Localization and limit laws of a three-state alternate quantum walk on a two-dimensional lattice

Abstract: A two-dimensional discrete-time quantum walk (DTQW) can be realized by alternating a two-state DTQW in one spatial dimension followed by an evolution in the other dimension. This was shown to reproduce a probability distribution for a certain configuration of a four-state DTQW on a two-dimensional lattice. In this work we present a three-state alternate DTQW with a parameterized coin-flip operator and show that it can produce localization that is also observed for a certain other configuration of the four-state DTQW and non-reproducible using the two-state alternate DTQW. We will present two limit theorems for the three-state alternate DTQW. One of the limit theorems describes a long-time limit of a return probability, and the other presents a convergence in distribution for the position of the walker on a rescaled space by time. We will also outline the relevance of these walks in physical systems.