This course provides an introduction to quantum information and quantum computing from a physics perspective. Although the course is primarily intended for physics majors, computer science and math majors might also find the course to be of interest.
We will first review the basic principles of quantum mechanics and then discuss issues related to entanglement and quantum measurements followed by a discussion of quantum gates and quantum circuits. We will then discuss various application of quantum circuits to constructing quantum algorithms. quantum error corrections and qubit technologies will then be discussed and we will conclude with some of the exciting developments involving quantum information in the field of quantum gravity.
The prerequisites for the course are an introductory calculus-level course on modern physics (Physics 228 or Physics 273) and a course that covers linear algebra (Math 244 or Math 250).
The lectures will be taught by Prof. Steve Schnetzer There will be two 80-minute lecture per week. The lectures times are yet to be determined.
The preliminary syllabus is available here. The textbook for the course is An Undergraduate Course in Quantum Computing by Peter Young. I don't think that this book has been published, but it is freely available at the link given above. This is a very good book and follows my lectures for the course quite closely. Another very good reference is the Qiskit Textbook. This is available on the web from IBMQ. If you want to investigate further this website also from IBMQ is a great source of material both introductory and advanced. For those interested in material at the graduate level, a good basic reference is the set of lecture notes by John Preskill of Caltech. Prof. Preskill is one the leaders in the field of quantum computing. His lecture notes are clear and thorough. Another good graduate-level reference is Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chiang. This is the canonical textbook in the field, although a bit dated. During or before the first week of class, we will conduct a survey to decide when would be the best times to hold regular office hours. There will be approximately ten homework assignments during the semester. The homework is meant to make you think about the material and to promote your understanding of the material. You should make an attempt to do all of the problems. If you have difficulty with any of the problems, please feel free come to an office hour or to consult with your fellow students. The homework will count for 20% of the course grade. Students will be expected to complete a course project that will involve using the IBM Qiskit software package to code a quantum algorithm and run it on an IBM quantum compute. More information about this will be given during the course. The course project will count for 30% of the course grade There will be two 80-minute, in-class, mid-term exams. The dates of these exams will be announced later. Each midterm exam will count for 20% of the course grade.
The course grade will be based on the following criteria:
Lectures
Syllabus
Textbook
Office Hours
Homework
Course Project
Exams
Grading
Homework:
20%
Quantum algorithm programming project:
30%
Exam I:
20%
Exam II:
20%
Attendance:
10%
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