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CS 880: Quantum Information Processing
Spring 2002
Course Description
| Remarkable theoretical results from the last decade have shown that a computer based on quantum mechanical principles would profoundly alter the nature of information processing. Efficient algorithms for factoring integers, strategies for finding an entry in an unsorted database using a sublinear number of queries, techniques like teleportation and superdense coding, and provably secure schemes for cryptographic key distribution have demonstrated how differently quantum information behaves, and how these properties can be exploited to solve certain computational problems better than classically possible. |
| Another theoretical achievement is the development of error-correcting codes and schemes for fault tolerant computing. These enable a quantum computer to perform reliably despite the inevitable effects of noise, "decoherence," and imperfections in the hardware, to which a quantum machine is expected to be much more susceptible than a classical one. |
| This course will start with some background on quantum mechanics and theoretical computer science, develop the basic theory of quantum information and quantum computing in a systematic way, and then cover as many of the above pearls as possible. |
Target Audience
| The field of quantum information processing is a synergy of many disciplines, including various branches of computer science, mathematics, physics, engineering, and chemistry. This course is intended for all graduate students, researchers, and advanced undergraduates with an interest in the field. |
Prerequisites
| Knowledge of linear algebra at the level of Math 340, and familiarity with probability and algorithms will be assumed. The recommended text, "Quantum Computation and Quantum Information" by Nielsen and Chuang does an excellent job in providing this background. No specific knowledge of theoretical computer science will be required. |
| dieter@cs.wisc.edu |