Occupation Number Representation of Graph

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a new way to represent graphs in quantum space. In that approach, we replace the rows of the adjacency matrix of the graph by state vectors in the occupation number representation. Unlike the traditional definition of graph states, we actually let the occupation number of a single-particle state denote the number of edges between each two adjacent vertices. This allows us to avoid taking into account the interaction between each two particles. Based on the creation and annihilation operators, we propose the edge creation and annihilation operators. With these two operators, we can implement the fundamental operation of adding and removing edges and vertices in a graph. Then all additional operations in the graph such as vertex contractions can be defined. Our method can be used to represent both simple and multigraphs. Directed and undirected graphs are also compatible with our approach. The method of representation proposed in this paper enriches the theory of graph representation in quantum space.