Entanglement guides quantum computation.

Origin of the speed-up in quantum algorithms is not yet fully understood. But there are indications that entanglement does play an important role in quantum computation. Algorithms that do not involve entanglement can be efficiently simulated on a classical computer. Here I make a simple observation. I show that infinitesimal change in multi-particle pure product state always gives rise to an entangled state. During quantum computation even though at each time instant the state is not entangled, it does pass through entangled states at infinitesimal time steps. This applies to multi-particle pure, pseudo-pure and general mixed states as well. This suggests that even though unitary operators do not produce any entanglement, quantum entanglement guides the process of quantum computation. © 2006 American Institute of Physics [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]