Quaternion-Based Arithmetic in Quantum Information Processing: A promising approach for efficient color quantum imaging [Hypercomplex Signal and Image Processing]

Classical color image processing, image recognition, and machine learning introduce nonlinearity, causing the collapse of the quantum state into classical probability perceptrons after measurements, due to the inherent linearity of quantum computing. To address this challenge, quaternion-based arithmetic offers a promising approach. By treating the primary color components as a single unit using quaternion algebra, nonlinear relationships can be implemented, effectively manipulating higher-dimensional color data. This article aims to achieve efficient and accurate color quantum image processing (QIP) by introducing new quaternion quantum-based color imaging tools based on multiplicative arithmetic on two-qubits and quantum superpositions. The approach includes the concept of a quaternion Fourier transform (QFT) in two-qubit-based color image representation. To end, we discuss possible applications of the proposed methods in color quantum imaging.