Nested Grover’s Algorithm for Tree Search

We investigate optimizing quantum tree search algorithms by employing a nested Grover Algorithm. This approach seeks to enhance results compared to previous Grover-based methods by expanding the tree of partial assignments to a specific depth and conducting a quantum search within the subset of remaining assignments. The study explores the implications and constraints of this approach, providing a foundation for quantum artificial intelligence applications. Instead of utilizing conventional heuristic functions that are incompatible with quantum tree search, we introduce the partial candidate solution, which indicates a node at a specific depth of the tree. By employing such a function, we define the concatenated oracle, which enables us to decompose the quantum tree search using Grover’s algorithm. With a branching factor of 2 and a depth of m, the costs of Grover’s algorithm are $O\left(2^{m/2}\right)$. The concatenated oracle allows us to reduce the cost to $O(m·2^{m/4})$ for m partial candidate solutions.