Quantum entanglement through the lens of computation and cryptography
Henry Yuen, University of California at Berkeley
Quantum entanglement was once a philosophical peculiarity in physics — Einstein famously derided it as spooky action at a distance. Alongside wave/particle duality and the uncertainty principle, entanglement was just another bizarre feature of quantum mechanics. However, the study of quantum computation and quantum information has established entanglement as central to the story that connects quantum physics, computer science, and information theory. Today, we view this spooky action as a powerful information-theoretic resource that allows us to perform computational and cryptographic tasks that are not possible in the classical world. In this talk, I will discuss my work on understanding the uses and limits of quantum entanglement in a number of settings, including randomness certification protocols, multiprover interactive proofs, and message authentication schemes. Along the way, I will describe how ideas from theoretical computer science and cryptography have become indispensable tools for thinking about entanglement.