Syllabus#

Course Information#

  • Instructor(s): Michael McNeil Forbes m.forbes+555@wsu.edu

  • Course Assistants:

  • Office: Webster 947F

  • Office Hours: TBD

  • Course Homepage: https://schedules.wsu.edu/List/Pullman/20223/Phys/555/01

  • Class Number: 555

  • Title: Phys 555: Quantum Technologies and Computing

  • Credits: 3

  • Recommended Preparation:

  • Meeting Time and Location: MW, 3:10pm - 4:30pm, Spark 235, Washington State University (WSU), Pullman, WA

  • Grading: Grade based on assignments and project presentation.

Prerequisites#

This course is intended for a broad audience. As such, the only formal background assumed is a strong background in linear algebra as described in Linear Algebra.

Familiarity with quantum mechanics, classical information theory, and the foundations of computer science may be useful, but are not required. The course will focus on finite-dimensional systems where a deep understanding of complex vector spaces and matrices will suffice.

Textbooks and Resources#

Required#

Nielsen and Chuang: “Quantum Computation and Quantum Information” (2010)

This is the principle textbook for the course by two of the founders of the field. It provides a reasonably accessible, but very thorough review of the field, replete with references and history. It may be a bit dense on first reading, but lays out a complete self-contained foundation. It is available through the WSU Library electronically through ProQuest (requires WSU sign-in).

Quantum Country by Andy Matuschak and Michael Nielsen

A unique presentation of some of the key concepts in quantum computing and quantum mechanics by one of the authors of the principle textbook. This is required reading for the course. It is not a traditional textbook, nor is it a complete presentation of the material, but presents key concepts using a new mnemonic medium to help you remember the core concepts. We use this mnemonic medium in our notes and encourage you to explore further using tools like Anki to make notes for yourself (but see Augmenting Long-term Memory – there is an art to making good notes).

Additional Resources#

Preskill: “Quantum Computation”

Online notes from John Preskill. These provide more theoretical foundation that complements [Nielsen and Chuang, 2010].

Additional readings and references will be provided as needed. Please see Resources, Readings, and References for details. Details and further resources will also be included on the lecture pages on the Canvas server.

Student Learning Outcomes#

Physics 455/555: By the end of this course, all students will:

  1. Know the postulates of quantum mechanics and their consequences.

  2. Be able to analyze quantum circuits.

  3. Be familiar with the fundamental quantum algorithms.

  4. Be familiar with current technologies being explored for realizing quantum computing.

  5. Be able to use a quantum simulation or computing platform to implement quantum algorithms.

  6. Be aware of the potential advantages offered by quantum technologies, but cognizant of the physical challenges and limitations.

Physics 555: Graduate students will additionally:

  1. Be able to review the literature about a specific topic relevant to the course that is under active investigate, and present a critical summary of this topic to the class considering the previous outcomes.

Expectations for Student Effort#

For each hour of lecture equivalent, all students should expect to have a minimum of two hours of work outside class. All students are expected to keep up with the readings assigned in class, asking questions through the Perusall/Hypothes.is forums, complete homework on time, and prepare their projects/presentations.

Assessment and Grading Policy#

Assessment and Grading Policy

Physics 455/555: Students will be assessed with 5 weekly assignments to ensure that the content-based learning outcomes 1 through 4 are realized. The first four assignments will be due at the start of week following that when the material is presented. The fifth assignment will have students complete exercises using a platform like Qiskit (learning outcome 5). These assignments will be worth 70% of the final grade (15% each for assignments 1-4, 10% for assignment 5). Late assignments will not be accepted unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor. The course will have no examinations.

Physics 455: Undergraduates will be required to complete a quantum computation project, worth the remaining 30% of the student’s grade, using one of the available quantum simulation or computing platforms, and to report on this, discussing any limitations imposed by real hardware, errors, decoherence, etc. (Learning outcomes 5 and 6). Projects are due at the start of the final week of class. Late submissions will not be accepted unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor.

Physics 555: Graduate students must make a presentation, worth the remaining 30% of the student’s grades, about an active research topic relevant to the course, subject to instructor approval, and must demonstrate a review of the appropriate literature relevant to this topic. (Learning outcome 7). These presentations will be made in weeks 5-16 of the course, interspersed with related discussions and background material. Presentations might take the form of a lecture or in-class presentation, or could consist of a set of notes in the style of the course documentation. Both must include references.

The final grade will be converted to a letter grade using the following scale:

Percentage P

Grade

90.0% ≤ P

A

85.0% ≤ P < 90.0%

A-

80.0% ≤ P < 85.0%

B+

75.0% ≤ P < 80.0%

B

70.0% ≤ P < 75.0%

B-

65.0% ≤ P < 70.0%

C+

60.0% ≤ P < 65.0%

C

55.0% ≤ P < 60.0%

C-

50.0% ≤ P < 55.0%

D+

40.0% ≤ P < 50.0%

D

P < 40.0%

F

Attendance and Make-up Policy#

While there is no strict attendance policy, students are expected attend an participate in classroom activities and discussion. Students who miss class are expected to cover the missed material on their own, e.g. by borrowing their classmates notes, reviewing recorded lectures (if available), etc.

Course Timeline#

Linear Algebra

  • Eigenvectors and Eigenvalues

  • Hermitian

Quantum Mechanics:

  • Postulates.

  • Spin ½, Pauli matrices, Rotations.

  • EPR pairs.

  • Measurement

    • POV Measurements

    • von Neumann measurements (pointer states)

  • Entanglement Measures

  • Bell’s Inequalities

Quantum Computing Theory

  • No Cloning

  • Universal gates.

