Centre for Quantum Computation
Encyclopedia
The Centre for Quantum Computation or CQC is an alliance of quantum information
research groups at the University of Oxford
. It was founded by Artur Ekert
in 1998.
Until recently, the CQC also included research groups at the University of Cambridge
, but now the Cambridge groups operate as an independent entity called the Cambridge Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations (CQIF).
and other forms of quantum information processing, into the implications of the quantum theory
of information for physics
itself, and into foundational and conceptual questions in quantum theory
and quantum information theory.
, but it has now grown to span several departments at the University of Oxford:
attended a party in Texas given by the famous American physicist John Wheeler
who had invited a number of scientists interested in the foundations of computing. It was at this party that Deutsch gained the crucial insight that would lead to an entirely new branch of physics. At the time, computer scientists were turning to Newtonian physics to try to resolve certain fundamental puzzles in the field. But during a conversation at Wheeler’s party, Deutsch realised that this was the wrong approach. Physics is fundamentally governed by quantum theory, and Deutsch could see immediately that using quantum theory instead of Newtonian physics would give a different result. As a consequence of this insight, Deutsch published the paper in 1985 that is now generally regarded as a classic in the field. The paper describes how a computer might run using quantum mechanics and why such a computer is fundamentally different to ordinary computers.
In 1987, Artur Ekert arrived at Oxford to work on a PhD at the Department of Physics, where he met Deutsch. Whilst working at Oxford, Ekert developed a theory of cryptography based on quantum entanglement. A chance meeting on the ski slopes of the Alps with John Rarity
, a scientist at DERA
(the UK’s military research organisation), led to a collaboration in which Ekert’s scheme was tested experimentally in the early 90's. After finishing his phd, Ekert gained a junior research fellowship from Merton
and took on his first PhD student. With Deutsch, this created a small team that within a year had acquired the title of the Quantum Computation and Cryptography Group.
A breakthrough in 1994 by Peter Shor
, a researcher at the labs of the American telecommunications giant AT&T
, boosted the entire field of quantum information. Shor showed that Deutch’s quantum computer could actually solve an important problem that an ordinary computer would find impossible. For the first time, it became clear that quantum computers were far from unimportant curiosities. After Shor’s announcement, quantum information became increasingly popular with Oxford. In 1995, Andrew Steane
began an experimental effort to study how quantum computers might be built from ionised atoms trapped by laser beams. In 1996, Jonathan Jones
started a group working on a quantum computer based on the same techniques used in magnetic resonance imaging in medicine. And two years later, Dirk Bouwmeester
arrived from Geneva
to begin an experimental group working out how the quantum world could also revolutionise communication. The group changed its name to the Centre from Quantum Computation.
, and the centre was renamed the Cambridge Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations (CQIF), reflecting the broad range of its research activities.
The Cambridge CQIF is based at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), within the Centre for Mathematical Sciences.
The Cambridge CQC's permanent faculty were Artur Ekert, Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics at Cambridge from 2002 to 2007, and Adrian Kent, currently Reader in Quantum Physics at Cambridge. The Cambridge CQIF's permanent faculty are Richard Jozsa, Leigh Trapnell Professor from 2010, and Adrian Kent.
Quantum information
In quantum mechanics, quantum information is physical information that is held in the "state" of a quantum system. The most popular unit of quantum information is the qubit, a two-level quantum system...
research groups at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
. It was founded by Artur Ekert
Artur Ekert
Artur Ekert is a Professor of Quantum Physics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, and a Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore and also the Director of CQT...
in 1998.
Until recently, the CQC also included research groups at the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
, but now the Cambridge groups operate as an independent entity called the Cambridge Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations (CQIF).
Research
The CQC conducts theoretical and experimental research into quantum computing, quantum cryptographyQuantum cryptography
Quantum key distribution uses quantum mechanics to guarantee secure communication. It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages...
and other forms of quantum information processing, into the implications of the quantum theory
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
of information for physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
itself, and into foundational and conceptual questions in quantum theory
Quantum mechanics
Quantum mechanics, also known as quantum physics or quantum theory, is a branch of physics providing a mathematical description of much of the dual particle-like and wave-like behavior and interactions of energy and matter. It departs from classical mechanics primarily at the atomic and subatomic...
and quantum information theory.
