Quantum Auctions using Adiabatic Evolution: The Corrupt Auctioneer and Circuit Implementations

Saikat Guha, Tad Hogg, David Fattal, Timothy Spiller, Raymond G. Beausoleil

Published 2007-07-13, updated 2008-07-14Version 2

We examine a proposed auction using quantum states to represent bids and distributed adiabatic search to find the winner. When the auctioneer follows the protocol, the final measurement giving the outcome of the auction also destroys the bid states, thereby preserving privacy of losing bidders. We describe how a dishonest auctioneer could alter the protocol to violate this privacy guarantee, and present methods by which bidders can counter such attacks. We also suggest possible quantum circuit implementations of the auctions protocol, and quantum circuits to perpetrate and to counter attacks by a dishonest auctioneer.