School of Physics, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits 2050, South Africa.
CSIR National Laser Centre, PO Box 395, Pretoria, South Africa.
PLoS One. 2019 Apr 9;14(4):e0214891. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0214891. eCollection 2019.
In a Quantum Walk (QW) the "walker" follows all possible paths at once through the principle of quantum superposition, differentiating itself from classical random walks where one random path is taken at a time. This facilitates the searching of problem solution spaces faster than with classical random walks, and holds promise for advances in dynamical quantum simulation, biological process modelling and quantum computation. Here we employ a versatile and scalable resonator configuration to realise quantum walks with bright classical light. We experimentally demonstrate the versatility of our approach by implementing a variety of QWs, all with the same experimental platform, while the use of a resonator allows for an arbitrary number of steps without scaling the number of optics. This paves the way for future QW implementations with spatial modes of light in free-space that are both versatile and scalable.
在量子漫步（QW）中，“漫步者”通过量子叠加原理同时遵循所有可能的路径，与一次只走一条随机路径的经典随机漫步区分开来。这使得它比经典随机漫步更快地搜索问题解决方案空间，并有望在动态量子模拟、生物过程建模和量子计算方面取得进展。在这里，我们使用一种多功能且可扩展的谐振器配置来实现具有明亮经典光的量子漫步。我们通过使用谐振器实现任意数量的步骤而无需扩展光学器件的数量，从而在相同的实验平台上实现了各种 QW，实验证明了我们方法的多功能性。这为未来在自由空间中实现具有多功能性和可扩展性的光空间模式的 QW 铺平了道路。
