Information is stored, transmitted and processed by physical means. Thus, the concept of information and computation can be properly formulated in the context of a physical theory and the study of information requires experimentation.
About every 18 months microprocessors double their speed and, it seems, the only way to make them faster is to make them smaller. Soon they will reach the point where the logic gates are so small that they consist of only a few atoms each. If computers are to continue to become faster (and therefore smaller), new, quantum technology must replace or supplement what we have now, but it turns out that such technology can offer much more than smaller and faster microprocessors. Several recent theoretical results have shown that quantum effects may be harnessed to provide qualitatively new modes of communication and computation, in some cases much more powerful than their classical counterparts.
This new quantum technology is being born in many laboratories. The last three decades have witnessed experiments in which single quanta of different kinds were controlled and manipulated with an unprecedented precision. New experimental techniques now make it possible to store and process information encoded in individual quantum systems. As a result we have a new, fledgling field of quantum information processing that represents a highly fertile synthesis of the principles of quantum physics with those of computer and information science. Its scope ranges from providing a new perspective on fundamental issues about the nature of physical law to prospective commercial exploitation by the computing and communications industries.
This course covers most topics in quantum information science, such as quantum cryptography, quantum teleportation and quantum computation. The course presents clearly the fundamental concepts, amply illustrated with theoretical calculations and descriptions of experimental work in the field of quantum optics. Advanced students will find a rich source of information on this exciting new area.
Monday 08-Oct-07 (3h)
Lecture 1 Introduction: Quantum foundation and quantum information
Tuesday 09-Oct-07 (3h)
Lecture 2 Quantum communication: Quantum dense coding, quantum cryptography
and quantum teleportation
Wednesday 10-Oct-07 (3h)
Lecture 3 Quantum computation and quantum simulation
Thursday 11-Oct-07 (3h)
Lecture 4 Quantum error correction
Friday 12-Oct-07 (1h)
A lab tour to our quantum information and quantum optics labs at the PI