PhilSci Archive

On the Significance of the Gottesman-Knill Theorem

Cuffaro, Michael E. (2014) On the Significance of the Gottesman-Knill Theorem. [Preprint]

WarningThere is a more recent version of this item available.
[img]
Preview
PDF (Re-submitted version. Main claims unchanged, but presentation has been modified substantially.)
sufficiency_of_entanglement.pdf - Submitted Version

Download (387kB)

Abstract

According to the Gottesman-Knill theorem, quantum algorithms utilising operations chosen from a particular restricted set are efficiently simulable classically. Since some of these algorithms involve entangled states, it is commonly concluded that entanglement is insufficient to enable quantum computers to outperform classical computers. I argue, however, that what the Gottesman-Knill theorem shows us is only that if we limit ourselves to the Gottesman-Knill operations, we will not have used the entanglement provided to its full potential, for all of the Gottesman-Knill operations are such that their associated statistics (even when they involve entangled states) are reproducible in a local hidden variables theory that we would deem plausible in the context of a discussion of quantum computation.


Export/Citation: EndNote | BibTeX | Dublin Core | ASCII/Text Citation (Chicago) | HTML Citation | OpenURL
Social Networking:
Share |

Item Type: Preprint
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCID
Cuffaro, Michael E.mike@michaelcuffaro.com
Keywords: Gottesman-Knill theorem Bell inequalities quantum speedup quantum computation entanglement hidden variables
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Computation/Information > Quantum
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Depositing User: Dr. Michael Cuffaro
Date Deposited: 07 Apr 2014 13:58
Last Modified: 01 Nov 2014 14:09
Item ID: 10598
Subjects: Specific Sciences > Computation/Information > Quantum
Specific Sciences > Physics > Quantum Mechanics
Date: 5 April 2014
URI: https://philsci-archive.pitt.edu/id/eprint/10598

Available Versions of this Item

Monthly Views for the past 3 years

Monthly Downloads for the past 3 years

Plum Analytics

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item