Explorations in Quantum Computing [Hardcover]

Colin P. Williams (Author), Scott H. Clearwater (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 038794768X | ISBN-13: 978-0387947686 | Publication Date: December 12, 1997 | Edition: 1

By the year 2020, the basic memory components of a computer will be the size of individual atoms. At such scales, the current theory of computation will become invalid. A new field called "quantum computing" is emerging that is reinventing the foundations of computer science and information theory in a way that is consistent with quantum physics - the most accurate model of reality that is currently known. Remarkably, this new theory predicts that quantum computers can perform certain tasks breathtakingly faster than classical computers, and, better yet, can accomplish mind-boggling feats such as teleporting information, breaking supposedly "unbreakable" codes, generating true random numbers, and communicating with messages that betray the presence of eavesdropping. "Explorations in Quantum Computing" explains these burgeoning developments in simple terms, and describes the key technological hurdles that must be overcome in order to make quantum computers a reality. This book draws upon the very latest research and uses executable software simulations to help explain the material and allow the reader to experiment with the ideas behind quantum computers. This is the ideal text for anyone wishing to learn more about the next, perhaps "ultimate," computer revolution.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

By the year 2020, the basic memory components of a computer will be the size of individual atoms. At such scales, the current theory of computation will become invalid. “Quantum computing” is reinventing the foundations of computer science and information theory in a way that is consistent with quantum physics – the most accurate model of reality currently known. Remarkably, this theory predicts that quantum computers can perform certain tasks exponentially faster than classical computers and, better yet, can accomplish “impossible” feats such as teleporting information, breaking supposedly “unbreakable” codes, generating true random numbers, and communicating with messages that betray the presence of eavesdropping. This widely anticipated second edition of Explorations in Quantum Computing explains the field from a fresh perspective, emphasizing lesser known quantum transforms, and practical applications of quantum algorithms and quantum information theory. The required mathematical machinery is developed systematically, and the students’ knowledge tested through several end-of-chapter exercises. This easy-to-read, time-tested, and comprehensive textbook provides a unique perspective on the capabilities of quantum computers, and supplies readers with the tools necessary to make their own foray into this exciting field. Topics and features: Concludes each chapter with exercises and a summary of the material coveredProvides an introduction to the mathematical formalism of quantum computing, and the quantum effects that can be harnessed to achieve unparalleled new capabilitiesDiscusses the concepts of quantum gates, entangling power, quantum circuits, quantum Fourier, wavelet, and cosine transforms, quantum universality, quantum computability, and quantum complexityExamines the potential applications of quantum computers in areas such as search, code-breaking, solving NP-Complete problems, quantum simulation, quantum chemistry, and mathematicsDescribes uses of quantum information, including quantum teleportation, superdense coding, quantum data compression, quantum cloning, quantum negation, and quantum cryptographyReviews the advancements made towards practical quantum computers covering developments in quantum error correction, quantum error avoidance, and alternative models of quantum computationThis text/reference is ideal for anyone wishing to learn more about this incredible, perhaps “ultimate,” computer revolution. Dr. Colin P. Williams is Program Manager for Advanced Computing Paradigms at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, and formerly acting Associate Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University where he taught courses on quantum computing and quantum information theory, and computer-algebra systems. He has spent over a decade working in quantum computing, and inspiring and leading high technology teams. Today his interests include quantum computing, artificial intelligence, cognitive computing, evolutionary computing, computational material design, computer visualization, and computationally-enabled remote olfaction. He was formerly a Research Scientist at Xerox PARC and a Research Assistant to Prof. Stephen W. Hawking at Cambridge University. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (December 12, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038794768X
• ISBN-13: 978-0387947686
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,569,623 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but disappointing, June 26, 2000

By 

Kevin (Columbia, MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Explorations in Quantum Computing (Hardcover)

This book is disappointing, because it could have been so much better.

There are numerous inexcusable typos, e.g. "hbar" (Planck's constant over 2 pi) is invariably represented as "h", ellipsis "..." show up as "K", vectors appear as a letter with an "r" over them - very sloppy editing.

The presentation is uneven. A lot of time is spent introducing the weirdness of quantum mechanics along with its probabalistic nature - all at the elementary level, and then BAM! Here (Ch. 4) is a Feynman-like Hamiltonian that is a term with creation and annihilation operators plus its conjugate complex, and no explanation of it at all! Even if you have had undergraduate QM, this might be a bit much. Further, the concept of direct product spaces is important for quantum computing, but, although it is used, it is not explained. If you haven't seen it before, you will not figure out much of the stuff in Chapter 4 "Simulating a Simple Quantum Computer" which is the heart of this book. A bit more time spent on the essentials that go into the direct product space, and the use of creation and annihilation operators, Hermitian operators, etc., could have made this book so much better.

The Mathematica simulation is really just a movie. Unless you know enough about QM and Mathematica, you have no hope of doing anything with it other than just watching.

On the good side, the simulation does indeed help scratch the surface of what is different about quantum computing. Also a later discussion of Shor's algorithm for cracking an RSA code is excellent.

If you haven't had an undergraduate course in quantum mechanics, and even if you have, you may find that grasping this book is exceedingly difficult. However, if you skip the rough parts or just accept them, and take a look at the simulation, there is something there to be gained.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very good introductory book, June 15, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Explorations in Quantum Computing (Hardcover)

This is a very good introductory book for anybody with some technical or scientific background. It gives an overview of the major developments in the field of quantum computing and communications during the past decade. We find that the text is not intended for scientists working in the field or for physicists doing research in related fields.

Chapter 1 is well written and clearly presented. It describes in a comprehensive way the current trends in computer technology from different points of view. Everybody can immensely profit from reading it. Chapter 2 considers basic notions of computer science in a very understandable way with appropriate examples. Chapter 3 gives some ideas on quantum mechanics. It can be a useful introduction to this subject. Chapter 4 on simulations is very informative with many illustrative examples. Chapter 6 considers classical cryptosystems rather extensively and well. It also gives the basics of Shor's factoring algorithm. Chapter 7 describes the applications of random numbers, mainly in classical computing. Chapters 8 and 9 present quantum cryptography and teleportation respectively. This is a good and informative presentation for nonspecialist. Decoherence and error correction are considered in chapter 10 rather briefly and their description is not very much up to date. Chapter 11 gives a notion of the current experimental realizations of quantum computers and can be very informative for nonspecialists. A more extensive text on quantum algorithms (nature, examples, applications) is maybe also appropriate in the book, as is an explanation of the original ideas of Feynman (and their evolution) regarding the simulation of a quantum system on a quantum computer.

According to us the book is written intelligently and well. It responds to the current need to popularize the explosive developments in this field. The people who would profit the most of it are those who work in different areas of computer science and information technology. It provides a bridge between the ! world of computers and quantum physics with its possible applications.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Popularly written, but shallow and not up to date, March 25, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Explorations in Quantum Computing (Hardcover)

Is this a good book? Yes if you want an informal and readable first introduction to quantum computation; No if you want a book that provides you with rigorous up-to-date descriptions of the main results of quantum computation. In particular on the side of computer science there are some errors and omissions. The presentation of complexity theory is not very good, and Grover's quantum search algorithm is not covered. Better grab a good free introduction from the web (for instance John Preskill's notes at Caltech).