(Course description last updated for academic year 2016-17).
Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course.  It is a set of new concepts that people who have taken the IB quantum mechanics course could easily step into.  You should expect your understanding of quantum mechanics to be challenged. 

Synopsis

Introduction: The postulates of quantum mechanics - the Copenhagen Interpretation. Quantum entanglement. Density matrices.

Measurement 1: What constitutes a measurement? Schrödinger’s cat and Wigner’s friend. The Einstein-Podolsky -Rosen paradox.

Some alternative interpretations of quantum mechanics: Many worlds. Bohm’s guiding waves. Transaction interpretation. Histories. Quantum-state diffusion.

Hidden variables theories: Bell’s theorem; experimental tests.

Quantum Entanglement: Bipartite systems: Schmidt decomposition, reduced density matrix, entanglement measures. Tripartite systems.

Measurement 2: Positive Operator Value Measure (POVM); Weak measurements.

Decoherence: Decoherence time.

Quantum cryptography: The BB84 protocol. The no-cloning theorem. Eavesdropping strategies. Privacy amplification. Other protocols. Experimental realisations.

Quantum teleportation: Theoretical strategy and experimental realisations.

Quantum computing: Qubits. Logical operations. Algorithms for quantum computers: factorisation, database searches. Error correction. Possible systems for implementing quantum computing: ion traps; nuclear magnetic resonance; semiconductor quantum dots.

BOOKS

An easy to understand introduction to the subject can be found in the March 1998 edition of Physics World and articles on quantum information often appear in the news media.

The following books provide detailed coverage of parts of the course:

Quantum Computation & Quantum Information, Nielson MA & Chuang IL (CUP 2000)

The Physics of Quantum Information, Bouwmeester R, Ekart A, Zeilinger A (Spring 2000)

Introduction to Quantum Computation and Information, H.-K. Lo, S. Popescu and T. Spiller (World Scientific 1998). Note that this book may not be routinely stocked in bookshops and may have to be ordered.

Quantum Mechanics, Rae A I M (3rd edn IOP 1992).

The Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Onnes R (Princeton 1994).

Quantum Theory: Concepts and Methods, A. Peres (Kluwer 1993).

There are some very good resources on the World Wide Web such as at:

http://www.theory.caltech.edu/~preskill/ph229 - Lecture notes and examples for a course on Quantum Information taught by John Preskill at Caltech. Note however that this treatment is much more mathematical than the present course.

http://www.qubit.org - The Quantum Information Research Group in Oxford.

http://www.cam.qubit.org - The Quantum Information Research Group in Cambridge.

Course section:

Other Information

Staff
Prof Crispin BarnesLecturer