papers

Publications (48)

quant-ph2014

Efficient Clifford+T approximation of single-qubit operators

Peter Selinger

We give an efficient randomized algorithm for approximating an arbitrary element of by a product of Clifford+ operators, up to any given error threshold . Under a…

math.CO2024

Paintbucket on graphs is PSPACE-complete

Ethan J. Saunders, Peter Selinger

The game of Paintbucket was recently introduced by Amundsen and Erickson. It is played on a rectangular grid of black and white pixels. The players alternately fill in one of their…

cs.LO2018

Dependently Typed Folds for Nested Data Types

Peng Fu, Peter Selinger

We present an approach to develop folds for nested data types using dependent types. We call such folds , they have the following properties. (1)…

math.CT2013

Presheaf models of quantum computation: an outline

Octavio Malherbe, Philip Scott, Peter Selinger

This paper outlines the construction of categorical models of higher-order quantum computation. We construct a concrete denotational semantics of Selinger and Valiron's quantum lam…

quant-ph2019

Remarks on Matsumoto and Amano's normal form for single-qubit Clifford+T operators

Brett Giles, Peter Selinger

Matsumoto and Amano (2008) showed that every single-qubit Clifford+T operator can be uniquely written of a particular form, which we call the Matsumoto-Amano normal form. In this m…

cs.ET2017

A finite alternation result for reversible boolean circuits

Peter Selinger

We say that a reversible boolean function on n bits has alternation depth d if it can be written as the sequential composition of d reversible boolean functions, each of which acts…

quant-ph2021

Generators and Relations for the Group On(Z[1/2])

Sarah Meng Li, Neil J. Ross, Peter Selinger

We give a finite presentation by generators and relations for the group O_n(Z[1/2]) of n-dimensional orthogonal matrices with entries in Z[1/2]. We then obtain a similar presentati…

math.CT2012

Finite dimensional Hilbert spaces are complete for dagger compact closed categories

Peter Selinger

We show that an equation follows from the axioms of dagger compact closed categories if and only if it holds in finite dimensional Hilbert spaces.

math.CT2014

Completely positive projections and biproducts

Chris Heunen, Aleks Kissinger, Peter Selinger

The recently introduced CP*-construction unites quantum channels and classical systems, subsuming the earlier CPM-construction in categorical quantum mechanics. We compare this con…

math.CO2022

On the combinatorial value of Hex positions

Peter Selinger

We develop a theory of combinatorial games that is appropriate for describing positions in Hex and other monotone set coloring games. We consider two natural conditions on such gam…

quant-ph2021

Generators and Relations for Un(Z[1/2,i])

Xiaoning Bian, Peter Selinger

Consider the universal gate set for quantum computing consisting of the gates X, CX, CCX, omega^dagger H, and S. All of these gates have matrix entries in the ring Z[1/2,i], the sm…

quant-ph2012

Proceedings 8th International Workshop on Quantum Physics and Logic

Bart Jacobs, Peter Selinger, Bas Spitters

This volume contains the proceedings of the 8th International Workshop on Quantum Physics and Logic (QPL 2011), which was held October 27-29, 2011 at Radboud University Nijmegen. T…

math.CT2025

On Traces in Categories of Contractions

Aaron David Fairbanks, Peter Selinger

Traced monoidal categories are used to model processes that can feed their outputs back to their own inputs, abstracting iteration. The category of finite dimensional Hilbert space…

cs.LO2004

A lambda calculus for quantum computation with classical control

Peter Selinger, Benoit Valiron

The objective of this paper is to develop a functional programming language for quantum computers. We develop a lambda calculus for the classical control model, following the first…

math.CO2025

Longest winning paths in Hex

Peter Selinger

We answer the question: what is the longest winning path on a Hex board of size ?

cs.LO2013

Applying quantitative semantics to higher-order quantum computing

Michele Pagani, Peter Selinger, Benoît Valiron

Finding a denotational semantics for higher order quantum computation is a long-standing problem in the semantics of quantum programming languages. Most past approaches to this pro…

cs.PL2020

A tutorial introduction to quantum circuit programming in dependently typed Proto-Quipper

