Quantum synthesis of arbitrary unitary operators

Nature provides us with a restricted set of microscopic interactions. The question is whether we can synthesize out of these fundamental interactions an arbitrary unitary operator. In this paper we present a constructive algorithm for realization of any unitary operator which acts on a (truncated) Hilbert space of a single bosonic mode. In particular, we consider a physical implementation of unitary transformations acting on 1-dimensional vibrational states of a trapped ion. As an example we present an algorithm which realizes the discrete Fourier transform.