Adiabatic quantum computing: equivalence with quantum computing

Abstract: The adiabatic quantum computing (AQC) was originally introduced to solve optimization problems by constructing two Hamiltonian operators where the first one is easy to prepare and the second one codifies the solution of the considered problem. Van Dam et al. (2001) proved that AQC performs universal computing by showing that the adiabatic evolution can be simulated with quantum circuits of polynomial size. In this talk we review van Dam's construction in order to understand the complexity of AQC and its limitations