Approximate Counting and Quantum Computation

Abstract: Motivated by the result that an `approximate' evaluation of the Jones polynomial of a braid at a $5^{th}$ root of unity can be used to simulate the quantum part of any algorithm in the quantum complexity class BQP, and results relating BQP to the counting class GapP, we introduce a form of additive approximation which can be used to simulate a function in BQP. We show that all functions in the classes #P and GapP have such an approximation scheme under certain natural normalisations. However we are unable to determine whether the particular functions we are motivated by, such as the above evaluation of the Jones polynomial, can be approximated in this way. We close with some open problems motivated by this work.