based testers in each case. Inadequacy of Fourier sampling. Our new testers use techniques beyond quantum Fourier sampling, and it turns out this is necessary: we show a certain class of bent functions can be tested from 𝒪(1) function states but has a sample complexity lower bound of 2^{Ω(n)} for any tester relying exclusively on Fourier and classical samples. Classical queries vs. quantum data. Our passive quantum testers are competitive with classical query-based testers, but this isn't universal: we exhibit a testing problem that can be solved from 𝒪(1) classical queries but requires Ω(2^{n/2}) function state copies. The Forrelation problem provides a separation of the same magnitude in the opposite direction, so we conclude that quantum data and classical queries are "maximally incomparable" resources for testing. Towards lower bounds. We also begin the study of lower bounds for testing from quantum data. For quantum monotonicity testing, we prove that the ensembles of [Goldreich et al., 2000; Black, 2024], which give exponential lower bounds for classical sample-based testing, do not yield any nontrivial lower bounds for testing from quantum data. New insights specific to quantum data will be required for proving copy complexity lower bounds for testing in this model.
Cite as

Matthias C. Caro, Preksha Naik, and Joseph Slote. Testing Classical Properties from Quantum Data. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 34:1-34:26, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{caro_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.34,
  author =	{Caro, Matthias C. and Naik, Preksha and Slote, Joseph},
  title =	{{Testing Classical Properties from Quantum Data}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:26},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253213},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Quantum Property Testing, Quantum Data, Boolean Functions}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.35
Symmetric Quantum Computation

Authors: Davi Castro-Silva, Tom Gur, and Sergii Strelchuk

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 362, 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)

Abstract
We introduce a systematic study of symmetric quantum circuits, a new restricted model of quantum computation that preserves the symmetries of the problems it solves. This model is well-adapted for studying the role of symmetry in quantum speedups, extending a central notion of symmetric computation studied in the classical setting. Our results establish that symmetric quantum circuits are fundamentally more powerful than their classical counterparts. First, we give efficient symmetric circuits for key quantum techniques such as amplitude amplification, phase estimation and linear combination of unitaries. In addition, we show how the task of symmetric state preparation can be performed efficiently in several natural cases. Finally, we demonstrate an exponential separation in the symmetric setting for the problem XOR-SAT, which requires exponential-size symmetric classical circuits but can be solved by polynomial-size symmetric quantum circuits.
Cite as

Davi Castro-Silva, Tom Gur, and Sergii Strelchuk. Symmetric Quantum Computation. In 17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 362, pp. 35:1-35:10, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2026)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{castrosilva_et_al:LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.35,
  author =	{Castro-Silva, Davi and Gur, Tom and Strelchuk, Sergii},
  title =	{{Symmetric Quantum Computation}},
  booktitle =	{17th Innovations in Theoretical Computer Science Conference (ITCS 2026)},
  pages =	{35:1--35:10},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-410-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2026},
  volume =	{362},
  editor =	{Saraf, Shubhangi},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.35},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-253223},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ITCS.2026.35},
  annote =	{Keywords: Quantum computing, complexity theory, symmetries}
}
Document
RANDOM
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.32
Quantum Property Testing in Sparse Directed Graphs

Authors: Simon Apers, Frédéric Magniez, Sayantan Sen, and Dániel Szabó

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 353, Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)

Abstract
We initiate the study of quantum property testing in sparse directed graphs, and more particularly in the unidirectional model, where the algorithm is allowed to query only the outgoing edges of a vertex. In the classical unidirectional model, the problem of testing k-star-freeness, and more generally k-source-subgraph-freeness, is almost maximally hard for large k. We prove that this problem has almost quadratic advantage in the quantum setting. Moreover, we show that this advantage is nearly tight, by showing a quantum lower bound using the method of dual polynomials on an intermediate problem for a new, property testing version of the k-collision problem that was not studied before. To illustrate that not all problems in graph property testing admit such a quantum speedup, we consider the problem of 3-colorability in the related undirected bounded-degree model, when graphs are now undirected. This problem is maximally hard to test classically, and we show that also quantumly it requires a linear number of queries.
Cite as

