Welcome

Welcome to the webpage of the course "Quantum Computing 2020/2021". Arguably quantum computing is coming of age. With the race for quantum rising between major IT players (e.g. IBM, Intel, Google, Microsoft), and the announcement of prototype-machines up to 50 qubits, it seems that we are in the verge of a real shift. For the first time the viability of quantum computing may be demonstrated in a number of real problems extremely difficult to handle, if possible at all, classically, and its utility discussed across industries. In a sense, Feynman’s dream of letting Nature, suitably engineered, compute for us through its own natural quantum behaviour, seems to be closer, even if the project of a universal quantum computer has still a long way to go. In the somehow emphatic language of the media, a ‘second quantum revolution’ is quickly approaching. It is characterised by the ability to harness the most weird quantum phenomena, namely superposition and entanglement, as computational resources, with practical advantage. In such a context, this course introduces, at a doctoral programme level, the foundations of quantum computing, as well as a number of specialised topics on the forefront of research on quantum software engineering.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of the course students should be able

• To master the principles and main techniques of quantum programming.
• To design and analyse quantum algorithms.
• To understand the basic elements of quantum programming languages and associated dynamic logics.

Schedule

Date	Lecture
12 OCT 2012	Quantum Information & Computation (Renato Neves, Univ. of Minho & UCL) [1, 2, 3]
19 OCT 2020	The circuit model & laboratory (Renato Neves, Univ. of Minho & UCL) [1, 2, 3]
26 OCT 2020	Quantum algorithms & laboratory (Renato Neves, Univ. of Minho & UCL) [1, 3, 4, 6]
02 NOV 2020	Error-correcting codes (Raquel Pinto, Univ. of Aveiro) [12, 13, 14]
09 NOV 2020	Computability & complexity (José E. Santo, Univ. of Minho) [7, 8 5]
16 NOV 2020	Quantum lambda-calculus (José E. Santo, Univ. of Minho) [9, 10 11]
07 DEC 2020	Logics for quantum programs (Renato Neves, Univ. of Minho & UCL) [1, 15, 16]

Extra Activities

• Quantum seminars every week at INL.
• 14 JAN 2021 - World Logic Day 2021, Logical Journeys Webinar link.

Bibliography

Basic References

• [1] M. A. Nielsen and I. L. Chuang. Quantum Computation and Quantum Information (10th Anniversary Edition). Cambridge University Press, 2010.
• [2] Mark M. Wilde. Quantum Information Theory. Cambridge University Press, 2017.
• [3] E. Rieffel and W. Polak. Quantum Computing: A Gentle Introduction. Scientific and Engineering Computation. MIT Press, 1992.
• [4] N. David Mermin. Quantum Computer Science: An Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2007.
• [5] N. S. Yanofsky and M. A. Mannucci. Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
• [6] Mingsheng Ying. Foundations of Quantum Programming. Morgan Kaufmann, Elsevier, 2016.
• [7] S. Arora and B. Barak. Computational Complexity: A Modern Approach. Cambridge University Press, 2009.
• [8] C. Papadimitriou. Computational Complexity. Addison-Wesley, 1994.
• [9] J.R. Hindley and J.P. Seldin. Lambda-calculus and Combinators: an Introduction. Cambridge University Press, 2008.
• [10] Ugo Dal Lago, Andrea Masini, and Margherita Zorzi. On a measurement-free quantum lambda calculus with classical control. Mathematical Structures in Computer Science, 19(2):297–335, 2009.
• [11] Peter Selinger and Benoît Valiron. A lambda calculus for quantum computation with classical control. Math. Struct. Comput. Science, 2006.
• [12] R. Hill. A First Course in Coding Theory. Oxford Applied Linguistics. Clarendon Press, 1986.
• [13] Frank Gaitan. Quantum Error Correction and Fault Tolerant Quantum Computing. CRC Press, Inc., Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2007.
• [14] Quantum Error Correction. Cambridge University Press, 2013.
• [15] A. Baltag and S. Smets. Quantum logic as a dynamic logic. Synthese, 179(2):285–306, 2011.
• [16] A. Baltag and S. Smets. The dynamic turn in quantum logic. Synthese, 186(3):753–773, 2012.

Bedtime readings

• N. S. Yanofsky. The Outer Limits of Reason. MIT Press, 2013.
• S. Aaronson. Quantum Computing since Democritus. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Links

• Quantum Software Engineering Group
• The QuantaLab Initiative
• MAP-i: Joint Doctoral Programme in Computer Science MAP Universities

Pragmatics

Assessment

Assessment is based on an individual report on a research topic and a small programming exercise in a quantum programming language (typically Qiskit). N.b. Further than evaluating the student's knowledge on quantum computing, the goal of this assessment is to hone requisite skills for a successful research career: namely, to understand the main ideas of a scientific work, to form a rigorous, critical analysis of it, and to properly explain ideas/opinions to peers both orally and in written.

Course Coordinator

• Renato Neves, Univ. of Minho & UCL
• Email: nevrenato at gmail dot com

Other Lecturers

• José Carlos Espírito Santo, Univ. of Minho
• Raquel Pinto, Univ. of Aveiro

Last update: 10.01.2021