Quantum Representations of Sound: from mechanical waves to quantum circuits

TL;DR

This chapter reviews the emerging field of quantum audio, discussing various quantum representation methods for sound signals, their advantages and disadvantages, and the potential for future applications in quantum music and sound synthesis.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of current quantum audio representation strategies and highlights the need for hybrid approaches tailored to specific applications.

Findings

No single quantum audio representation is currently superior for all applications.

Different strategies offer unique advantages and disadvantages.

Future schemes may combine multiple methods for optimized performance.

Abstract

By the time of writing, quantum audio still is a very young area of study, even within the quantum signal processing community. This chapter introduces the state of the art in quantum audio and discusses methods for the quantum representation of audio signals. Currently, no quantum representation strategy claims to be the best one for audio applications. Each one presents advantages and disadvantages. It can be argued that future quantum audio representation schemes will make use of multiple strategies aimed at specific applications. NOTE: This is an unedited abridged version of the pre-submission draft of a chapter, with the same title, published in the book Quantum Computer Music: Foundations, Methods and Advanced Concepts, by E. R. Miranda (pp. 223 - 274). Please refer to the version in this book for application examples and a discussion on sound synthesis methods based on quantum audio representation and their potential for developing new types of musical instruments. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-13909-3