Simon Apers, Frédéric Magniez, Sayantan Sen, and Dániel Szabó. Quantum Property Testing in Sparse Directed Graphs. In Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 353, pp. 32:1-32:24, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{apers_et_al:LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.32,
  author =	{Apers, Simon and Magniez, Fr\'{e}d\'{e}ric and Sen, Sayantan and Szab\'{o}, D\'{a}niel},
  title =	{{Quantum Property Testing in Sparse Directed Graphs}},
  booktitle =	{Approximation, Randomization, and Combinatorial Optimization. Algorithms and Techniques (APPROX/RANDOM 2025)},
  pages =	{32:1--32:24},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-397-3},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{353},
  editor =	{Ene, Alina and Chattopadhyay, Eshan},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.32},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-243987},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.APPROX/RANDOM.2025.32},
  annote =	{Keywords: property testing, quantum computing, bounded-degree directed graphs, dual polynomial method, collision finding}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.9
Efficient Quantum Pseudorandomness from Hamiltonian Phase States

Authors: John Bostanci, Jonas Haferkamp, Dominik Hangleiter, and Alexander Poremba

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 350, 20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025)

Abstract
Quantum pseudorandomness has found applications in many areas of quantum information, ranging from entanglement theory, to models of scrambling phenomena in chaotic quantum systems, and, more recently, in the foundations of quantum cryptography. Kretschmer (TQC '21) showed that both pseudorandom states and pseudorandom unitaries exist even in a world without classical one-way functions. To this day, however, all known constructions require classical cryptographic building blocks which are themselves synonymous with the existence of one-way functions, and which are also challenging to implement on realistic quantum hardware. In this work, we seek to make progress on both of these fronts simultaneously - by decoupling quantum pseudorandomness from classical cryptography altogether. We introduce a quantum hardness assumption called the Hamiltonian Phase State (HPS) problem, which is the task of decoding output states of a random instantaneous quantum polynomial-time (IQP) circuit. Hamiltonian phase states can be generated very efficiently using only Hadamard gates, single-qubit Z rotations and CNOT circuits. We show that the hardness of our problem reduces to a worst-case version of the problem, and we provide evidence that our assumption is plausibly fully quantum; meaning, it cannot be used to construct one-way functions. We also show information-theoretic hardness when only few copies of HPS are available by proving an approximate t-design property of our ensemble. Finally, we show that our HPS assumption and its variants allow us to efficiently construct many pseudorandom quantum primitives, ranging from pseudorandom states, to quantum pseudoentanglement, to pseudorandom unitaries, and even primitives such as public-key encryption with quantum keys.
Cite as

John Bostanci, Jonas Haferkamp, Dominik Hangleiter, and Alexander Poremba. Efficient Quantum Pseudorandomness from Hamiltonian Phase States. In 20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 350, pp. 9:1-9:18, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{bostanci_et_al:LIPIcs.TQC.2025.9,
  author =	{Bostanci, John and Haferkamp, Jonas and Hangleiter, Dominik and Poremba, Alexander},
  title =	{{Efficient Quantum Pseudorandomness from Hamiltonian Phase States}},
  booktitle =	{20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025)},
  pages =	{9:1--9:18},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-392-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{350},
  editor =	{Fefferman, Bill},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.9},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-240586},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.9},
  annote =	{Keywords: Quantum pseudorandomness, quantum phase states, quantum cryptography}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.10
Hamiltonian Locality Testing via Trotterized Postselection

Authors: John Kallaugher and Daniel Liang

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 350, 20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025)

Abstract
The (tolerant) Hamiltonian locality testing problem, introduced in [Bluhm, Caro, Oufkir '24], is to determine whether a Hamiltonian H is ε₁-close to being k-local (i.e. can be written as the sum of weight-k Pauli operators) or ε₂-far from any k-local Hamiltonian, given access to its time evolution operator and using as little total evolution time as possible, with distance typically defined by the normalized Frobenius norm. We give the tightest known bounds for this problem, proving an O(√(ε₂/((ε₂-ε₁)⁵)) evolution time upper bound and an Ω(1/(ε₂-ε₁)) lower bound. Our algorithm does not require reverse time evolution or controlled application of the time evolution operator, although our lower bound applies to algorithms using either tool. Furthermore, we show that if we are allowed reverse time evolution, this lower bound is tight, giving a matching O(1/(ε₂-ε₁)) evolution time algorithm.
Cite as

