Abstract
Typical quantum computing schemes require transformations (gates) to be targeted at specific elements (qubits). In many physical systems, direct targeting is difficult to achieve; an alternative is to encode local gates into globally applied transformations. Here we demonstrate the minimum physical requirements for such an approach: a one-dimensional array composed of two alternating 'types' of two-state system. Each system need be sensitive only to the net state of its nearest neighbors, i.e. the number in state 1 minus the number in state 2. Additionally, we show that all such arrays can perform quite general parallel operations. A broad range of physical systems and interactions are suitable: we highlight two potential implementations.