Quantum Algorithms and Quantum State Identification

Andrew Childs
California Institute of TechnologyHost: Todd Brun, tbrun@usc.eduABSTRACT:
Quantum mechanical computers would be much faster than ordinary classical computers at solving certain problems, such as factoring integers. However, the full extent of the computational power of quantum mechanics is not well understood. In this talk, I will describe recently developed quantum algorithms that outperform classical computation. These algorithms are based on efficient procedures for identifying quantum states. A simple example of a problem that can be solved in this way is the abelian hidden subgroup problem (HSP), the core problem solved by the factoring algorithm. I will explain how entangled measurements can be used to extend this approach to certain nonabelian HSPs. I will also describe how a similar approach can be applied to a new generalization of the abelian HSP, namely a problem of finding hidden nonlinear structures.BIOGRAPHY:
I received a B.S. in physics in 2000 from Caltech, and a Ph.D. in physics in 2004 from MIT, where I was a Hertz Foundation Fellow. Currently, I am a Lee A. DuBridge Postdoctoral Scholar at the Caltech Institute for Quantum Information. My primary research interest is the theory of quantum information processing, and I am especially interested in quantum algorithms that dramatically outperform classical computation.

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - 248

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Alma Hernandez