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Quantum Signal Processing (QSP) is a framework for applying polynomial transformations to quantum states. By alternating a signal operator W(theta) with phase operators S(phi), you can realize any bounded real polynomial of cos(theta) on the amplitude of a single qubit. This example implements the polynomial P(x) = 2x³ − x using a 5-gate sequence.

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Circuit

The phase sequence is W(theta) → S(π/4) → W(theta) → S(−π/4) → W(theta), where:
  • W(theta) is the signal operator: Rx(−2·theta), a rotation about the X axis
  • S(phi) is the phase operator: U(0, 0, −2·phi), a Z-axis phase rotation
Quantum Signal Processing

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Expected results

With theta = pi/6, the signal value is x = cos(π/6) = √3/2. The polynomial evaluates to: P(x) = 2·(√3/2)³ − √3/2 = √3/4 ≈ 0.433013 After running, you should see two quantum states:
The probability of |0⟩ is P(x)² = (√3/4)² = 3/16 ≈ 0.1875. The amplitude itself is P(x) ≈ 0.433013, which is what QSP encodes — the polynomial value appears as the real amplitude of the |0⟩ component.

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How the circuit works

1

Define signal and phase operators

W(theta) applies Rx(−2·theta), a rotation by −2·theta around the X axis. S(phi) applies U(0, 0, −2·phi), a phase rotation around the Z axis. These are the two primitive QSP building blocks.
2

Build the alternating sequence

The 5-gate sequence W → S(π/4) → W → S(−π/4) → W alternates signal and phase operators. The specific phase angles (π/4, −π/4) determine the polynomial being implemented — different phase sequences yield different polynomials.
3

Run and read the |0⟩ amplitude

The real part of the |0⟩ amplitude encodes P(x) = 2x³ − x evaluated at x = cos(theta). Change theta to evaluate the polynomial at a different point.

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Changing the input

To evaluate the polynomial at a different point, change the theta constant:
Modified theta
QSP is the foundation of many advanced quantum algorithms including quantum linear systems solvers and quantum singular value transformation. The single-qubit structure here scales to multi-qubit block encodings in more general settings.