CS201

Computer Science Proseminar, Spring 2023: Quantum Computing


Instructor

Frederic Green, Mathematics/Computer Science, office BP335. E-mail: fgreen at clarku dot edu.
Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursday 1:30-3:00pm or by appointment.

Text

Quantum Computer Science, by N. David Mermin (Cambridge University Press, 2007). Purchase or rent here.

Lectures

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:25-11:40am, BP326.

Course Goals

One of the most exciting developments in computing history, which has only arisen in the past quarter century, is that computers that make direct use of the laws of quantum mechanics would be dramatically faster than their classical counterparts. This course will study the most important elements of this still emerging field of study, including Shor's quantum algorithm for factoring integers (for which no classical algorithms are known), Grover's quantum search of an unsorted database, which gives a quadratic speedup over any classical algorithm, and other algorithms related to these. Thus the strangest aspects of quantum theory, e.g. superposition and entanglement, are found to be not only fascinating and puzzling, but also useful! The course will also explore very basic elements of the burgeoning field of quantum information theory: superdense coding, quantum cryptography, and quantum teleportation.

Course Work and Grading Policies

Your attendance in class is expected; attendance and participation counts 15%. Tests will consist of a midterm (20%) and a final (30%). The remaining 35% will be determined by graded homework assignments.
Time committement: You should expect to spend an average of 13 hours per week in this course outside of class. This includes about 3 hours reading and 10 hours on homework assignments, which may include help sessions with the professor.

Academic Integrity

This course is conducted in accordance with Clark University's rules on academic integrity, which you should read here. It applies in this course, in particular, to exams and certain homework assignments. Naturally, no collaboration of any kind is tolerated on exams. On designated assignments, open collaboration may be allowed. However, even on these assignments, in any solutions you obtained in collaboration with another student, even if you wrote them up in your own words, you must write down, in the assignment, with whom you worked. In other designated assignments, you will be expected to work on your own or with a single partner. Any failure to cite with whom you worked, or obtained help, will be regarded as a breach of academic integrity and will be dealt with severely.

Course Outline

Subject to change. While the outline of the text will be closely followed, lecture material will frequently look at things from alternative perspectives, and introduce different ideas and additional topics. It will be important to take notes, and (hard copy) notes will be allowed on exams. The main topics I hope to cover include [brackets indicating chapters in the text]:

Links


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