Error-analysis for the Sorkin and Peres tests performed on a quantum computer

TL;DR

This paper explores how quantum computers can test quantum mechanics foundations and analyzes how various errors impact the accuracy of these tests, emphasizing the importance of systematic errors on quantum behavior.

Contribution

It introduces a method to analyze the effect of different errors on quantum tests of the postulates, linking error effects directly to quantum mechanical principles.

Findings

Systematic errors significantly affect quantum test results.

Certain error types can mimic or obscure quantum effects.

Error analysis rooted in quantum fundamentals reveals error impacts on quantumness.

Abstract

We use quantum computers to test the foundations of quantum mechanics through quantum algorithms that implement some of the experimental tests as the basis of the theory's postulates. These algorithms can be used as a test of the physical theory under the premise of a perfect hardware or as a test of the hardware under the premise that quantum theory is correct. In this paper, we show how the algorithms can be used to test the efficacy of a quantum computer in obeying the postulates of quantum mechanics. We study the effect of different types of errors on the results of experimental tests of the postulates. A salient feature of this error analysis is that it is deeply rooted in the fundamentals of quantum mechanics as it highlights how systematic errors affect the quantumness of the quantum computer.