Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

By : Robert S. Sutor
5 (1)
Book Image

Dancing with Qubits

5 (1)
By: Robert S. Sutor

Overview of this book

Quantum computing is making us change the way we think about computers. Quantum bits, a.k.a. qubits, can make it possible to solve problems that would otherwise be intractable with current computing technology. Dancing with Qubits is a quantum computing textbook that starts with an overview of why quantum computing is so different from classical computing and describes several industry use cases where it can have a major impact. From there it moves on to a fuller description of classical computing and the mathematical underpinnings necessary to understand such concepts as superposition, entanglement, and interference. Next up is circuits and algorithms, both basic and more sophisticated. It then nicely moves on to provide a survey of the physics and engineering ideas behind how quantum computing hardware is built. Finally, the book looks to the future and gives you guidance on understanding how further developments will affect you. Really understanding quantum computing requires a lot of math, and this book doesn't shy away from the necessary math concepts you'll need. Each topic is introduced and explained thoroughly, in clear English with helpful examples.
Table of Contents (16 chapters)
Preface
13
Afterword

10
From Circuits to Algorithms

I am among those who think that science has great beauty.

Marie Curie

In the last chapter we became comfortable with putting together gates to create circuits for simple algorithms. We’re now ready to look at more advanced quantum algorithms and considerations on how and when to use them.

Our target in this chapter is Peter Shor’s 1995 algorithm for factoring large integers almost exponentially faster than classical methods. To get there we need more tools, such as phase estimation, the Quantum Fourier Transform, and function period finding. These are important techniques in their own rights, but are necessary in combination for quantum factoring.

We also return to the idea of complexity that we first saw for classical algorithms in section 2.8

This chapter contains more mathematics and equations for quantum computing than we have encountered previously. I recommend that...