Generating and manipulating randomness is essential for numerous information technology applications, ranging from simulation of physical systems to cryptography, and quantum mechanics has been shown to offer distinct advantages in this area. A notable model for randomness manipulation is the Bernoulli factory, which enables the controlled adjustment of the bias in Bernoulli random processes. Initially, this framework was explored entirely within a classical context. However, recent advancements have extended this model into the quantum realm, allowing for a more diverse set of randomness manipulation functions.
A group of researchers, including IFN-CNR, Politecnico di Milano, Sapienza University in Rome and the International Iberian Nanotechnology Labs (INL), has developed new configurations for manipulating random variables in photonic quantum computers. The results were recently published in Nature Photonics.
The authors implemented a “factory of randomness” by exploiting an integrated optical platform. By modifying the configuration of the circuits within this platform, it was possible to evolve the dynamics of single photons, and the quantum information states they carry, in the desired way. Given the statistical behaviour that characterizes the evolution of single photons within these devices, one can generate randomly distributed results more effectively than a simulation performed by a classical computer.
Here the published artcile:
F. Hoch, et al., “Modular quantum-to-quantum Bernoulli factory in an integrated photonic processor” Nature Photonics (2024).
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41566-024-01526-8