Groups
Initially the CQC was based at the Clarendon LaboratoryClarendon Laboratory
The Clarendon Laboratory, located on Parks Road with the Science Area in Oxford, England , is part of the Physics Department at Oxford University...
, but it has now grown to span several departments at the University of Oxford:
Physics
- Atom-photon physics, group led by Dr. Axel Kuhn.
- Ion trappingIon trapAn ion trap is a combination of electric or magnetic fields that captures ions in a region of a vacuum system or tube. Ion traps have a number of scientific uses such as mass spectrometery and trapping ions while the ion's quantum state is manipulated...
, group led by Prof. Andrew SteaneAndrew SteaneAndrew Martin Steane is Professor of physics at the University of Oxford. He is also a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.He was a student at St Edmund Hall, Oxford where he obtained his MA and DPhil....
and Dr. David Lucas. - Nuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonanceNuclear magnetic resonance is a physical phenomenon in which magnetic nuclei in a magnetic field absorb and re-emit electromagnetic radiation...
, group led by Dr. Jonathan JonesJonathan A. JonesJonathan A. Jones is a university lecturer in atomic and laser physics at Oxford University, and a fellow and tutor in physics at Brasenose College, Oxford...
. - Quantum spin dynamics, group led by Dr. Arzhang Ardavan and Dr. John Morton (group spans physics and materials).
- Quantum theoryQuantum theoryQuantum theory may mean:In science:*Quantum mechanics: a subset of quantum physics explaining the physical behaviours at atomic and sub-atomic levels*Old quantum theory under the Bohr model...
, group led by Dr. Dieter Jaksch. - Ultracold quantum matter, group led by Prof. Christopher Foot.
- Ultrafast quantum opticsQuantum opticsQuantum optics is a field of research in physics, dealing with the application of quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter.- History of quantum optics :...
, group led by Prof. Ian Walmsley.
Materials
- Photonic nanomaterial, group led by Dr. Jason Smith.
- Quantum and nanotechnology theory, group led by Dr. Simon Benjamin.
- Quantum spin dynamics, group led by Dr. John Morton and Dr. Arzhang Ardavan (group spans physics and materials).
Origins
The Centre has its origins in the early 80's when the computer industry began to worry about the limits of computing. In 1981, Oxford physicist David DeutschDavid Deutsch
David Elieser Deutsch, FRS is an Israeli-British physicist at the University of Oxford. He is a non-stipendiary Visiting Professor in the Department of Atomic and Laser Physics at the Centre for Quantum Computation in the Clarendon Laboratory of the University of Oxford...
attended a party in Texas given by the famous American physicist John Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler
John Archibald Wheeler was an American theoretical physicist who was largely responsible for reviving interest in general relativity in the United States after World War II. Wheeler also worked with Niels Bohr in explaining the basic principles behind nuclear fission...
who had invited a number of scientists interested in the foundations of computing. It was at this party that Deutsch gained the crucial insight that would lead to an entirely new branch of physics. At the time, computer scientists were turning to Newtonian physics to try to resolve certain fundamental puzzles in the field. But during a conversation at Wheeler’s party, Deutsch realised that this was the wrong approach. Physics is fundamentally governed by quantum theory, and Deutsch could see immediately that using quantum theory instead of Newtonian physics would give a different result. As a consequence of this insight, Deutsch published the paper in 1985 that is now generally regarded as a classic in the field. The paper describes how a computer might run using quantum mechanics and why such a computer is fundamentally different to ordinary computers.
In 1987, Artur Ekert arrived at Oxford to work on a PhD at the Department of Physics, where he met Deutsch. Whilst working at Oxford, Ekert developed a theory of cryptography based on quantum entanglement. A chance meeting on the ski slopes of the Alps with John Rarity
John Rarity
John G. Rarity is professor of optical communication systems in the department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at the University of Bristol, a post he has held since 1 January 2003. He is an international expert on quantum optics, quantum cryptography and quantum communication using single...
