Quantum discrepancy: a non-commutative version of combinatorial discrepancy (Q2185209)

Summary: In this paper, we introduce a notion of quantum discrepancy, a non-commutative version of combinatorial discrepancy which is defined for projection systems, i.e. finite sets of orthogonal projections, as non-commutative counterparts of set systems. We show that besides its natural algebraic formulation, quantum discrepancy, when restricted to set systems, has a probabilistic interpretation in terms of determinantal processes. Determinantal processes are a family of point processes with a rich algebraic structure. A common feature of this family is the local repulsive behavior of points. \textit{K. Alishahi} and \textit{M. Zamani} [Electron. J. Probab. 20, Paper No. 23, 27 p. (2015; Zbl 1327.60022)] exploit this repelling property to construct low-discrepancy point configurations on the sphere. We give an upper bound for quantum discrepancy in terms of \(N\), the dimension of the space, and \(M\), the size of the projection system, which is tight in a wide range of parameters \(N\) and \(M\). Then we investigate the relation of these two kinds of discrepancies, i.e. combinatorial and quantum, when restricted to set systems, and bound them in terms of each other.