This is a three-credit course that 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 should also find the course to be of interest.
We will first review the basic principles of quantum mechanics and then discuss the general underlying concepts of quantum information. Various important quantum algorithms will be discussed followed by a discussions of issues related to entanglement and quantum measurements. We will conclude the course with a brief look at qubit technologies and 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 Dr. Seth Cottrell. Dr. Cottrell received a degree in quantum information from the Math Department of NYU and has extensive experience teaching at schools in New York and California. His contact email is cottrell.tech@gmail.com
The lectures will be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:40 pm to 8:00 pm in the new Chemistry and Chemical Biology Building, Room 1203. The first lecture will be on Tuesday, January 21.
The preliminary syllabus is available here.
There is not an assigned textbook for the course. Lecture notes will be posted on this website , here and on the course Sakai site. These notes will consist of summaries of the main points of the lecture. They aren't meant to be self contained and you'll probably find them difficult to understand if you don't attend the lecture to see the material first-hand.
For an introduction to quantum computing, 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.
Quantum Computation and Quantum Information by Nielsen and Chiang is the canonical textbook in the field, although it is becoming a bit dated.
Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction by Rieffel and Polak is a more recent book. There is an abridged online version of the Rieffel and Polak book with the unfortunate title, An Introduction to Quantum Computing for Non-Physicists.
Introduction to the Theory of Quantum Information Processing by Bergou and Hillery is a very good, concise book on quantum information at the graduate level.
Elements of Information Theory by Cover and Thomas is a good introduction to information theory.
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 25% 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 20% of the course grade
There will be an 80-minute, in-class, mid-term exam and a final exam. The mid-term exams will be in class on Tuesday, March 11. The time and location of the final exam will be announced later. The midterm exam will count for 15% of the course grade and the final exam will count for 30% of the grade.
The course grade will be based on the following criteria:
| Homework: | 25% |
| Quantum algorithm programming project: | 20% |
| Midterm exam: | 15% |
| Final exam: | 30% |
| Attendance: | 10% |
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This page is maintained by Prof. Steve Schnetzer.