Quantum computational gradient estimation
arXiv:quant-ph/0507109
Abstract
Classically, determining the gradient of a black-box function f:R^p->R requires p+1 evaluations. Using the quantum Fourier transform, two evaluations suffice. This is based on the approximate local periodicity of exp(2*pi*i*f(x)). It is shown that sufficiently precise machine arithmetic results in gradient estimates of any required accuracy.
8 pages, no figure