The quantum random walk is a possible approach to construct quantum algorithms. Several groups have investigated the quantum random walk and experimental schemes were proposed. In this paper, we present the experimental implementation of the quantum random-walk algorithm on a nuclear-magnetic-resonance quantum computer. We observe that the quantum walk is in sharp contrast to its classical counterpart. In particular, the properties of the quantum walk strongly depends on the quantum entanglement.

• Received 27 December 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.67.042316