From String Detection to Orthogonal Vector Problem

Abstract

Considering Grover's Search Algorithm (GSA) with the standard diffuser stage applied, we revisit the $3$-qubit unique String Detection Problem (SDP) and extend the algorithm to $4$-qubit SDP with multiple winners. We then investigate unstructured search problems with non-uniform distributions and define the Orthogonal Vector Problem (OVP) under quantum settings. Although no numerically stable results is reached under the original GSA framework, we provide intuition behind our implementation and further observations on OVP. We further perform a special case analysis under the modified GSA framework which aims to stabilize the final measurement under arbitrary initial distribution. Based on the result of the analysis, we generalize the initial condition under which neither the original framework nor the modification works. Instead of utilizing GSA, we also propose a short-depth circuit that can calculate the orthogonal pair for a given vector represented as a binary string with constant runtime.