Quantum Walks can Unitarily Represent Random Walks on Finite Graphs

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that any random walk on a finite graph can be represented by a unitarily evolving quantum walk with identical vertex distributions at all times, strengthening the quantum-classical walk connection.

Contribution

It provides a construction method for reverse equivalence, showing how to simulate any random walk with a unitary quantum walk without measurements.

Findings

Quantum walks can replicate any finite graph random walk distributions.

The construction applies to both homogeneous and non-homogeneous random walks.

Quantum walks' non-convergence is due to time-homogeneity and unitarity, not unitarity alone.

Abstract

Quantum and random walks have been shown to be equivalent in the following sense: a time-dependent random walk can be constructed such that its vertex distribution at all time instants is identical to the vertex distribution of any discrete-time coined quantum walk on a finite graph. This equivalence establishes a deep connection between the two processes, far stronger than simply considering quantum walks as quantum analogues of classical random walks. The present work strengthens this connection by providing a construction that establishes this equivalence in the reverse direction: a unitary time-dependent quantum walk can be constructed such that its vertex distribution is identical to the vertex distribution of any random walk on a finite graph at all time instants. The construction shown here describes a quantum walk that matches a random walk without measurements at all time steps (an otherwise trivial statement): measurement is performed in a quantum walk that evolved unitarily until a given time $t$ such that its vertex distribution is identical to the random walk at time $t$. The construction procedure is general, covering both homogeneous and non-homogeneous random walks. For homogeneous random walks, unitary evolution implies time dependency for the quantum walk, since homogeneous quantum walks do not converge under arbitrary initial conditions, while a broad class of random walks does. Thus, the absence of convergence demonstrated for quantum walks in its debut comes from both time-homogeneity and unitarity, rather than unitarity alone, and our results shed light on the power of quantum walks to generate samples for arbitrary probability distributions. Finally, the construction here proposed is used to simulate quantum walks that match uniform random walks on the cycle and the torus.