State transfer in discrete-time quantum walks via projected transition matrices

In this paper, we analyze state transfer in quantum walks by using combinatorial methods. We generalize perfect state transfer in two-reflection discrete-time quantum walks to a notion that we call 'peak state transfer'; we define peak state transfer as the highest state transfer that can be achieved between an initial and a target state under unitary evolution, even when perfect state transfer is unattainable. We give a spectral characterization of peak state transfer that allows us to fully characterize peak state transfer in the arc-reversal (Grover) walk on various families of graphs, including strongly regular graphs and incidence graphs of block designs (assuming that the walk starts at a point of the design). In addition, we provide many examples of peak state transfer, including an infinite family where the amount of peak state transfer tends to 1 as the number of vertices grows. We further demonstrate that peak state transfer properties extend to infinite families of graphs generated by vertex blow-ups, and we characterize periodicity in the vertex-face walk on toroidal grids. In our analysis, we make extensive use of the spectral decomposition of a matrix that is obtained by projecting the transition matrix down onto a subspace. Though we are motivated by a problem in quantum computing, we identify several open problems that are purely combinatorial, arising from the spectral conditions required for peak state transfer in discrete-time quantum walks.