  • Communication

    • Alice, Bob, and Eve

    • Superdense coding

    • Teleportation

Quantum Circuits and Algorithms

  • Grover, Deutsch, Schor

  • Adiabatic quantum computing

  • Quantum annealing

Additional topics and presentations

The remaining classes will contain a mix of lectures, guest lectures, and graduate student presentations about topics of interest to the class. Exact content will be tailored to the interests of the current class and may include the following (which provides a partial list of potential topics for graduate student presentations):

  • Classical programming models and complexity

  • Quantum programming: Basic gates, and programming models (universal computing)

  • Quantum Algorithms

  • Ion Trapping

  • Quantum Error Correction: Ancillary qubits

  • Quantum Complexity: What can be done with quantum computers that cannot be done with classical computers (presumably and provably)

  • Communication: Encryption protocols

  • Quantum Optics: Experimental quantum communication

  • Neutral atoms in lattices and optical tweezers

  • Atom interferometry

  • Entanglement purification/Producing ground states

  • Superconducting qubits

  • NV centers

  • MRI quantum computing

  • Quantum Simulation

Thanksgiving Break – No Classes

Quantum Computing and Presentations

Physics 455: Undergraduate students will run their computing projects on a quantum simulation or computing platform.

Physics 555: Remaining students will deliver their presentations to the class.

Physics 555 Presentation Topics#

  • Presentations should be 30-40 minutes to leave time for discussion.

  • Please create a folder for your topic in “Notes and Discussions”, and upload any slides, notes, or other relevant material for your topic.

  • Please create a Notes document in your folder with the following:

    • Introduction: Please provide a summary of the topic.

    • References: Include any helpful references.

    • Questions: Please curate questions and discussions in this section. Use this section to ask any questions you have while working on your material, and then to help answer classmate questions. This should be a dynamic section where all members of the course participate.

Other Information#

Policy for the Use of Large Language Models (LLMs) or Generative AI in Physics Courses#

The use of LLMs or Generative AI such as Chat-GPT is becoming prevalent, both in education and in industry. As such, we believe that it is important for students to recognize the capabilities and inherent limitations of these tools, and use them appropriately.

To this end, please submit 4 examples of your own devising:

  • Two of which demonstrate the phenomena of “hallucination” – Attempt to use the tool to learn something you know to be true, and catch it making plausible sounding falsehoods.

  • Two of which demonstrate something useful (often the end of a process of debugging and correcting the AI).

Note: one can find plenty of examples online of both cases. Use these to better understand the capabilities and limitations of the AIs, but for your submission, please find your own example using things you know to be true. If you are in multiple courses, you may submit the same four examples for each class, but are encouraged to tailor your examples to the course.

Being able to independently establish the veracity of information returned by a search, an AI, or indeed any publication, is a critical skill for a scientist. If you are the type of employee who can use tools like ChatGPT to write prose, code etc., but not accurately validate the results, then you are exactly the type of employee that AI will be able to replace.

Any use of Generative AI or similar tools for submitted work must include:

  1. A complete description of the tool. (E.g. “ChatGPT Version 3.5 via CoCalc’s interface” or Chat-GPT 4 through Bing AI using the Edge browser”, etc.)

  2. A complete record of the queries issued and response provided. (This should be provided as an attachment, appendices, or supplement.)

  3. An attribution statement consistent with the following: “The author generated this <text/code/etc.> in part with <GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model/etc.> as documented in appendix <1>. Upon generating the draft response, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the response to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content.”

Academic Integrity#

You are responsible for reading WSU’s Academic Integrity Policy, which is based on Washington State law. If you cheat in your work in this class you will:

  • Fail the course.

  • Be reported to the Center for Community Standards.

  • Have the right to appeal the instructor’s decision.

  • Not be able to drop the course or withdraw from the course until the appeals process is finished.

If you have any questions about what you can and cannot do in this course, ask your instructor.

If you want to ask for a change in the instructor’s decision about academic integrity, use the form at the Center for Community Standards website. You must submit this request within 21 calendar days of the decision.

University Syllabus#

Students are responsible for reading and understanding all university-wide policies and resources pertaining to all courses (for instance: accommodations, care resources, policies on discrimination or harassment), which can be found in the university syllabus.

Students with Disabilities#

Reasonable accommodations are available for students with a documented disability. If you have a disability and need accommodations to fully participate in this class, please either visit or call the Access Center at (Washington Building 217, Phone: 509-335-3417, E-mail: mailto:Access.Center@wsu.edu, URL: https://accesscenter.wsu.edu) to schedule an appointment with an Access Advisor. All accommodations MUST be approved through the Access Center. For more information contact a Disability Specialist on your home campus.

Campus Safety#

Classroom and campus safety are of paramount importance at Washington State University, and are the shared responsibility of the entire campus population. WSU urges students to follow the “Alert, Assess, Act,” protocol for all types of emergencies and the “Run, Hide, Fight” response for an active shooter incident. Remain ALERT (through direct observation or emergency notification), ASSESS your specific situation, and ACT in the most appropriate way to assure your own safety (and the safety of others if you are able).

Please sign up for emergency alerts on your account at MyWSU. For more information on this subject, campus safety, and related topics, please view the FBI’s Run, Hide, Fight video and visit the WSU safety portal.

Students in Crisis - Pullman Resources#

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, DIAL 911 FIRST!

  • Student Care Network: https://studentcare.wsu.edu/

  • Cougar Transit: 978 267-7233

  • WSU Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS): 509 335-2159

  • Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800 273-8255

  • Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741

  • WSU Police: 509 335-8548

  • Pullman Police (Non-Emergency): 509 332-2521

  • WSU Office of Civil Rights Compliance & Investigation: 509 335-8288

  • Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse: 877 334-2887

  • Pullman 24-Hour Crisis Line: 509 334-1133