John Kallaugher and Daniel Liang. Hamiltonian Locality Testing via Trotterized Postselection. In 20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 350, pp. 10:1-10:20, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{kallaugher_et_al:LIPIcs.TQC.2025.10,
  author =	{Kallaugher, John and Liang, Daniel},
  title =	{{Hamiltonian Locality Testing via Trotterized Postselection}},
  booktitle =	{20th Conference on the Theory of Quantum Computation, Communication and Cryptography (TQC 2025)},
  pages =	{10:1--10:20},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-392-8},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{350},
  editor =	{Fefferman, Bill},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.10},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-240593},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.TQC.2025.10},
  annote =	{Keywords: quantum algorithms, property testing, hamiltonians}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.35
How to Construct Random Strings

Authors: Oliver Korten and Rahul Santhanam

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 339, 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)

Abstract
We address the following fundamental question: is there an efficient deterministic algorithm that, given 1ⁿ, outputs a string of length n that has polynomial-time bounded Kolmogorov complexity Ω̃(n) or even n - o(n)? Under plausible complexity-theoretic assumptions, stating for example that there is an ε > 0 for which TIME[T(n)] ̸ ⊆ TIME^NP[T(n)^ε]/2^(εn) for appropriately chosen time-constructible T, we show that the answer to this question is positive (answering a question of [Hanlin Ren et al., 2022]), and that the Range Avoidance problem [Robert Kleinberg et al., 2021; Oliver Korten, 2021; Hanlin Ren et al., 2022] is efficiently solvable for uniform sequences of circuits with close to minimal stretch (answering a question of [Rahul Ilango et al., 2023]). We obtain our results by giving efficient constructions of pseudo-random generators with almost optimal seed length against algorithms with small advice, under assumptions of the form mentioned above. We also apply our results to give the first complexity-theoretic evidence for explicit constructions of objects such as rigid matrices (in the sense of Valiant) and Ramsey graphs with near-optimal parameters.
Cite as

Oliver Korten and Rahul Santhanam. How to Construct Random Strings. In 40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 339, pp. 35:1-35:32, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{korten_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2025.35,
  author =	{Korten, Oliver and Santhanam, Rahul},
  title =	{{How to Construct Random Strings}},
  booktitle =	{40th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2025)},
  pages =	{35:1--35:32},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-379-9},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{339},
  editor =	{Srinivasan, Srikanth},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.35},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-237290},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2025.35},
  annote =	{Keywords: Explicit Constructions, Kolmogorov Complexity, Derandomization}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.6
The Entangled Quantum Polynomial Hierarchy Collapses

Authors: Sabee Grewal and Justin Yirka

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 300, 39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024)

Abstract
We introduce the entangled quantum polynomial hierarchy, QEPH, as the class of problems that are efficiently verifiable given alternating quantum proofs that may be entangled with each other. We prove QEPH collapses to its second level. In fact, we show that a polynomial number of alternations collapses to just two. As a consequence, QEPH = QRG(1), the class of problems having one-turn quantum refereed games, which is known to be contained in PSPACE. This is in contrast to the unentangled quantum polynomial hierarchy, QPH, which contains QMA(2). We also introduce DistributionQCPH, a generalization of the quantum-classical polynomial hierarchy QCPH where the provers send probability distributions over strings (instead of strings). We prove DistributionQCPH = QCPH, suggesting that only quantum superposition (not classical probability) increases the computational power of these hierarchies. To prove this equality, we generalize a game-theoretic result of Lipton and Young (1994) which says that, without loss of generality, the provers can send uniform distributions over a polynomial-size support. We also prove the analogous result for the polynomial hierarchy, i.e., DistributionPH = PH. Finally, we show that PH and QCPH are contained in QPH, resolving an open question of Gharibian et al. (2022).
Cite as

