Course information
- Lectures: Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:55-4:10pm, Gates G01
- Instructor: Nick Spooner, office hours Wednesday 4-5pm in Gates 434.
- TAs: (office hours 3-5pm Friday in Ives 215)
- There will no final exam for this course; assessment will be conducted via two in-class prelims, weekly homeworks and a final report.
Overview
This course aims to provide an introduction to quantum computing and quantum information, from a computer science perspective. Topics covered include:
- Qubits, measurement and unitary transformations
- Entanglement and non-locality
- Quantum key distribution
- Quantum circuits
- Basic quantum algorithms, e.g. Simon's algorithm, Grover search, Shor's factoring algorithm
- Quantum computational complexity
- Quantum error-correction and fault tolerance
Resources
Schedule
| Lecture # |
Date |
Title |
Readings |
| 1 |
Jan 21 |
Introduction; superposition |
|
| 2 |
Jan 23 |
Measuring a single qubit |
[W] Sections 2.2, 2.3.1. |
| 3 |
Jan 28 |
Elitzur-Vaidman bomb |
[W] Section 2.6.1, 2.6.2. |
| 4 |
Jan 30 |
Quantum gates |
[W] Section 3.3. |
| 5 |
Feb 4 |
Multi-qubit systems |
[W] Section 4.2. |
| 6 |
Feb 6 |
Entanglement |
[W] Section 4.3. |
| 7 |
Feb 11 |
Non-local games |
[W] Section 6.2. |
| 8 |
Feb 13 |
Quantum teleportation |
[W] Section 6.5. |
|
|
Feb break |
|
|
Feb 20 |
Prelim 1 |
|
Course policies
- Participation: Lecture attendance is an important part of this course. You are expected to attend every meeting of the class and participate in discussions, both in-class and on Ed Discussions. You will receive credit for participation by (1) correctly answering pre-lecture quiz questions on Canvas, and (2) responding to in-class polls. You may miss up to five participation items without penalty.
- Homework: There will be a homework assignment every 1-2 weeks. We strongly prefer that you write your assignments in LaTeX, but handwritten is also fine so long as your writing is legible. Assignments will be submitted on Gradescope. This class is highly mathematical in content, and so it is absolutely essential that you complete the homework. Your lowest homework grade will be dropped.
- Prelim: There will be two in-class prelims, one after February break and one after spring break.
- Report: An important assessment component of this class is the course report, due at the end of the semester. This will be a short (approximately five pages) report on some topic beyond what was covered in class. This could be original research, a literature review, or a report on some advanced topic in the textbook. This must be an individual project. A project proposal will be due mid-semester; more details to follow.
- Grade weighting: The overall grade will be 10% participation, 30% homework, 30% prelim, and 30% report.
- Late homework submissions: Each student gets a total of three slip days for homeworks. After your slip days are used up, late submissions of homework solutions will be graded with a 10% penalty per day of late submission. Submissions will not be graded if they are later than 48 hours after the specified deadline, regardless of slip days.
- Academic integrity: Absolute integrity is expected of every Cornell student in all academic undertakings; he/she must in no way misrepresent his/her work fraudulently or unfairly advance his/her academic status, or be a party to another student's failure to maintain academic integrity. The maintenance of an atmosphere of academic honor and the fulfillment of the provisions of this Code are the responsibilities of the students and faculty of Cornell University. Therefore, all students and faculty members shall refrain from any action that would violate the basic principles of this Code.
- Collaboration and plagiarism: You are free to discuss assignments with your peers, use internet and textbook resources, and seek help on Ed Discussions. However, all submitted work must be your own, and you must acknowledge any resources (beyond the course textbooks) that you used. In the final report, you must include appropriate citations. Any instance of plagiarism may be subject to investigation according to University regulations.
- AI assistants: Course policies do not forbid the use of AI assistants as a resource, provided that (as with any other resource) its use is acknowledged. However, you should be careful: AI tools often produce incorrect or unsubstantiated claims. The correctness of submitted work remains your responsibility, as does appropriate citation. In particular, is never adequate to cite an AI tool as a reference.
- Religious observance: Cornell University is committed to supporting students who practice their religious beliefs. Please discuss religious absences with me well in advance of the religious holiday (preferably early in the semester, but at least two weeks before the observance) so we can arrange and schedule a reasonable alternative. The Office of Spirituality and Meaning-Making (OSMM) maintains a religious accommodation website with valuable information, including a sample email to request accommodation. If you have any questions, you may contact Joel Harter, Associate Dean of Students for Spirituality and Meaning-Making, or the Office of the Dean of Faculty.
- Students with Disabilities: Your access in this course is important to me. Please request your accommodation letter early in the semester, or as soon as you become registered with SDS, so that we have adequate time to arrange your approved academic accommodations. If you experience any access barriers in this course, such as with printed content, graphics, online materials, or any communication barriers; reach out to me or SDS right away. If you need an immediate accommodation, please speak with me after class or send an email message to me and SDS.