This series consists of talks in the area of Quantum Information Theory.
Quantum key distribution (QKD) is an application of quantum theory as its security relies on quantum foundations, at the same time there is development in the information-theoretic point of view to quantum theory. The security is related to impossible quantum performance, for instance, neither perfect quantum cloning nor perfect quantum state discrimination are possible.
We find analytic models that can perfectly transfer, without state initialization or remote collaboration, arbitrary functions in two- and three-dimensional interacting bosonic and fermionic networks. This provides for the possible experimental implementation of state transfer through bosonic or fermionic atoms trapped in optical lattices. A significant finding is that the state of a spin qubit can be perfectly transferred through a fermionic system. Families of Hamiltonians are described that are related to the linear models and that enable the perfect transfer of arbitrary functions.
Topological order is a new kind of collective order which appears in two-dimensional quantum systems such as the fractional quantum Hall effect and brings about rather unusual particles: unlike bosons or fermions these anyons obey exotic statistics and can be exploited to perform quantum computation. Topological order also implies that quantum states at low energies exhibit a very subtle, yet intricate inner structure.
The counter-intuitive phenomena in quantum mechanics are often based on the counter-factual (or virtual) processes. The famous example is the Hardy paradox, which has been recently solved in two independent experiments. Also, the delayed choice experiment and one of quantum descriptions of the closed time like curves can be also examples of the counter-intuitive phenomena. The counter-factual processes can be characterized by the weak value initiated by Yakir Aharonov and his colleagues.
In this talk I present recent work on combining game theory, statistics, and control theory. This combination provides new techniques for predicting / controlling any system comprising humans, human groups (e.g., firms, tribes), and / or adaptive automated systems (e.g., reinforcement learning robots). As illustrations, I will focus on three projects: 1) Suppressing flutter in an airplane wing by controlling a set of autonomous micro-flaps at its trailing edge.
In this talk (based on arXiv:1001.0354) we give a quantum statistical interpretation for the Kauffmann bracket polynomial state sum <K> for the Jones polynomial. We use this quantum mechanical interpretation to give a new quantum algorithm for computing the Jones polynomial. This algorithm is useful for its conceptual simplicity, and it applies to all values of the polynomial variable that lie on the unit circle in the complex plane.
Multipartite quantum states constitute a (if not the) key resource for quantum computations and protocols. However obtaining a generic, structural understanding of entanglement in N-qubit systems is still largely an open problem. Here we show that multipartite quantum entanglement admits a compositional structure. The two SLOCC-classes of genuinely entangled 3-qubit states, the GHZ-class and the W-class, exactly correspond with the two kinds of commutative Frobenius algebras on C^2, namely `special' ones and `anti-special' ones.
The original motivation to build a quantum computer came from Feynman who envisaged a machine capable of simulating generic quantum mechanical systems, a task that is intractable for classical computers. Such a machine would have tremendous applications in all physical sciences, including condensed matter physics, chemistry, and high energy physics. Part of Feynman's challenge was met by Lloyd who showed how to approximately decompose the time-evolution operator of interacting quantum particles into a short sequence of elementary gates, suitable for operation on a quantum computer.
In quantum information, entanglement has often been viewed as a resource. But in this talk, I will look at (pure bipartite) entanglement through the lens of superselection rules. The idea is that it requires quantum communication not only to create entanglement, but also to destroy it in a way that doesn't leak information to the environment. As a result, when communication is scarce, superpositions of different numbers of EPR pairs can be difficult to obtain.
I'll discuss some work-in-progress about the computational complexity of simulating the extremely "simple" quantum systems that arise in linear optics experiments. I'll show that *either* one can describe an experiment, vastly easier than building a universal quantum computer, that would test whether Nature is performing nontrivial quantum computation, or else one can give surprising new algorithms for approximating the permanent. Audience feedback as to which of these possibilities is the right one is sought. Joint work with Alex Arkhipov.