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PUBLICATIONS

Remarks on the Undecidability of the Quantum Halting Problem

Published

Author(s)

David Song

Abstract

The halting problem is a decision problem first posed and proved by Alan Turing in 1936. With the recent surge of interest in quantum computation, one is led to ask if the problem can also be considered for a quantum computer. It is reported that the halting problem may not be solved consistently in both the Schrodinger and Heisenberg pictures of quantum dynamics. The assumption of the existence of the quantum halting machine leads to a contradiction when a vector representing an observable is the system that is to be unitarily evolved in both pictures.
Citation
Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

Quantum halting problem, Schrodinger and Heisenberg pictures

Citation

Song, D. (2010), Remarks on the Undecidability of the Quantum Halting Problem, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics) (Accessed October 27, 2025)

Issues

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Created February 5, 2010, Updated February 17, 2017
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