Oracle separation of QMA(2) from QMA
Follow the latest progress by email.
QMA verifies a quantum proof; QMA(2) permits two proofs promised to be unentangled. Can a unitary quantum oracle separate the two verification models?
Why it matters and what counts as progress
Why it matters: An oracle separation isolates the computational value of an unentanglement promise in a relativized setting.
What counts as progress: An explicit oracle problem with an efficient QMA(2) protocol and a QMA query-or-proof-size lower bound; this does not establish an unrelativized class separation.
How the problem developed
- 2 Sept 2026 · Oracle separation [1]
John Bostanci, Sabee Grewal, Jonas Haferkamp, Andrew Huang, Yeongwoo Hwang, Anand Natarajan and Chinmay Nirkhe; ChatGPT 5.6 Sol Constructed a quantum oracle relative to which QMA(2) differs from QMA, and resolved Watrous’s no-disentanglers conjecture in the stated error regime.
- 5 Oct 2026 · Oracle separation [2]
Sabee Grewal, Saachi Mutreja and Kabir Tomer Proved a classical-oracle separation between QMA and QMA(2), using a separable Hamiltonian problem with signed edge constraints.
AI contribution
A quantum oracle separation between QMA(2) and QMA
Bostanci and coauthors construct a unitary quantum oracle U for which QMA(2)^U differs from QMA^U. Their oracle problem has a one-query QMA(2) protocol with linear-size unentangled proofs, while QMA needs exponential resources in query count or proof size.
Sources
Website timeline
Publication dates and editorial changes.