Faculty

Subscribe to Faculty
Friday, February 8, 2019 2:00 pm - 2:00 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

The potential applications of quantum computation in exploration geophysics

IQC and the Department of Physics at the University of Waterloo welcome Shahpoor Moradi, University of Calgary

Quantum computation has been developed as a computationally efficient paradigm to solve problems that are intractable with conventional classical computers. Quantum computers have the potential to support the simulation and modeling of many complex physical systems, not just quantum ones, significantly more rapidly than conventional supercomputers.

Tuesday, January 22, 2019 3:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

Quantum Chebyshev’s inequality and applications

Frederic Magniez, Université Paris Diderot

We describe a new quantum paradigm, that we call Quantum Chebyshev’s inequality, to approximate with relative error the mean of any random variable with a number of quantum samples that is linear in the ratio of the square root of the variance to the mean. Classically the dependency is quadratic. To illustrate this method, we apply it to the approximation of frequency moments in the multi-pass streaming model, and to the approximation of the number of edges and triangles in the quantum graph query access model.

Matthew Amy
Friday, January 25, 2019 12:30 pm - 12:30 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

PhD Thesis Defence

Formal Methods in Quantum Circuit Design

PhD Candidate: Matthew Amy
Supervisor: Michele Mosca

Oral defence in QNC B204.

The design and compilation of correct, efficient quantum circuits is integral to the future operation of quantum computers. This thesis makes contributions to the problems of optimizing and verifying quantum circuits, with an emphasis on the development of formal models for such purposes. We also present software implementations of these methods, which together form a full stack of tools for the design of optimized, formally verified quantum oracles.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019 4:00 pm - 4:00 pm EST (GMT -05:00)

Master's Defence

Impacts of relativity on localizability and vacuum entanglement

Master's Candidate: Maria Papageorgiou 

Much of the structure of quantum field theory (QFT) is predicated on the principle of locality. Adherence to locality is pursuant to convictions deduced from relativity, and is achieved in QFT by the association of regions of spacetime with algebras of observables. Although, by construction, the observables of QFT are local objects, one may also consider characterizing the spatial or spacetime features of a state.

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

The "blood, sweat, tears, toil and triumphs" of commercializing technology

In his own words, Marc Morin is “addicted to the game.”

Morin is the CEO and co-founder at Auvik Networks, pronounced awe-vik, as in awesome. “It’s like having a child who does way better than you and it’s awesome,” Morin explained at the CryptoWorks21 Distinguished Lecture last fall. Elaborating on his evolving role as a CEO in a tech company, he shared lessons learned­—the mistakes he made and the things he got right—during his personal journey as a serial technology entrepreneur. 

Friday, January 25, 2019 11:45 am - 11:45 am EST (GMT -05:00)

RAC1 Journal Club/Seminar Series

Spontaneous Raman emission in cold atoms inside a hollow-core waveguide

Taehyun Yoon, Institute for Quantum Computing

Cold atoms confined inside hollow-core waveguides enable strong-matter interactions, thus offer a unique platform for studies of quantum and non-linear optics. We developed an experimental system that traps cesium atoms in a magneto optical trap (MOT) and loads these atoms into a hollow core photonic crystal fiber using a dipole trap at cesium magic wavelength (935 nm), which removes the AC-Stark shift of the optical transition and suppresses the inhomogeneous broadening.