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some regular languages not acceptable by MM-1QFA, they still accept a proper subset of regular languages. Nevertheless,
as Ambainis et al. [3] mentioned, sufficient general 1QFA can indeed accept the same set of languages as DFA, for example,
1QFA with control languages (1QFACL, for short) proposed in [11] accept all regular languages (and only regular languages)
[11,30]. However, the measurements in 1QFACL differ from those in MM-1QFA proposed in [24].
Paschen
[33] presented a different 1QFA by adding some ancilla qubits to avoid the restriction of unitarity, and this model
is called an ancilla 1QFA. Indeed, in ancilla 1QFA, the transition function corresponding to every input symbol is described
by an isometry mapping, instead of a unitary operator. In [33], it was proved that ancilla 1QFA can recognize any regular
language with certainty. With the idea in Bennett [6], Ciamarra [15] proposed another model of 1QFA whose computational
power was shown to be at least equal to that of classical automata. For convenience, we call the 1QFA defined in [15] as
Ciamarra 1QFA named after the author. In fact, the internal state of a Ciamarra 1QFA evolves by a trace-preserving quantum
operation. In addition, in [27] it was proved that both ancilla 1QFA and Ciamarra 1QFA recognize only regular languages.
Recently, it was proved that MO-1QFA and MM-1QFA with mixed states and trace-preserving quantum operations, instead
of unitary operators, as the evolutions of states, can accept all and only regular languages [27].
These
1QFA indicated above can accept all regular languages, but their architectures are much more complicated than
MO-1QFA, and more difficult to be implemented physically with present technology. Hence, proposing and exploring prac-
tical
models of quantum computation is an important research problem and provide relevant insights to study physical
models of quantum computers. Indeed, motivated by the implementations of quantum computers using nucleo-magnetic
resonance (NMR), Ambainis et al. [1] proposed another model of 1QFA, namely, Latvian 1QFA (L-1QFA, for short). In L-1QFA,
measurement is also allowed after reading each input symbol, but they accept a proper subset of regular languages [1].
Notably, the languages recognized with unbounded error by QFA have been discussed in [46,47].
Though
ancilla 1QFA and Ciamarra 1QFA can accept all regular languages, their evolution operators of states are general
quantum operations instead of unitary operators. 1QFA with pure states and unitary evolutions usually have less recognition
power than deterministic finite automata (DFA) due to the unitarity (reversibility) of quantum physics and the finite memory
of finite automata. 1QFACL can accept all regular languages but their measurement is quite complicated. However, one would
expect a quantum variant to exceed (or at least to be not weaker than) the corresponding classical computing model, and
such quantum computing models are practical and feasible as well. For this reason, we think that a quantum computer
should inherit the characteristics of classical computers but further advance classical component by employing quantum
mechanics principle.
Motivated
by this idea, we propose a new model of quantum automata including a classical component, i.e., we re-
formulate
the definition of this new model of MO-1QFA, namely, 1QFA together with classical states (1QFAC, for short), and
in particular, we investigate some of the basic properties of this new model. As MO-1QFA [28,13], 1QFAC execute only a
measurement for computing each input string, following the last symbol scanned. In this new model, we preserve the com-
ponent
of DFA that is used to control the choice of unitary transformation for scanning each input symbol. We now describe
roughly a 1QFAC A computing an input string, delaying the details until Section 2.
At
start up, automaton A is in an initial classical state and in an initial quantum state. By reading the first input symbol,
the classical transformation results in a new classical state as current state, and, the initial classical state together with
current input symbol assigns a unitary transformation to process the initial quantum state, leading to a new quantum
state as current state. Afterwards, the machine reads the next input symbol, and similar to the above process, its classical
state will be updated by reading the current input symbol and, at the same time, with the current classical state and
input symbol, a new unitary transformation is assigned to execute the current quantum state. Subsequently, it continues to
operate for the next step, until the last input symbol has been scanned. According to the last classical state, a measurement
is assigned to perform on the final quantum state, producing a result of accepting or rejecting the input string.
Therefore,
a 1QFAC performs only one measurement for computing each input string, doing so after reading the last
symbol. However, the measurement is chosen according to the last classical state reached after scanning the input string.
Thus, when a 1QFAC has only one classical state, it reduces to an MO-1QFA [28,13]. On the one hand, 1QFAC model develops
MO-1QFA by adding DFA’s component, and on the other hand, 1QFAC advance DFA by employing the fundamentals of
quantum mechanics.
We
want to stress that 1QFAC are not the one-way version of two-way finite automata with quantum and classical states
(2QCFA
for short) proposed by Ambainis and Watrous [4], and this version has been preliminarily considered in [49]. One of
the differences is that, according to the definition of 2QCFA [4], in the one-way version of 2QCFA, after the tape head reads
an input symbol, either a measurement or a unitary transformation is performed, while in 1QFAC there is no intermediate
measurement, and a single measurement is performed only after scanning the input string.
Though
1QFAC make only one measurement for computing each input string and the evolutions of states are unitary
instead of general operations, the set of languages accepted by 1QFAC (with no error) consists precisely of all regular
languages. As we know, the set of languages accepted by 1QFACL is constituted by all regular languages [30], but 1QFACL
need measurement after reading each input symbol and the measurement is not only restricted to accepting, rejecting,
and non-halting, but also other results related to the control language attached to the machine. Therefore, the computing
process of a 1QFACL is usually much more complicated than that of a 1QFAC. On the other hand, measuring may lead to
more errors for the machine.
To
prove exponential size advantages for a class of automata over DFA is a difficult problem, especially if the class of
automata is such that they accept only all regular languages. Since 1QFA do not have more power than DFA in terms of