Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists [Hardcover]

Noson S. Yanofsky (Author), Mirco A. Mannucci (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0521879965 | ISBN-13: 978-0521879965 | Publication Date: August 11, 2008 | Edition: 1

The multidisciplinary field of quantum computing strives to exploit some of the uncanny aspects of quantum mechanics to expand our computational horizons. Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists takes readers on a tour of this fascinating area of cutting-edge research. Written in an accessible yet rigorous fashion, this book employs ideas and techniques familiar to every student of computer science. The reader is not expected to have any advanced mathematics or physics background. After presenting the necessary prerequisites, the material is organized to look at different aspects of quantum computing from the specific standpoint of computer science. There are chapters on computer architecture, algorithms, programming languages, theoretical computer science, cryptography, information theory, and hardware. The text has step-by-step examples, more than two hundred exercises with solutions, and programming drills that bring the ideas of quantum computing alive for today's computer science students and researchers.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book has the potential to fill a void that needs to be filled: to bring the excitement of quantum computing to undergraduate computing majors, especially those with modest math backgrounds."
Stephen Fenner, Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of South Carolina

"This is an exceptionally well written and accessible textbook on quantum computing. While there are a few outstanding graduate textbooks on the topic, this one has the unique feature of being accessible to typical CS undergraduates.... The authors have written this with great pedagogical skill. Readers will feel that they are having a conversation with the authors which makes it a great book for self-study."
Prakash Panangaden, Professor, School of Computer Science, McGill University

"This book gently eases computer scientists into the hybrid world of continuous qubits and discrete measurements from the ground up, covering all the essential mathematical prerequisites before diving into everything quantum: from algorithms and programming languages to protocols and hardware."
Vaughan Pratt, Professor, Department of Computer Science, Stanford University

"There are now a fairly large number of texts on quantum computing. This one differs from all those I have seen in that it is explicitly written for undergraduates with a very limited knowledge of physics or math, but some minimal training in classical computing. As such the book is extremely user friendly and has many exercises to explain the material, some in the form of programs the student can write to explore many sides of a given problem, almost like playing computer games. More complicated topics are illustrated by examples, rather than complicated formal proofs. There is a good list of references for further reading on individual topics, and suggested topics for projects. The book is clearly geared to the student of limited background who wants to learn about quantum computing without waiting to become an expert in classical computing. For this audience the book has no peers and is highly recommended."
Dan Greenberger, Professor of Physics, The City College of New York and Managing Editor, International Journal of Quantum Information

"The field of quantum computing strives to exploit some of the uncanny aspects of quantum mechanics for computing. This book... stresses the computer science aspect of quantum computing."
Book News

"... a very good addition to the list. This work has many attractive features. Definitely, a very fine book.
R. Bharath, Northern Michigan University for Choice Magazine

"In a word, this is a well-structured text which deserves careful from consideration from instructors not only engaged with computer science teaching but also those in physics and electronic engineering."
K. Alan Shore, Contemporary Physics

"this is a book that I can recommend to anyone with a basic knowledge of linear algebra. Not only will it make a very nice textbook for undergraduate computer scientists and mathematicians; it is also the kind of book one can give to a bright student to read on her own."
S.C. Coutinho, SIGACT News

"Happily, I found that I could fight my way through much more of the maths than I'd expected, largely because of the clarity of the style and the exemplary use of language. Presentation: Clear, elegant and comprehensive - with every effort made to make it comprehensible too. Would you recommend it? Yes."
John Gilbey, Times Higher Education

Book Description

Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists takes readers on a tour of the multidisciplinary field of quantum com, more than two hundred exercises with solutions, and programming drills.puting. Written in an accessible yet rigorous fashion, this book employs ideas and techniques familiar to every student of computer science. The text has step-by-step examples

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1 edition (August 11, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521879965
• ISBN-13: 978-0521879965
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #532,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #81 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Algorithms > Cryptography

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is amazing introductory book!, October 17, 2008

By 

Jun Won Lee "p3man2" (Provo, UT USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists (Hardcover)

I am studying quantum computing by myself.
Before this book, I studied this field with other school's class website.
Even though the slide and on-line documents I obtained is great, it was hard to understand by just reading!

This book is totally different from other books. It focued on people who are weak to mathematics and have little knowledge of quantum computing.
Even some chapters are still hard (because of the nature of this field), most chapters are so well written that you can read lying on the couch and feel like you read some kind of story.

Since I have been in the technical field for a while,(I am a CS PhD student studying Data Mining and Machine Learning), this book is one of very rarely well written books containing sufficient depth but keeping simplicity.

For anyone who wish to start to study Quantum Computing WITHOUT much pain, this is THE book.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent introduction to Quantum Computing, February 18, 2009

By 

Karl (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists (Hardcover)

Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists is a great introduction to this new field. (I have a computer degree and work in computers.) I like learning about new hot technologies and what they're all about. I picked this book up on a whim and really loved it.