, a scientist at DERA
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence until July 2, 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation...
(the UK’s military research organisation), led to a collaboration in which Ekert’s scheme was tested experimentally in the early 90's. After finishing his phd, Ekert gained a junior research fellowship from Merton
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
and took on his first PhD student. With Deutsch, this created a small team that within a year had acquired the title of the Quantum Computation and Cryptography Group.
A breakthrough in 1994 by Peter Shor
Peter Shor
Peter Williston Shor is an American professor of applied mathematics at MIT, most famous for his work on quantum computation, in particular for devising Shor's algorithm, a quantum algorithm for factoring exponentially faster than the best currently-known algorithm running on a classical...
, a researcher at the labs of the American telecommunications giant AT&T
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications corporation headquartered in Whitacre Tower, Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the largest provider of mobile telephony and fixed telephony in the United States, and is also a provider of broadband and subscription television services...
, boosted the entire field of quantum information. Shor showed that Deutch’s quantum computer could actually solve an important problem that an ordinary computer would find impossible. For the first time, it became clear that quantum computers were far from unimportant curiosities. After Shor’s announcement, quantum information became increasingly popular with Oxford. In 1995, Andrew Steane
Andrew Steane
Andrew Martin Steane is Professor of physics at the University of Oxford. He is also a fellow of Exeter College, Oxford.He was a student at St Edmund Hall, Oxford where he obtained his MA and DPhil....
began an experimental effort to study how quantum computers might be built from ionised atoms trapped by laser beams. In 1996, Jonathan Jones
Jonathan A. Jones
Jonathan A. Jones is a university lecturer in atomic and laser physics at Oxford University, and a fellow and tutor in physics at Brasenose College, Oxford...
started a group working on a quantum computer based on the same techniques used in magnetic resonance imaging in medicine. And two years later, Dirk Bouwmeester
Dirk Bouwmeester
Dirk Bouwmeester is a Dutch experimental physicist specializing in quantum optics and quantum information. He currently holds a faculty position at the University of California at Santa Barbara and a part-time position at Leiden University in the Netherlands.While he was a post-doctoral...
arrived from Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
to begin an experimental group working out how the quantum world could also revolutionise communication. The group changed its name to the Centre from Quantum Computation.
Cambridge
When Artur Ekert moved to Cambridge to become the first Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics in 2002, the Cambridge Centre for Quantum Computation was created. It continued under this name until 2010, when the existing research group was joined by Richard JozsaRichard Jozsa
Richard Jozsa is the holder of the Leigh Trapnell Chair in Quantum Physics at the University of Cambridge. His research area is quantum information science; a pioneer of this field, he is the co-author of the Deutsch-Jozsa quantum algorithm and one of the co-inventors of quantum teleportation...
, and the centre was renamed the Cambridge Centre for Quantum Information and Foundations (CQIF), reflecting the broad range of its research activities.
The Cambridge CQIF is based at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP), within the Centre for Mathematical Sciences.
The Cambridge CQC's permanent faculty were Artur Ekert, Leigh Trapnell Professor of Quantum Physics at Cambridge from 2002 to 2007, and Adrian Kent, currently Reader in Quantum Physics at Cambridge. The Cambridge CQIF's permanent faculty are Richard Jozsa, Leigh Trapnell Professor from 2010, and Adrian Kent.
See also
- Quantum informationQuantum informationIn quantum mechanics, quantum information is physical information that is held in the "state" of a quantum system. The most popular unit of quantum information is the qubit, a two-level quantum system...
- Artur EkertArtur EkertArtur Ekert is a Professor of Quantum Physics at the Mathematical Institute, University of Oxford, and a Lee Kong Chian Centennial Professor at the National University of Singapore and also the Director of CQT...
- Richard JozsaRichard JozsaRichard Jozsa is the holder of the Leigh Trapnell Chair in Quantum Physics at the University of Cambridge. His research area is quantum information science; a pioneer of this field, he is the co-author of the Deutsch-Jozsa quantum algorithm and one of the co-inventors of quantum teleportation...
- University of OxfordUniversity of OxfordThe University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
- University of CambridgeUniversity of CambridgeThe University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...