dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaCounterfactual computation revisited
| Authors | Onur Hosten, Matthew T. Rakher, Julio T. Barreiro, Nicholas A. Peters, Paul Kwiat |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0607101 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0607101 |
Abstract
Mitchison and Jozsa recently suggested that the "chained-Zeno" counterfactual computation protocol recently proposed by Hosten et al. is counterfactual for only one output of the computer. This claim was based on the existing abstract algebraic definition of counterfactual computation, and indeed according to this definition, their argument is correct. However, a more general definition (physically adequate) for counterfactual computation is implicitly assumed by Hosten et. al. Here we explain in detail why the protocol is counterfactual and how the "history tracking" method of the existing description inadequately represents the physics underlying the protocol. Consequently, we propose a modified definition of counterfactual computation. Finally, we comment on one of the most interesting aspects of the error-correcting protocol.
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"date_created": "2026-03-02T18:02:27.660000Z",
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"abstract": "Mitchison and Jozsa recently suggested that the \"chained-Zeno\" counterfactual\ncomputation protocol recently proposed by Hosten et al. is counterfactual for\nonly one output of the computer. This claim was based on the existing abstract\nalgebraic definition of counterfactual computation, and indeed according to\nthis definition, their argument is correct. However, a more general definition\n(physically adequate) for counterfactual computation is implicitly assumed by\nHosten et. al. Here we explain in detail why the protocol is counterfactual and\nhow the \"history tracking\" method of the existing description inadequately\nrepresents the physics underlying the protocol. Consequently, we propose a\nmodified definition of counterfactual computation. Finally, we comment on one\nof the most interesting aspects of the error-correcting protocol.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0607101",
"authors": [
"Onur Hosten",
"Matthew T. Rakher",
"Julio T. Barreiro",
"Nicholas A. Peters",
"Paul Kwiat"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"title": "Counterfactual computation revisited",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0607101"
},
"schema_id": "dorsal/arxiv",
"source": {
"execution_id": "a972ae75-4619-4bf5-bf10-2752659a8045",
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"type": "Model",
"variant": "snapshot-2026-03-01",
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