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quantum-gate-cswap

CSWAP gate (Fredkin)

CSWAP (also Fredkin or Controlled-SWAP) swaps two qubits if a third control qubit is $|1\rangle$. The quantum analog of a multiplexer and is universal for reversible classical computation.

Action: $|c ab\rangle \to |c (a' b')\rangle$ where $a' = c \cdot b + \bar{c} \cdot a$ and $b' = c \cdot a + \bar{c} \cdot b$ (conditional swap). If control is 0, qubits unchanged; if control is 1, qubits swap.

$$\text{CSWAP} = \text{Fredkin} = \begin{pmatrix} 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 & 0 & 0 \\ 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 0 & 1 \end{pmatrix}$$

Basis action: swaps qubits 2 and 3 when qubit 1 is $|1\rangle$. Mapping: $|101\rangle \to |110\rangle$ and $|110\rangle \to |101\rangle$.

Properties

  • Self-inverse: $\text{CSWAP}^2 = I$
  • Universal: CSWAP alone is universal for reversible classical computation
  • Symmetric: the two swapped qubits are treated identically
  • Conservative: preserves Hamming weight (number of 1s in bitstring)

Relation to CCX

Both CCX (Toffoli) and CSWAP (Fredkin) are universal for classical reversible computation. They are dual in a sense: CCX flips, CSWAP swaps.

Uses

  • Multiplexing: classical multiplexer logic implemented reversibly
  • Quantum FFT: appears in some Fourier transform implementations
  • Reversible circuits: designing reversible algorithms
  • Conservation laws: CSWAP preserves Hamming weight (useful for systems with conservation laws)

Decomposition

  • Gate cost: ~6+ CX gates + single-qubit gates (expensive like CCX)
  • Structure: multiple CX layers and single-qubit rotations

Implementation

  • Superconducting qubits: CX and single-qubit gate decomposition; gate time similar to CCX (expensive)
  • Trapped ions: multi-step laser pulse sequence
  • Photonic: post-selection or nonlinear schemes
  • Availability: native CSWAP rare; decomposition typical

Comparison to SWAP

  • Conditional vs unconditional: CSWAP conditional on control qubit (unlike SWAP)
  • Cost trade-off: CSWAP more expensive than SWAP but enables reversible classical logic

Relations

  • CCX: doubly-controlled X (Toffoli); dual to CSWAP
  • SWAP: unconditional swap (two-qubit); CSWAP adds control
  • Three-qubit gates: general category
quantum-gate-cswap.md · Last modified: by 127.0.0.1