Quantum information science is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the analysis, processing, and transmission of information using

quantum mechanics Quantum mechanics is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles. It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, ...

principles. It combines the study of

Information science Information science (also known as information studies) is an academic field which is primarily concerned with analysis, collection, Categorization, classification, manipulation, storage, information retrieval, retrieval, movement, dissemin ...

with quantum effects in physics. It includes theoretical issues in computational models and more experimental topics in quantum physics, including what can and cannot be done with

quantum information Quantum information is the information of the state of a quantum system. It is the basic entity of study in quantum information theory, and can be manipulated using quantum information processing techniques. Quantum information refers to both th ...

. The term quantum information theory is also used, but it fails to encompass experimental research, and can be confused with a subfield of quantum information science that addresses the processing of quantum information.

Scientific and engineering studies

To understand quantum teleportation,

quantum entanglement Quantum entanglement is the phenomenon that occurs when a group of particles are generated, interact, or share spatial proximity in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the group cannot be described independently of the state of ...

and the manufacturing of

quantum computer Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

hardware requires a thorough understanding of quantum physics and engineering. Since 2010s, there has been remarkable progress in manufacturing

s, with companies like

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

and IBM investing heavily in

hardware research. Today, it is possible to build a quantum computer with more than 100

qubit In quantum computing, a qubit () or quantum bit is a basic unit of quantum information—the quantum version of the classic binary bit physically realized with a two-state device. A qubit is a two-state (or two-level) quantum-mechanical system, ...

s. However, the error rate is very large due to the lack of material suitable for the manufacture of quantum computers. Majorana fermions may be one of the key materials lacking. Devices for

quantum cryptography Quantum cryptography is the science of exploiting quantum mechanical properties to perform cryptographic tasks. The best known example of quantum cryptography is quantum key distribution which offers an information-theoretically secure solution ...

have already been commercialized. There is an old cipher called a

one time pad In cryptography, the one-time pad (OTP) is an encryption technique that cannot be cracked, but requires the use of a single-use pre-shared key that is not smaller than the message being sent. In this technique, a plaintext is paired with a rand ...

widely used among spies in the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

era. It uses a long sequence of random keys. If two people exchanged the same random keys safely, it is possible to decrypt a one time pad only by accident. However, key exchanging problems can be solved by using quantum entangled particle pairs in the exchange. Quantum mechanical laws such as the

no-cloning theorem In physics, the no-cloning theorem states that it is impossible to create an independent and identical copy of an arbitrary unknown quantum state, a statement which has profound implications in the field of quantum computing among others. The theore ...

and

wave function collapse In quantum mechanics, wave function collapse occurs when a wave function—initially in a quantum superposition, superposition of several eigenstates—reduces to a single eigenstate due to interaction with the external world. This interaction is ...

provide the basis for secure exchange of random keys. Therefore the manufacturing of devices that can transport quantum entangled particles is an important scientific and engineering goal.

Programming languages A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

for quantum computers are also needed. Qiskit, Cirq and

Q Sharp Q# (pronounced as ''Q sharp'') is a domain-specific programming language used for expressing quantum algorithms. It was initially released to the public by Microsoft as part of the Quantum Development Kit. History Historically, Microsoft Resear ...

are popular quantum programming languages.

Related mathematical subjects

Quantum algorithm In quantum computing, a quantum algorithm is an algorithm which runs on a realistic model of quantum computation, the most commonly used model being the quantum circuit model of computation. A classical (or non-quantum) algorithm is a finite sequ ...

and

quantum complexity theory Quantum complexity theory is the subfield of computational complexity theory that deals with complexity classes defined using quantum computers, a computational model based on quantum mechanics. It studies the hardness of computational problems i ...

are two of the subjects in

algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algorithms are used as specificat ...

s and

computational complexity theory In theoretical computer science and mathematics, computational complexity theory focuses on classifying computational problems according to their resource usage, and relating these classes to each other. A computational problem is a task solved by ...

. In 1994, mathematician

Peter Shor Peter Williston Shor (born August 14, 1959) is an American professor of applied mathematics at MIT. He is known for his work on quantum computation, in particular for devising Shor's algorithm, a quantum algorithm for factoring exponentially fa ...

published his prime factorization algorithm. If one has a 4,000 logical qubits quantum computer, one can threaten most widely used ciphers such as RSA and ECC by using

Shor's algorithm Shor's algorithm is a quantum algorithm, quantum computer algorithm for finding the prime factors of an integer. It was developed in 1994 by the American mathematician Peter Shor. On a quantum computer, to factor an integer N , Shor's algorithm ...

. It can result in serious security problems for many countries. Therefore, his paper triggered a lot of investment in

quantum computing Quantum computing is a type of computation whose operations can harness the phenomena of quantum mechanics, such as superposition, interference, and entanglement. Devices that perform quantum computations are known as quantum computers. Though ...

research. Many mathematicians and cryptologists are preparing to enter the

era. See

post quantum cryptography In cryptography, post-quantum cryptography (sometimes referred to as quantum-proof, quantum-safe or quantum-resistant) refers to cryptographic algorithms (usually public-key algorithms) that are thought to be secure against a cryptanalytic attack ...

References

External links

Quantiki
– quantum information science portal and wiki.
ERA-Pilot QIST WP1
European roadmap on Quantum Information Processing and Communication
QIIC
– Quantum Information, Imperial College London.
QIP
– Quantum Information Group, University of Leeds. The quantum information group at the University of Leeds is engaged in researching a wide spectrum of aspects of quantum information. This ranges from algorithms, quantum computation, to physical implementations of information processing and fundamental issues in quantum mechanics. Also contains some basic tutorials for the lay audience.
mathQI
Research Group on Mathematics and Quantum Information.
CQIST
Center for Quantum Information Science & Technology at the University of Southern California
CQuIC
Center for Quantum Information and Control, including theoretical and experimental groups from University of New Mexico, University of Arizona.
CQT
Centre for Quantum Technologies at the National University of Singapore
CQC2T
Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology
QST@LSU
Quantum Science and Technologies Group at Louisiana State University {{Authority control

Scientific and engineering studies

Related mathematical subjects

See also

References

External links