Since Feynman enlightened us about the possibility of quantum simulation, scholars have developed theories and practices in various areas of research to bring the quantum computer into the world. Based on their tremendous amount of work, engineers built and upgraded real (but not yet universal) quantum computers during the past decades. Experts are now expecting that quantum science will impact our lives in less than a decade.
Quantum computing is a basic theory of understanding how the quantum computer works. It also explains why quantum computers and quantum algorithms are important. Lastly, it studies quantum error correction, which is an absolutely necessary tool to operate quantum computers due to heavy decoherence in quantum states.
In this course, we will explore the basics of quantum computing theory, including quantum algorithms and quantum error correction. The beauty of quantum computing is two folds: it incorporates the hearts of mathematics, quantum physics, and computer science; yet it only requires a minimum of knowledge from each area. I hope this course can help students to gain strength in the quantum computing business, and possibly design their future research area on quantum computers.
The purpose of this course is not only to deliver theories and results developed by scholars over the decades but also to help students find their own problems for future research. After finishing this course, students are expected to be able to
The class will be run in PBL (Project-based learning) style. Students must complete a project and work as a team. Tentative project topics are the following.
The basic materials for the class will be provided online in video format. Students are required to watch and learn before the class. The in-class lecture will be minimum. We encourage students to participate in active discussions with peer students, asking questions, and identifying the problem and solution for their project.
In this project, we will construct our very own quantum simulator. A quantum simulator is a specialized system crafted to faithfully replicate the intricate operations of a quantum computer. For instance, IBM provides "IBM Quantum," a graphical circuit design tool that can be exported to an actual quantum computer developed by IBM. Additionally, IBM has created a Python module called "Qiskit," which enables simulation of quantum computations on a classical computer.