Introduction to Quantum Information and Computation ( CS312.9 - Spring Semester 2023)

This is a core course, introducing quantum information and quantum computation to computer science undergraduate and dual degree students. I will be taking the Quantum Computing half of the course. The Quantum Information half will be offered by Siddhartha Das. The topics covered in the Quantum Computing part include an introduction to qubits and quantum mechanics, quantum circuits, various quantum algorithmic primitives such as Quantum Fourier Transform and Quantum phase estimation, quantum algorithms such as Shor's factoring algorithm, Grover's search algorithm.  

Prerequisites: 

Familiarity with introductory Linear Algebra, probability theory, discrete math, algorithms and elementary quantum mechanics (desirable but not mandatory). 

Course Format: 

The lectures will be in-person. I will be using the blackboard. 

Schedule: 

• Lectures twice a week - Tuesday and Friday, 08:30 hrs - 10:00 hrs.

Teaching Associate

• Soumyabrata Hazra (soumyabrata.hazra@research.iiit.ac.in)

• Dhanuja GS (dhanuja.g@research.iiit.ac.in)

Evaluation:

There will be one assignment (15% weightage) and one Final Exam (20% weightage). Additionally, students have to scribe the lecture notes (15% weightage). The other 50% weight is for Quantum Information half of the course. 

References

There is no required textbook for this course. Good introductory material: 

• • MA Nielsen and IL Chuang, Introduction to Quantum Information and Computation, Cambridge University Press (2010)

  • P. Kaye, R. Laflamme and M. Mosca, An Introduction to Quantum Computing, Oxford University Press (2007)

These two books contain almost most of the topics to be covered.

The following lecture notes are also recommended reading material:

• Lecture notes on Quantum Computation by John Preskill (Caltech)

• Lecture notes on Quantum Algorithms by Andrew Childs (U. Maryland)

• Lectures notes on Quantum Computation by Ronald de Wolf (CWI)

These lecture notes are updated periodically and cover some of the more recent topics on the subject.

A great self-learning material for beginners is “Why now is the right time to study quantum computing”, by Aram Harrow.