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Neil J. Ross +1

We introduce dependently typed Proto-Quipper, or Proto-Quipper-D for short, an experimental quantum circuit programming language with linear dependent types. We give several exampl…

quant-ph2013

Quantum circuits of T-depth one

Peter Selinger

We give a Clifford+T representation of the Toffoli gate of T-depth 1, using four ancillas. More generally, we describe a class of circuits whose T-depth can be reduced to 1 by usin…

quant-ph2021

Generators and Relations for Real Stabilizer Operators

Justin Makary, Neil J. Ross, Peter Selinger

Real stabilizer operators, which are also known as real Clifford operators, are generated, through composition and tensor product, by the Hadamard gate, the Pauli Z gate, and the c…

quant-ph2018

A Categorical Model for a Quantum Circuit Description Language (Extended Abstract)

Francisco Rios, Peter Selinger

Quipper is a practical programming language for describing families of quantum circuits. In this paper, we formalize a small, but useful fragment of Quipper called Proto-Quipper-M.…

math.CO2021

All passable games are realizable as monotone set coloring games

Eric Demer, Peter Selinger, Kyle Wang

The class of passable games was recently introduced by Selinger as a class of combinatorial games that are suitable for modelling monotone set coloring games such as Hex. In a mono…

quant-ph2013

Exact synthesis of multiqubit Clifford+T circuits

Brett Giles, Peter Selinger

We prove that a unitary matrix has an exact representation over the Clifford+T gate set with local ancillas if and only if its entries are in the ring Z[1/sqrt(2),i]. Moreover, we…

math.CT2009

A survey of graphical languages for monoidal categories

Peter Selinger

This article is intended as a reference guide to various notions of monoidal categories and their associated string diagrams. It is hoped that this will be useful not just to mathe…

cs.LO2008

A linear-non-linear model for a computational call-by-value lambda calculus (extended abstract)

Peter Selinger, Benoît Valiron

We give a categorical semantics for a call-by-value linear lambda calculus. Such a lambda calculus was used by Selinger and Valiron as the backbone of a functional programming lang…

quant-ph2019

Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Quantum Physics and Logic

Peter Selinger, Giulio Chiribella

Quantum Physics and Logic is an annual conference that brings together researchers working on mathematical foundations of quantum physics, quantum computing, and related areas, wit…

cs.ET2016

Reversible k-valued logic circuits are finitely generated for odd k

Peter Selinger

In his 2003 paper "Towards an algebraic theory of Boolean circuits", Lafont notes that the class of reversible circuits over a set of k truth values is finitely generated when k is…

quant-ph2025

Some improvements to product formula circuits for Hamiltonian simulation

Andre Kornell, Peter Selinger

We provide three improvements to the product formula implementation of the ground state energy estimation algorithm via Trotter-Suzuki decomposition. These consist of smaller circu…

cs.LO2013

Lecture notes on the lambda calculus

Peter Selinger

This is a set of lecture notes that developed out of courses on the lambda calculus that I taught at the University of Ottawa in 2001 and at Dalhousie University in 2007 and 2013.…

cs.PL2013

An Introduction to Quantum Programming in Quipper

Alexander S. Green, Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine, Neil J. Ross +2

Quipper is a recently developed programming language for expressing quantum computations. This paper gives a brief tutorial introduction to the language, through a demonstration of…

cs.LO2025

Proto-Quipper with Reversing and Control

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Neil J. Ross +1

The quantum programming language Quipper supports circuit operations such as reversing and controlling certain quantum circuits. Additionally, Quipper provides a function called wi…

cs.LO2023

Towards an induction principle for nested data types

Peng Fu, Peter Selinger

A well-known problem in the theory of dependent types is how to handle so-called nested data types. These data types are difficult to program and to reason about in total dependent…

quant-ph2016

Optimal ancilla-free Clifford+T approximation of z-rotations

Neil J. Ross, Peter Selinger

We consider the problem of approximating arbitrary single-qubit z-rotations by ancilla-free Clifford+T circuits, up to given epsilon. We present a fast new probabilistic algorithm…

math.CT2012

Partially traced categories

Octavio Malherbe, Philip J. Scott, Peter Selinger

This paper deals with questions relating to Haghverdi and Scott's notion of partially traced categories. The main result is a representation theorem for such categories: we prove t…

cs.PL2014

Quipper: Concrete Resource Estimation in Quantum Algorithms

Jonathan M. Smith, Neil J. Ross, Peter Selinger +1

Despite the rich literature on quantum algorithms, there is a surprisingly small amount of coverage of their concrete logical design and implementation. Most resource estimation is…

cs.PL2013

Quipper: A Scalable Quantum Programming Language

Alexander S. Green, Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine, Neil J. Ross +2

