Abstract
We present an efficient algorithm for twirling a multi-qudit quantum state. The algorithm can be used for approximating the twirling operation in an ensemble of physical systems in which the systems cannot be individually accessed. It can also be used for computing the twirled density matrix on a classical computer. The method is based on a simple non-unitary operation involving a random unitary. When applying this basic building block iteratively, the mean squared error of the approximation decays exponentially. In contrast, when averaging over random unitary matrices the error decreases only algebraically. We present evidence that the unitaries in our algorithm can come from a very imperfect random source or can even be chosen deterministically from a set of cyclically alternating matrices. Based on these ideas we present a quantum circuit realizing twirling efficiently.