First, it is a relatively easy read. One does not need to know any physics or higher math. I never studied linear algebra in college (but I saw a lot of it working with graphics) this book does not assume it. I remember high school physics and I did not need more than that to read this book. Everything is clearly laid out and explained. (But remember, it is definitely NOT a popular book. It is a technical book with problems and lots of equations. It does however explain very carefully where the technical details come from.)

Throughout the text there are lots of examples that explain things. This is not a theoretical book. There are also a lot of little programming assignments that one can do (if you have the time and are in the mood) to get a feel for how this is done. This book is definitely made for a computer person. I looked at a few other books on this subject before and could not make any headway. This book flows.

Along the way you learn basic quantum mechanics and some of the fun and strange things about that subject that everyone is always talking about. The book shows that the concepts are not very hard.

Almost every chapter is has a title that refers to some part of computer science. Each chapter has a little review of the some of the main aspects in classical computer science, and then moves on to the quantum computing version. I think the most enjoyable chapter is chapter 3 "The Leap from Classical to Quantum". This starts off talking about little marbles moving around on a graph and ends up talking about quantum mechanics and the double-slit experiment. Another cool chapter is 5 "Architecture". It shows how all classical gates can be seen as matrices acting on arrays and then shows that quantum gates can also been seen looked at in the same way. (I thought Chapter 7 "Programming Languages" is a little hard to follow.) Chapter 10 "Information Theory" also gets rough after the first few pages. All in all though, the chapters are great. There are also several great appendices that have more info including a history of quantum computing looking at the papers that shaped the field.

I've recommended this book to a few of my friends/coworkers. One already bought it and another looks like he will (unless he keeps mine.) I can not recommend this book in a strong enough language to anyone who knows (and works with) computers and really wants to get a feel for what we suspect the next hot topic is. It will go down as a classic in clarity and readability.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Viewpoint of a self-guided explorer of quantum computing, April 5, 2011

By 

Arnab Chakraborty (Stanford, California United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Quantum Computing for Computer Scientists (Hardcover)

Good points about the book:

1) The authors focus on the "what"'s and "how"'s rather than
the "why"'s. They do not waste time with nitty gritty details
of quantum physics. The book is true to it title, and delves
directly into the practical details of quantum computing. In
this respect this book is a welcome exception among a plethora
of similarly titled book that end up bombarding the readers
with alpha particles and magical photons, and leave the quantum
computing topics only vaguely explained. Just as classical computing
is not about understanding semiconductors, quantum computing is
not about chasing photons. This book makes this very clear.

2) The book moves at a very leisurely pace with LOTS of
embedded examples and exercises. Though I skipped most of the
exercises during my firsr reading, these helped me to
consolidate my understanding during subsequent readings. This book
is ideal for self-guided study.

3) The book goes beyond being a mere nice textbook. It also acts
like a tour operator into the wonderful world of quantum
computing with material suitable for audience ranging from
"casually curious" to potential researchers. A list of possible
student projects, and a guide to the quantum computing on the net
are two very useful sections. I have never seen a single book
providing such a broad yet practically useful view about a
subject. Of course, one cannot expect to learn "everything"
about a subject from a single book, but still this book goes a
long way toward that goal. It gives you some knowledge, and
then it helps you to understand how that piece of
knowledge fits in the vast world of quantum computing.

4) The level of details is chosen mainly for readers with
not-too-well-brushed-up math background. Basic familiarity with
complex matrices, along with definitions of eigen values and
eigen vectors is all the math prerequsite.
All formulas are supported by extensive numerical examples.

Not so good points:

1) The index needs to be expanded. It lacks important entries
like Hadamard, Pauli (there are special matrices by these names),
and if you want to quickly look up the exact definitions of
these matrices, it is somewhat hard to navigate yourself
to the relevant pages. However, after you get acquainted with
the layout of the book it is only a minor problem.

2) Such a book needs to have a simulator to go with it, so that the
reader gets a hands-on feel for the subject. The book does have
a pretty detailed discussion about a free Matlab-based
simulator, but unfortunately the simulator is apparently no
more on the web.

3) As the math level of the exposition is deliberately kept
low, certain important ideas have been only glossed over. The
authors have done a commendable job choosing which details to
omit. But I think there is one important concept that is used
but never explained. The book introduces quantum measurements
as Hermitian matrices (much like any other book). To keep the
exposition at an elementary level only Hermitian matrices with simple eigen
values are discussed. The case of repeated eigen values (which
is not a trivial generalization of the "simple" case) is never
mentioned. But in almost all the actual quantum algorithms
discussed later in the book, the measurement matrices have
repeated eigen values. It would help beginners like me
to have an explanation of the special case of a diagonal measurement
matrix (the type that has been used most often).
This could actually be done without ever talking about
eigen values and eigen vectors. This is the only point where I
had to rely on external resources (mainly wikipedia) to
supplement the book.

Despite the minor shortcomings, the book is one of the BEST books
I have ever seen on ANY subject!!