Quantum Computing: From Alice to Bob

Description

A distinctive and accessible introduction to quantum information science and quantum computing, this textbook provides a solid conceptual and formal understanding of quantum states and entanglement for undergraduate students and upper-level secondary school students with little or no background in physics, computer science, or mathematics.

• Provides broad, up-to-date and in-depth coverage of quantum computing while remaining accessible to those with no training in advanced mathematics or science
• Presented in a unique and accessible conversational style
• Includes informal exercises (Try Its) and suggestions for further reading throughout

About the Author(s)

Alice Flarend, Physics Teacher, Bellwood-Antis High School, and Robert Hilborn, Associate Executive Officer, Amherst College

Dr Flarend, a former nuclear engineer, earned a Ph.D in Curriculum and Instruction from The Pennsylvania State University and has been a high school physics teacher for more than 20 years. Her research interests include how learners develop their understanding of our solar system, teachers' views on including climate science in core science courses, and how teachers learn new content and pedagogy. Dr. Flarend has over a decade of experience providing teacher professional development in physics including classical, nuclear and quantum physics.

Dr Hilborn received his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard in 1971. He served as a physics faculty member at Oberlin, Amherst, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and the University of Texas at Dallas. He has had many decades experience doing quantum physics research in atomic, molecular, and optical physics and teaching quantum mechanics to undergraduate students. He is author of Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics: An Introduction for Scientists and Engineers (OUP 1994, 2000). He is currently the Associate Executive Officer of the American Association of Physics Teachers and principal investigator for several nation-wide physics education projects funded by the National Science Foundation.

Table of Contents

1:Introduction
2:Traditional Computing
3:Traditional Bits in New Clothes
4:Qubits and Quantum States
5:Quantum Measurements
6:Quantum Gates
7:Putting a Spin on Spin
8:My Basis, Your Basis
9:Multi-qubit Systems, Entanglement, and Quantum Weirdness
10:Quantum Circuits and Multi-qubit Applications
11:Quantum Computing Algorithms
12:More Quantum Algorithms
13:RSA Encryption and the Shor Factoring Algorithm
14:Fundamental Quantum Issues
15:Complexifying Quantum States
16:Present and Future QIS and QC

Reviews

"While broadly accessible, the textbook does not dodge providing a solid conceptual and formal understanding of quantum states and entanglement - the key ingredients in quantum computing. The authors dish up a hearty meal for the readers, disentangling and explaining many of the classic quantum algorithms that demonstrate how and when QC has an advantage over classical computers. The book is spiced with Try Its, brief exercises that engage the readers in problem solving (both with and without mathematics) and help them digest the many counter-intuitive quantum information science and quantum computing concepts." - zb Math Open

"This is a refreshing, pedagogical, and timely overview of quantum computing for non-experts, by two well-qualified authors." - Shimon Kolkowitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison

"This is a much needed bridge between popular and technical texts that provides easy access to the topic of quantum computing for curious readers who aim to go further and deeper in their understanding. " - Dieter Jaksch, University of Oxford