Sabee Grewal and Justin Yirka. The Entangled Quantum Polynomial Hierarchy Collapses. In 39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 300, pp. 6:1-6:23, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{grewal_et_al:LIPIcs.CCC.2024.6,
  author =	{Grewal, Sabee and Yirka, Justin},
  title =	{{The Entangled Quantum Polynomial Hierarchy Collapses}},
  booktitle =	{39th Computational Complexity Conference (CCC 2024)},
  pages =	{6:1--6:23},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-331-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{300},
  editor =	{Santhanam, Rahul},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.6},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-204028},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.CCC.2024.6},
  annote =	{Keywords: Polynomial hierarchy, Entangled proofs, Correlated proofs, Minimax}
}
Document
Track A: Algorithms, Complexity and Games
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.70
BQP, Meet NP: Search-To-Decision Reductions and Approximate Counting

Authors: Sevag Gharibian and Jonas Kamminga

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 297, 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)

Abstract
What is the power of polynomial-time quantum computation with access to an NP oracle? In this work, we focus on two fundamental tasks from the study of Boolean satisfiability (SAT) problems: search-to-decision reductions, and approximate counting. We first show that, in strong contrast to the classical setting where a poly-time Turing machine requires Θ(n) queries to an NP oracle to compute a witness to a given SAT formula, quantumly Θ(log n) queries suffice. We then show this is tight in the black-box model - any quantum algorithm with "NP-like" query access to a formula requires Ω(log n) queries to extract a solution with constant probability. Moving to approximate counting of SAT solutions, by exploiting a quantum link between search-to-decision reductions and approximate counting, we show that existing classical approximate counting algorithms are likely optimal. First, we give a lower bound in the "NP-like" black-box query setting: Approximate counting requires Ω(log n) queries, even on a quantum computer. We then give a "white-box" lower bound (i.e. where the input formula is not hidden in the oracle) - if there exists a randomized poly-time classical or quantum algorithm for approximate counting making o(log n) NP queries, then BPP^NP[o(n)] contains a 𝖯^NP-complete problem if the algorithm is classical and FBQP^NP[o(n)] contains an FP^NP-complete problem if the algorithm is quantum.
Cite as

Sevag Gharibian and Jonas Kamminga. BQP, Meet NP: Search-To-Decision Reductions and Approximate Counting. In 51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 297, pp. 70:1-70:19, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2024)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{gharibian_et_al:LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.70,
  author =	{Gharibian, Sevag and Kamminga, Jonas},
  title =	{{BQP, Meet NP: Search-To-Decision Reductions and Approximate Counting}},
  booktitle =	{51st International Colloquium on Automata, Languages, and Programming (ICALP 2024)},
  pages =	{70:1--70:19},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-322-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2024},
  volume =	{297},
  editor =	{Bringmann, Karl and Grohe, Martin and Puppis, Gabriele and Svensson, Ola},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.70},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-202134},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ICALP.2024.70},
  annote =	{Keywords: Approximate Counting, Search to Decision Reduction, BQP, NP, Oracle Complexity Class}
}
  • Refine by Type
  • 26 Document/PDF
  • 13 Document/HTML

  • Refine by Publication Year
  • 9 2026
  • 4 2025
  • 3 2024
  • 5 2023
  • 1 2022
  • Show More...

  • Refine by Author
  • 7 Kretschmer, William
  • 5 Aaronson, Scott
  • 3 Grewal, Sabee
  • 3 Poremba, Alexander
  • 2 Bostanci, John
  • Show More...

  • Refine by Series/Journal
  • 26 LIPIcs

  • Refine by Classification
  • 19 Theory of computation → Quantum complexity theory
  • 5 Theory of computation → Complexity classes
  • 4 Theory of computation → Oracles and decision trees
  • 4 Theory of computation → Quantum computation theory
  • 3 Theory of computation → Cryptographic primitives
  • Show More...

  • Refine by Keyword
  • 4 complexity theory
  • 3 query complexity
  • 2 BQP
  • 2 Forrelation
  • 2 Polynomial Hierarchy
  • Show More...

Any Issues?
X

Feedback on the Current Page

CAPTCHA

Thanks for your feedback!

Feedback submitted to Dagstuhl Publishing

Could not send message

Please try again later or send an E-mail
© 2023-2026 Schloss Dagstuhl – LZI GmbH Schloss Dagstuhl – LZI GmbH About DROPS Imprint Privacy Contact