Efficient quantum algorithms to find substructures on finite algebras

Abstract

When classifying a collection of finite algebras (for instance, in the computational classification of finite semifields), an important task is the determination of substructures such as the right, middle, and left nuclei, the nucleus, and the center. Finding these structures may become computationally expensive when there is no additional information about the algebra properties. In this paper, we introduce quantum algorithms than solve this task efficiently, by formulating it as an instance of the Hidden Subgroup Problem (HSP) {over Abelian groups}. We give detailed constructions of the quantum circuits involved in the process and prove that the overall (quantum) complexity of our algorithm is polynomial in the dimension of the algebra, while a similar approach with classical computers would require an exponential number of queries to the HSP function