CSCE 790S: Quantum Computation and Information
Syllabus

Required Text

M. A. Nielsen and I. L. Chuang, Quantum Computation and Quantum Information. Cambridge University Press, 2000.

Syllabus

This course teaches the fundamentals of quantum information processing, including quantum computation, quantum cryptography, and quantum information theory. The last 20 years have seen the discovery of algorithms that directly harness the laws of quantum mechanics to speed up certain computations and ensure secrecy of communications. There are fast quantum algorithms to factor large integers and compute discrete logarithms, which, if implemented, threaten the security of the encryption schemes in common use today. This possibility has spurred several major and ongoing attempts to build quantum computers. Quantum computation might also be useful in simulating complex quantum systems such as large molecules.

Both theory and practice of the fundamentals of quantum information processing are covered.

Topics Covered

• Basic principles of quantum mechanics
• Quantum gates and circuits
• Classical computation versus quantum computation
• Quantum algorithms: factoring and discrete logarithm; fast search; simulation
• Classical and quantum information theory, quantum cryptography, teleportation, dense coding
• Error correction and fault-tolerant quantum computing
• Physical realizations: nuclear magnetic resonance; ions in traps; solid state devices