Approaching Quantum Computing (Paperback)

~ Dan C. Marinescu (Author), Gabriela M. Marinescu (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book arms to introduce the basics of quantum computing to advanced undergraduates anti beginning graduate students in electrical engineering arid computer science who have practically no background in quantum mechanics, but a fair level of mathematical sophistication. The basic ideas of quantum mechanics are developed in the context of two- and other finite state systems and illustrated by means of well-chosen physical examples. The heart of the book is devoted to a treatment of quantum gates and circuits, and following it, a discussion of quantum algorithms, including Shor's factoring algorithm and Grover's search algorithm. The purpose of the book is to make recent exciting developments in this emerging field accessible to the next generation of computer scientists as well as others without a traditional background in physics, End-of-chapter exercises, historical and biographical footnotes, a detailed glossary and a large number of references also make this a valuable text or reference work." — P.K. Aravind, Physics Department, Worcester Polytechnic Institute

"Quantum computing is a new promising area of research that investigates how the laws of quantum mechanics allow new forms of computation exponentially more efficient than any classical counterpart. This book aims at giving a gentle introduction to the basic concepts and mathematical techniques of this interdisciplinary research area to a readership with no previous background in quantum mechanics." — G. Massimo Palma, University of Milano and INFM

"Since it draws on same deed aspects of physics and mathematics, quantum computing can be a challenging subject to present. The Marinescus have done an admirable job of writing a highly readable and self-contained textbook on this important and fascinating new area of computer science. This is a thorough and very readable introduction to quantum computing. It should be especially useful as the text far an upper-level undergraduate or beginning graduate course aimed at computer science and engineering majors. The Marinescus have managed the difficult task of writing a book an quantum computing that is both technically complete and a pleasure to read. " — John Hayes, University of Michigan

Product Description

With a clear writing style and matter-of-fact approach, this rigorous yet accessible introduction to quantum computing is designed for readers with a solid mathematical background but limited knowledge of physics and quantum mechanics. Using a methodical approach and an abundance of worked examples, this handbook delivers a thorough introduction to the quantum circuit model, including the mathematical formalism required for quantum computing. Concentrates on the quantum circuit model to make complex subject matter more accessible. Provides a phenomenological introduction to quantum computing, encouraging readers to view the subject as a fundamentally new approach to computing. Detailed presentation of quantum algorithms demonstrates the logic behind the development of Deutsch’s problem, quantum Fourier transform, Shor’s factoring algorithm, Simon’s algorithm for phase estimation, and discrete logarithms evaluation problems. For anyone interested in learning more about quantum computing.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall (September 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 013145224X
• ISBN-13: 978-0131452244
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,669,932 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Filled with errors, November 17, 2005

By	Peter W. Shor (Wellesley, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

There are a number of good books about quantum computing around. Unfortunately, because it has a number of errors, and because the explanations are not always clear, this is not one of them. I know somebody who, after reading this book's section on superdense coding and teleportation, ended up more confused than he started out. This is because not only is teleportation presented using a forest of bewildering 8x8 matrices (correct, but only useful if this is explained well), but the words accompanying these matrices are actually wrong. For example in superdense coding Alice is said to send Bob a quantum bit in a state described by a 4-dimensional vector. This vector actually describes the joint state of Alice and Bob's quantum bits, and there is no way to describe Alice's quantum bit alone. This is a very important distinction to make if you want to comprehend the material, and this book does not make it here. We also learn that in teleportation, "The transfer of quantum information appears to happen instantly, though Bob needs to first receive classical information regarding the result of Alice's measurement before validating his own result." I'm not even sure what this sentence is trying to say. What does validating mean in this context?

The definition of uniformity is wrong. The authors do not appear to understand the concepts behind this definition, or if they do, they are incapable of communicating these concepts to the reader.

In the factoring algorithm, the second condition in the definition of order of r modulo N is incorrect. First it has a 1 in the right-hand-side, and the authors meant to put a 0 there. Second, this condition does not belong in the correct mathematical definition of order. And finally, they don't need this condition since they don't seem to use it anywhere. To make matters worse, Figure 5.10, which illustrates the factorization process for 21, shows 1 times 11 being equal to 16.

To be fair to the authors, these errors have now been corrected in the errata, and I haven't looked at earlier chapters of the book, which may be better than the chapters I did look at.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a new topic in cs and math, October 2, 2005

By	Palle E T Jorgensen "Palle Jorgensen" (Iowa City, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)    (VINE VOICE)

In planning a course on quantum computing, an instructor would want to cover the significant highpoints in the subject: Shor's factoring algorithm, Grover's search algorithm, Deutsch's problem, the hidden subgroup problem. I for one found that this book does precisely that. Students will want an accessible and attractive presentation. This book is beautifully presented, nicely organized, and pedagogically presented with motivation, clear explanations, and well chosen exercises.

While the subject has a variety of facets, physics, math, computer science, this book emphasizes the last two. In a highly interdisciplinary subject, each author (or team of authors) must make selections. In selecting what to cover, the authors had the classroom and students in mind.

More precisely the subject here is presented in the form of quantum gates, channels, and circuits. Yet, quantum physics and the foundations are not neglected.

The graphic presentation (figures and diagrams) is done in a way to aid learning, and I expect that this book will be the preferred text in courses in the subject for some time to come.

Advanced undergraduates will be able to follow the logical progression of subjects. Several special features in the book help: Exercises, an extensive and instructive glossary, historical insight, motivation, appendices (including key math topics, e.g., modular arithmetic and Hadamard transforms which perhaps may not be widely known), and circuit diagrams illustrating at the same time matrix factorization and the complexity of circuits.

Contents: 1. History and background, 2. Rudiments of quantum physics as it is needed, 3. Qubits and computer science rewritten in the form of quantum gates, 4. The key quantum algorithms (Shor, Grover, Simon) and the highpoints in the subject, 5. Entanglement, decoherence, error-correcting codes, Bell, dense coding, EPR, reversible computation, thermodynamic entropy, and more.

Highly recommended!

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Errata., November 18, 2005

By	Dan C. Marinescu - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

An errata for the book Approaching Quantum Computing has been available at http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~dcm since February 2004. Please contact the author ([e-mail]) to signal any error you may find.