Quantum computing qc may possibly be the most remarkable proposal of a practical application of quantum mechanics. It is informally known as mike and ike, after the candies of that name. However, at the present stage the notes, for the topics covered, should be complete enough to serve the reader. That teleportation is possible is surprising since quantum mechanics tells us that it is not possible to clone quantum states or even measure them without disturbing the state. Quantum information and computation lorentz institute. The informationtheoretic approach to quantum mechanics, proposed by bub and pitowsky, is a realist approach to quantum theory which rejects the two dogmas of quantum mechanics. In fact, quantum information information stored in the quantum state of a physical system has weird properties that contrast sharply with the familiar properties of classical information.
The unit of quantum information is known as a qubit the quantum counterpart of the classical bit and a. Murray hill, new jersey 07974, usa abstract in this paper, i try once again to cause some goodnatured trouble. Quantum mechanics an overview sciencedirect topics. Bell showed that quantum information can be in fact, typically is encoded in. Indeed, although both approaches are formally equivalent, only the heisenberg approach to quantum mechanics has any similarity with classical mechanics. History of information and quantum mechanics information quantum information processing as a distinct, widely recognized. The subsections that follow present an overview of the aspects of this subject that are most relevant within the theory of quantum information. An attempt has been made to anticipate the conceptual problems students encounter when they first study quantum mechanics. Introduction to quantum information norbert wiener. A probability of 0 means that there is no chance of a photon striking the. In retrospect, this development seems somewhat belated. This book presents a basic introduction to quantum mechanics at the undergraduate level. The volume is a simple and appealing introduction to quantum mechanics, with all its fascination and its paradoxes.
Quantum mechanics is a mathematical language, much like calculus. This is a great introduction to quantum mechanics because of the way it addresses all of quantum theory through the lens of quantum information. Quantum mechanics as quantum information and only a little more christopher a. Lecture 4 postulates of quantum mechanics, operators and. An introduction to quantum computing for nonphysicists. Introduction to quantum mechanics harvard university. In the field of quantum information theory, the quantum systems studied are abstracted away from any real world counterpart. Thinking from this point of view helps demystify concepts such as wave particle duality and the uncertainty principle which really helps beginners better understand quantum mechanics and gain intuition.
Quantum information theory and the foundations of quantum. Quantum mechanics and quantum field theory internet archive. Fuchs bell labs, lucent technologies 600700 mountain ave. The theory of quantum information university of waterloo.
Fuchs computing science research center bell labs, lucent technologies room 2c420, 600700 mountain ave. Quantum mechanics can be thought of roughly as the study of physics on very small length scales, although there are also certain macroscopic systems it directly applies to. Quantum probability quantum information theory quantum. It describes advanced properties of nature on an atomic scale. Quantum computation and quantum information is a textbook about quantum information science written by michael nielsen and isaac chuang, regarded as a standard text on the subject.
Quantum mechanics is the study of how microscopic physical systems change dynamically in nature. Pdf quantum computation and quantum information researchgate. Moreover, quantum mechanics is also needed to understand the interaction of photons with materials in solar cells, as well as many topics in material science. As i discuss in this introcjuctory section, the equations that govern the motions of electrons and of nuclei are not the familiar newton equatrons. It attempts to describe and account for the properties of molecules and atoms and their constituentselectrons, protons, neutrons, and other more esoteric particles such as quarks and gluons.
We shall then proceed to investigate the rules of quantum mechanics in a more systematic fashion in chapter 4. Quantum theory is a probabilistic theory, of course, and so it was. What i would like to achieve with this course is for you to gain a deeper understanding of the structure of quantum mechanics and of some of its key points. Introductory quantum mechanics good coverage, explanations medium. Quantum mechanics is the branch of physics that describes how systems behave at their most fundamental level. The general study of the informationprocessing capabilities of quantum systems is the subject of quantum information theory. Chapter 6 also demonstrates that thermodynamics is a straightforward consequence of quantum mechanics and that we no longer need to derive the laws of thermodynamics through the traditional, rather subtle, arguments about heat engines. The quantum of action, the smallest possible change in nature, leads to wave functions, probabilities, tunnelling and to all colours around us. Quantum computation and quantum information wikipedia. Part iii quantum information 353 8 quantum noise and quantum operations 353 8.
Just as classical physics uses calculus to explain nature, quantum physics uses quantum mechanics to explain nature. It is assumed that the reader is already familiar with the most. A rosetta stone for quantum mechanics with an introduction to quantum computation, in ams short course lecture notes. Quantum mechanics as quantum information, mostly christopher a. Chapter 5 quantum information theory caltech particle theory. Quantum computing orions belter feb 15th 2007 vancouver from the economist print edition the worlds first practical quantum computer is unveiled as california is to the united states, so british columbia is to canada. The theory of quantum information relies heavily on linear algebra in nitedimensional spaces. This idea has been applied, for example, to statistical mechanics. The feynman lectures on physics, volume 3 a famous introduction to undergraduate physics. However, tentatives of applying quantum mechanics to the universe as a whole.
The rst part covers mathematical foundations of quantum mechanics from selfadjointness, the spectral theorem, quantum dynamics including stones and the rage theorem to perturbation theory for selfadjoint operators. Cambridge core quantum physics, quantum information and quantum computation introduction to quantum mechanics by david j. Quantum mechanics is a set of principles underlying the most fundamental known description of all physical systems at the submicroscopic scale at the atomic level. The mathematical theory of information and information processing dates to the midtwentieth century.
Quantum mechanics as quantum information and only a little more. And a quantum computer a new type of machine that exploits the quantum properties of information could perform certain types of calculations far. Quantum mechanics very clear explanations, doesnt cover everything. Quantum mechanics, science dealing with the behavior of matter and light on the atomic and subatomic scale. The information interpretation of quantum mechanics. This thesis is a contribution to the debate on the implications of quantum information theory for the foundational problems of quantum mechanics. For didactic purposes, we consider quantum information as the area of investigation in which the identification and the study of the quantum resources that can be used for information processing, whereas quantum computation as. This probability is simply a number between 0 and 1. The problem for an informational interpretation of quantum mechanics is to explain exactly how these two convergences large numbers of particles and large quantum numbers allow continuous and apparently deterministic macroscopic information structures to emerge from the indeterministic and discontinuous microscopic quantum world. Introduction to quantum information university of glasgow.
Just as classical computers can be thought of in boolean algebra terms, quantum computers are reasoned about with quantum mechanics. Postulates of quantum mechanics postulate 2 the probability density function of a quantum mechanical particle is. When two objects are placed close together, they experience a force called the casimir. On the experimental side, the focus on the ability to manipulate and control individual quantum systems.
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