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Exact & formalGatesPauli operator

Pauli-Y gate

The Pauli gate that combines a bit flip with a phase rotation around the y axis.

pauliphasesingle qubit

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Pauli-Y rounds out the three Pauli generators and makes phase-sensitive basis changes explicit.

Circuit & simulation
1 from |0⟩100%
What this takes and returns
Takes1 qubitWhat joins here

Takes a 1-qubit register and states no assumption about what is on it. That is the whole condition: anything returning 1 qubits can feed it.

15 entries meet this end. Named below.

Returns1 qubitWhat joins here

Returns a 1-qubit register a next stage can take. This is the end that joins.

13 entries meet this end. Named below.

A unitary. The same register goes in and comes out, and this entry states no assumption about what is on it — which is what lets anything of the same width feed it. See all 29 →

How it works

Pauli-YY is Y=(0ii0)Y=\begin{pmatrix}0&-i\\ i&0\end{pmatrix}, combining a bit flip with a phase. Directly: Y0=i1Y|0\rangle = i|1\rangle and Y1=i0Y|1\rangle = -i|0\rangle, matching this record's basis-action check. Up to convention Y=iXZY = iXZ (equivalently iZX-iZX), which is why it behaves as the "odd one out" when composing XX and ZZ. YY is Hermitian and unitary with Y2=IY^2 = I, so like XX and ZZ it is its own inverse — the identity this record's matrix square verifies. Its eigenstates ±i=12(0±i1)|{\pm}i\rangle = \frac{1}{\sqrt2}(|0\rangle \pm i|1\rangle) have eigenvalues ±1\pm1 and correspond to a π\pi rotation of the Bloch sphere about the yy-axis. The imaginary prefactors are invisible to a single computational-basis measurement but matter as soon as YY acts inside a superposition where relative phase drives interference, e.g. inside YY-basis stabilizer measurements.

Implementation
Native
pauli-y.qasm
OPENQASM 3.0;
include "stdgates.inc";
qubit q;
y q;
Quantum vs classical

Classical baseline

Use a classical state-vector or matrix simulation at the same width, precision, and measurement objective.

Quantum claim

The quantum record demonstrates a state or operator behavior; it does not make classical simulation or communication costs disappear.

How to compare

Compare fidelity, samples, gate depth, noise, memory, and the cost of preparing and reading the state.

Declared gaps

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Literature & references
Quantum Computation and Quantum Information: 10th Anniversary Edition2010 · Michael A. Nielsen and Isaac L. Chuang

Standard graduate textbook covering the single- and two-qubit gate definitions, matrix identities, and circuit primitives this record states.

doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511976667