Computations with Greater Quantum Depth Are Strictly More Powerful (Relative to an Oracle)

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that increased quantum depth in computations provides strictly greater power than shallower quantum models, using the Welded Tree Problem to separate complexity classes relative to an oracle.

Contribution

It proves that deeper quantum circuits are strictly more powerful than shallow ones in a relativized setting, countering existing conjectures about quantum-classical computational equivalences.

Findings

Welded Tree Problem cannot be solved by shallow quantum-classical circuits.

Established an oracle separation between classes with different quantum depths.

Showed that greater quantum depth enhances computational power in relativized models.

Abstract

A conjecture of Jozsa (arXiv:quant-ph/0508124) states that any polynomial-time quantum computation can be simulated by polylogarithmic-depth quantum computation interleaved with polynomial-depth classical computation. Separately, Aaronson conjectured that there exists an oracle $\mathcal{O}$ such that $\textrm{BQP}^{\mathcal{O}} \neq (\textrm{BPP}^\textrm{BQNC})^{\mathcal{O}}$. These conjectures are intriguing allusions to the unresolved potential of combining classical and low-depth quantum computation. In this work we show that the Welded Tree Problem, which is an oracle problem that can be solved in quantum polynomial time as shown by Childs et al. (arXiv:quant-ph/0209131), cannot be solved in $\textrm{BPP}^{\textrm{BQNC}}$, nor can it be solved in the class that Jozsa describes. This proves Aaronson's oracle separation conjecture and provides a counterpoint to Jozsa's conjecture relative to the Welded Tree oracle problem. More precisely, we define two complexity classes, $\textrm{HQC}$ and $\textrm{JC}$ whose languages are decided by two different families of interleaved quantum-classical circuits. $\textrm{HQC}$ contains $\textrm{BPP}^\textrm{BQNC}$ and is therefore relevant to Aaronson's conjecture, while $\textrm{JC}$ captures the model of computation that Jozsa considers. We show that the Welded Tree Problem gives an oracle separation between either of $\{\textrm{JC}, \textrm{HQC}\}$ and $\textrm{BQP}$. Therefore, even when interleaved with arbitrary polynomial-time classical computation, greater "quantum depth" leads to strictly greater computational ability in this relativized setting.