INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM

COMPUTING

Presented By : PANKAJ SHARMA

Outline

What is a quantum computer Quantum interference Experimental verification of quantum interference The Potential and Power of Quantum Computing Applications of quantum computing Pitfall of quantum computing Future outlook

What is a Quantum Computer

Main task of a computer is : To manipulate and interpret an encoding of binary bits into a useful computational result.

Classical computers
Quantum computers

Fundamental unit of information is a bit which is either 0 or 1

Fundamental unit of information called a quantum bit or qubit. A qubit can exist not only in a state corresponding to the logical state 0 or 1 as in a classical bit, but also in states corresponding to a blend or superposition of these classical states

Quantum Interference

A quantum computer is a device that harnesses physical phenomenon unique to quantum mechanics (especially quantum interference) to realize a fundamentally new mode of information processing.

consider an experiment.
Detector Photon Source Half silvered mirror
A

Fig a

Detector

Photon

Here a light source emits a photon and a half-silvered mirror splits the light, reflecting half vertically toward detector A and transmitting half toward detector B.

50%

50%

A photon, however, is a single quantized packet of light and cannot be split, so it is detected with equal probability at either A or B.

modified version of experiment

Detector A

Half silvered mirror Photon Source Full mirror

Detector B

Half silvered mirror

Full mirror

100%

Detector A

Detector B

unexpected result

However, experiment shows that in reality this arrangement causes detector A to register 100% of the time, and never at detector B!

How can this be?

QUANTUM INTERFERENCE

Conclusion

The only conclusion is that the photon somehow traveled both paths simultaneously, creating an interference at the point of intersection that destroyed the possibility of the signal reaching B. This is known as quantum interference and results from the superposition of the possible photon states.

either of the paths are blocked

Detector B begins registering hits again just as in the first experiment!

The Potential and Power of Quantum Computing

Main power of quantum computers lies in quantum parallelism.

Consider a 3-bit register. Any classical register of that type can store in a given moment of time only one out of eight possible configurations such as 000, 001, 010, ... 111. A quantum register composed of three qubits can store in a given moment of time all eight numbers in a quantum superposition

If we keep adding qubits to the register we increase its storage capacity exponentially i.e. three qubits can store 8 different numbers at once, four qubits can store 16 different numbers at once, and so on; in general L qubits can store 2L numbers at once. In only one computational step perform the same mathematical operation on 2L different input numbers encoded in coherent superposition of L qubits. In order to accomplish the same task any classical computer has to repeat the same computation 2L times or one has to use 2L different processors working in parallel

Applications of quantum computing...

Shors algorithm Grovers algorithm Simulation of quantum mechanical systems True Randomness Secure communication mechanisms

Shors algorithm
Used to quickly factorize large numbers. Consider factorization of 15 It involves 3 stages: Stage 1 Place a memory register A into a coherent superposition of all its possible states. Here a four bit register is required (capable of representing the numbers 0 to 15 simultaneously in the coherent state).

Stage 2
The second stage of the algorithm performs a calculation using the register. The number N is the number we wish to factorize, N = 15 A random number X is chosen, where 1 < X < N-1 X is raised to the power contained in the register (register A) and then divided by N The remainder from this operation is placed in a second 4 bit register (register B).

If we choose X to be 2 then contents of register B follows a repeating sequence (1,2,4,8,1,2,4,8...), so the repetition frequency f = 4.
Stage 3 f can be found using a quantum computer. This is done by performing a complex operation on register B. The value for f is then used in the following equation to calculate a (possible) factor.

Here P = 24/2 1 = 3 The fact that the answer cannot be guaranteed to be correct is of little consequence as it can be easily checked with multiplication. If the answer is incorrect, there is a very strong chance that repeating the calculation a few times with different values of X will produce the right answer.

Applications of quantum computing...

Shors algorithm Grovers algorithm Simulation of quantum mechanical systems True Randomness Secure communication mechanisms

Grovers algorithm
Used to search an unsorted database faster than a conventional computer ... Normally it would take N/2 number of searches to find a specific entry in a database with N entries. Grover's algorithm makes it possible to perform the same search in root N searches. It is theoretically possibly to use this algorithm to crack the Data Encryption Standard (DES), a standard which is used to protect, amongst other things, financial transactions between banks.

Data Encryption Standard (DES)

The standard relies on a 56-bit number that is used as a key to encrypt/decrypt data. If an encrypted document and its source can be obtained, then to find the 56-bit key. A conventional mean would require 255 searches. (take more than a year even if one billion keys were tried every second) Grover's algorithm would require only 185 searches. Adding an extra digits to the key, would increase the number of searches exponentially in classical computers. However, the effect on the speed of the quantum algorithm is negligible.

Applications of quantum computing...

Shors algorithm Grovers algorithm Simulation of quantum mechanical systems True Randomness Secure communication mechanisms

Simulation of quantum mechanical systems

In 1982, Feynman conjectured that quantum computers would be able to simulate quantum mechanical systems with a much greater degree of accuracy than is possible with classical computers. It is speculated that a quantum computer with a few tens of quantum bits could perform simulations that would take an unfeasible amount of time on a classical computer.

On classical computers, the dynamics of a quantum system can be simulated using approximations. A quantum computer however, can be "programmed" to simulate the behaviour of a system by inducing interactions between its variables. A quantum computer would, for example, allow the "Hubbard Model" (which describes the movement of electrons within a crystal) to be simulated, a task that is beyond the scope of current conventional computers.

Applications of quantum computing...

Shors algorithm Grovers algorithm Simulation of quantum mechanical systems True Randomness Secure communication mechanisms

True Randomness

Classical computers do not have the ability to generate true random numbers. Those are pseudo-random generatorsthere is always a cycle or a trend. These generators cannot simulate natural random processes accurately for some applications. Quantum computers can generate true randomness. Randomness plays a significant part of applications with a heavy reliance on statistical approaches, for simulations, for code making, randomized algorithms for problems solving, and for stock market predictions.

Applications of quantum computing...

Shors algorithm Grovers algorithm Simulation of quantum mechanical systems True Randomness Secure communication mechanisms

Secure communication mechanisms

In order to receive the correct information, photons have to be measured using the correct filter polarisation e.g. the same polarisation that the information was transmitted with Say there is a sender named Alice who wishes to transmit information to Bob without an eavesdropper Eve listening. If Eve tries to measure the bits coming from Alice and then forward them to Bob (she can't simply look at the information as doing so will alter it's content). She must use random polarisations to do this, as she does not know which ones Alice used. The chances are that Eve will correctly receive 50% of the information, the other 50% will consist of random values. The fact that approximately half of the random values will be correct means that Eve can at best forward 75% of the correct information to Bob.

Pitfall of quantum computing - Decoherence

Decoherence is the interactions between the environment and qubits and induce the breakdown of information stored in the quantum computer, and thus errors in computation Probably the most important idea in this field is the application of error correction in phase coherence as a means to extract information and reduce error in a quantum system without actually measuring that system.

Future Outlook
At present, quantum computers and quantum information technology remains in its pioneering stage. Error correction has made promising progress to date. Thereby, quantum computers will emerge as the superior computational devices at the very least, and perhaps one day make today's modern computer obsolete.