Tunable Tradeoff between Quantum and Classical Computation via Nonunitary Zeno-like Dynamics

Abstract: We propose and analyze a nonunitary variant of the continuous time Grover search algorithm based on frequent Zeno-type measurements. We show that the algorithm scales similarly to the pure quantum version by deriving tight analytical lower bounds on its efficiency for arbitrary database sizes and measurement parameters. We also study the behavior of the algorithm subject to noise, and find that under certain oracle and operational errors our measurement-based algorithm outperforms the standard algorithm, showing robustness against these noises. Our analysis is based on deriving a non-hermitian effective description of the algorithm, which yields a deeper insight into components responsible for the quantum and the classical operation of the protocol.