A quantum binary classifier based on cosine similarity

Abstract: We introduce the quantum implementation of a binary classifier based on cosine similarity between data vectors. The proposed quantum algorithm evaluates the classifier on a set of data vectors with time complexity that is logarithmic in the product of the set cardinality and the dimension of the vectors. It is based just on a suitable state preparation like the retrieval from a QRAM, a SWAP test circuit (two Hadamard gates and one Fredkin gate), and a measurement process on a single qubit. Furthermore we present a simple implementation of the considered classifier on the IBM quantum processor ibmq_16_melbourne. Finally we describe the combination of the classifier with the quantum version of a K-nearest neighbors algorithm within a hybrid quantum-classical structure.