Events

Join us for Quantum Today, where we sit down with researchers from the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) to talk about their work, its impact and where their research may lead.

Universal efficient compilation: Solovay-Kitaev without inverses

Tudor Giurgica-Tiron, Stanford University

The Solovay-Kitaev algorithm is a fundamental result in quantum computation. It gives an algorithm for efficiently compiling arbitrary unitaries using universal gate sets: any unitary can be approximated by short gates sequences, whose length scales merely poly-logarithmically with accuracy. As a consequence, the choice of gate set is typically unimportant in quantum computing. However, the Solovay-Kitaev algorithm requires the gate set to be inverse-closed.

From quantum circuit complexity to quantum information thermodynamics

Philippe Faist, Freie Universität Berlin

Quantifying quantum states' complexity is a key problem in various subfields of science, from quantum computing to black-hole physics. My talk will focus on two approaches to understand the behavior and the operational significance of quantum complexity in a many-body physical quantum system. First, I'll consider a simple model on n quantum bits: We create a random quantum circuit by randomly sampling the gates that compose it.

In celebration of World Quantum Day, join IQC's Senior Manager of Scientific Outreach, John Donohue, for some fun light experiments with Exploring By The Seat Of Your Pants.

Interactive Proofs for Synthesizing Quantum States and Unitaries

Gregory Rosenthal, University of Toronto

Whereas quantum complexity theory has traditionally been concerned with problems arising from classical complexity theory (such as computing boolean functions), it also makes sense to study the complexity of inherently quantum operations such as constructing quantum states or performing unitary transformations.

The theory of quantum information: Channels, Capacities, and all that

Graeme Stewart Baird Smith, University of Colorado, Boulder

 Information theory offers mathematically precise theory of communication and data storage that guided and fueled the information age.  Initially, quantum effects were thought to be an annoying source of noise, but we have since learned that they offer new capabilities and vast opportunities. Quantum information theory seeks to identify, quantify, and ultimately harness these capabilities.

Tensor Methods for Quantum Systems and Beyond

Edgar Solomonik, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Tensors are an effective numerical representation for both computation with and analysis of multidimensional datasets and operators. In this talk, we review and motivate how tensor rank, decompositions, and eigenvalues can be used for computational simulation and for hardness measures, such as bilinear complexity and quantum entanglement. We then survey algorithms for computing low-rank decompositions of tensors.

LDPC Quantum Codes: Recent Developments, Challenges and Opportunities

Nikolas Breuckmann, University College London

Quantum error correction is an indispensable ingredient for scalable quantum computing. We discuss a particular class of quantum codes called "quantum low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes." The codes we discuss are alternatives to the surface code, which is currently the leading candidate to implement quantum fault tolerance. We discuss the zoo of quantum LDPC codes and discuss their potential for making quantum computers robust with regard to noise.

Topological quantum codes and quantum computation

Aleksander Kubica, AWS Center for Quantum Computing & California Institute of Technology

Quantum computers are one of the central pillars of quantum information science. However, designing them is a daunting task that will require the implementation of fault-tolerant protocols and quantum error-correcting codes. In this talk, I will present a realistic and resource-efficient approach to building scalable quantum computers based on topological quantum codes.

Phil Kaye, Program Director, Applied Quantum Computing Challenge program, National Research Council Canada

Event update: This event will be offered virtually. 

The National Research Council of Canada is developing a new challenge program for Applied Quantum Computing. Phil Kaye, Program Director, will provide an overview of the program and share more information about how to get involved.