Alex May

I am interested broadly in quantum information and quantum gravity.

Quantum information theory provides a rich set of tools that are broadly applicable in many quantum mechanical settings. A well developed example of this occurs in the context of the AdS/CFT correspondence, which relates a conformal field theory in d dimensions to a gravitating theory in d+1 dimensions. In this context, quantum information theory provides the language to understand how gravitational physics is recorded into the non-gravitating CFT. Conversely, AdS/CFT provides a powerful, geometric description of quantum information theory. In some cases this geometric picture can give novel insights into quantum information. I typically work within this QI-QG landscape, but have interests in quantum information theory that are unrelated to the quantum gravity setting as well.

A key subject within quantum information theory that I study is known as non-local quantum computation (NLQC). In the AdS/CFT context, NLQC is an important ingredient in how interactions in d+1 dimensions can emerge from the lower dimensional theory, and reveals an essential role for entanglement in that emergence. NLQC is also interesting in the context of quantum cryptography, where it is related to the cryptographic goals of position-verification. We also recently related NLQC to a broad set of subjects in information theoretic cryptography, and we continue to explore the implications of this connection for cryptography and quantum gravity.