The field of quantum algorithms is vibrant. Still, there is currently a lack of programming languages for describing quantum computation on a practical scale, i.e., not just at the…

math.CO2025

On 3-terminal positions in Hex

Eric Demer, Peter Selinger

This paper is about 3-terminal regions in Hex. A 3-terminal region is a region of the Hex board that is completely surrounded by black and white stones, in such a way that the blac…

cs.PL2023

A Biset-Enriched Categorical Model for Proto-Quipper with Dynamic Lifting

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Neil J. Ross +1

Quipper and Proto-Quipper are a family of quantum programming languages that, by their nature as circuit description languages, involve two runtimes: one at which the program gener…

quant-ph2023

Generators and Relations for 3-Qubit Clifford+CS Operators

Xiaoning Bian, Peter Selinger

We give a presentation by generators and relations of the group of 3-qubit Clifford+CS operators. The proof roughly consists of two parts: (1) applying the Reidemeister-Schreier th…

math.CT2022

On the Lambek embedding and the category of product-preserving presheaves

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Neil J. Ross +1

It is well-known that the category of presheaf functors is complete and cocomplete, and that the Yoneda embedding into the presheaf category preserves products. However, the Yoneda…

cs.PL2022

Proto-Quipper with dynamic lifting

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Neil J. Ross +1

Quipper is a functional programming language for quantum computing. Proto-Quipper is a family of languages aiming to provide a formal foundation for Quipper. In this paper, we exte…

quant-ph2015

Proceedings 12th International Workshop on Quantum Physics and Logic

Chris Heunen, Peter Selinger, Jamie Vicary

This volume contains the proceedings of the 12th International Workshop on Quantum Physics and Logic (QPL 2015), which was held July 15-17, 2015 at Oxford University. The goal of t…

math.AC2006

Simplicial cycles and the computation of simplicial trees

Massimo Caboara, Sara Faridi, Peter Selinger

We generalize the concept of a cycle from graphs to simplicial complexes. We show that a simplicial cycle is either a sequence of facets connected in the shape of a circle, or is a…

cs.PL2022

Linear Dependent Type Theory for Quantum Programming Languages

Peng Fu, Kohei Kishida, Peter Selinger

Modern quantum programming languages integrate quantum resources and classical control. They must, on the one hand, be linearly typed to reflect the no-cloning property of quantum…

math.CO2022

There are infinitely many monotone games over

Eric Demer, Peter Selinger

A notion of combinatorial game over a partially ordered set of atomic outcomes was recently introduced by Selinger. These games are appropriate for describing the value of position…

quant-ph2017

Generators and relations for n-qubit Clifford operators

Peter Selinger

We define a normal form for Clifford circuits, and we prove that every Clifford operator has a unique normal form. Moreover, we present a rewrite system by which any Clifford circu…

math.CO2026

A construction of the hat tilings by a Markov partition

Sébastien Labbé, Peter Selinger

We present a simple construction of hat tilings. The construction can be carried out by superimposing a triangular grid on a specially colored image and reading off the orientation…

quant-ph2023

Generators and Relations for 2-Qubit Clifford+T Operators

Xiaoning Bian, Peter Selinger

We give a presentation by generators and relations of the group of Clifford+T operators on two qubits. The proof relies on an application of the Reidemeister-Schreier theorem to an…

stat.OT2018

On the mathematics of the free-choice paradigm

Peter Selinger, Kristopher Tapp

Chen and Risen pointed out a logical flaw affecting the conclusions of a number of past experiments that used the free-choice paradigm to measure choice-induced attitude change. Th…