Effective quantum information processing is tantamount in part to the minimization the quantum resources needed by quantum logic gates. Here, we propose an optimization of an n-controlled-qubit Fredkin gate with a maximum of 2n + 1 two-qubit gates and 2n single-qudit gates by exploiting auxiliary Hilbert spaces. The number of logic gates required improves on earlier results on simulating arbitrary n-qubit Fredkin gates. In particular, the optimal result for one-controlled-qubit Fredkin gate (which requires three qutrit-qubit partial-swap gates) breaks the theoretical nonconstructive lower bound of five two-qubit gates. Furthermore, using an additional spatial-mode degree of freedom, we design a possible architecture to implement a polarization-encoded Fredkin gate with linear optical elements.

Hyperentanglement, defined as the simultaneous entanglement in several independent degrees of freedom (DOFs) of a quantum system, is a fascinating resource in quantum information processing with its outstanding merits. Here we propose heralded hyperentanglement concentration protocols (hyper-ECPs) to concentrate an unknown partially less polarization-spatial hyperentangled Bell state with available linear optics and common single-photon detectors. By introducing time-delay DOFs, the schemes are highly efficient in that the success of the scheme can be accurately heralded by the detection signatures, and postselection techniques or photon-number-resolving detectors, necessary for previous experiments, are not required. Additionally, our linear optical architectures allow certain states, where concentration fails, to be recyclable, and a trick makes the success probabilities of our schemes higher than those of previous linear optical hyper-ECPs.

Universal quantum gates lie at the heart of designing quantum computer. Here two compact quantum circuits for implementing post‐selected controlled‐phase‐flip (CPF) gate and Toffoli gate with linear optics are constructed assisted by one and two single photons, respectively. The current existing maximum success probability of 1/4 for linear optical CPF gate is achieved by resorting to an ancillary single photon rather than an entangled photon pair or two single photons. Remarkably, the presented Toffoli gate is accomplished with current maximum success probability of 1/30 and unity fidelity in principle, without using additional entangled photon pairs and the standard decomposition‐based approach. Linear optical implementations of the presented two universal gates are feasible and economical under current technology, and provide a potential application in large‐scale optical quantum computing.