The ABCs of Quantum Computing

What is it about?

Quantum information and quantum computing are quite remarkable, since quantum physics is different from the physics we encounter in everyday life. But quantum concepts are still quite understandable when we use the language of mathematics.

Where are the course materials?

You can access the actual course material from the Document section in the top bar or from here. (The top bar appears when you log in to TIM.) This page contains general instructions on how to complete the course. If you already have a burning desire to learn quantum computing, you can jump to the document and return to the instructions when you feel you need them.

Course enrollment

Jos haluat kurssista suoritusmerkinnän, niin ilmoittaudu kurssille ennen kuin alat tehdä tehtäviä. Vaikka et välittäisi suoritusmerkinnästä, niin ilmoittautumalla kurssille saat koko oppimateriaalin käyttöösi.

Rekisteröityneenä tehtäväsi tallentuvat ja voit palata niihin myöhemmin. Kurssi on pääosaltaan avoin myös ilman rekisteröitymistä, mutta keskustelupalsta ja viimeisen jakson harjoitustehtävät vaativat ilmoittautumisen joko Jyväskylän yliopiston tai avoimen yliopiston kautta. Kurssi on ilmainen avoimen yliopiston kautta suoritettuna.

-> kurssi-ilmoittautuminen Jyväskylän yliopiston opiskelijoille Sisussa, kurssikoodi ITKA0010.

-> kurssi-ilmoittautuminen avoimen yliopiston kautta

Jos et haluat rekisteröityä kurssille, niin on silti suositeltavaa kirjautua TIMiin. Näin saat valtaosan kurssimateriaalista käyttöösi ja tekemäsi tehtävät tallentuvat.

-> Voit kirjautua sisään TIMiin tästä:

Jos sinulla ei vielä ole TIM-tiliä, saat rekisteröityä uuden tilin samasta kohdasta.

Jos haluat vain selailla kurssimateriaalia, niin käyhän sekin. Muista kuitenkin kirjautua TIMiin ja mahdollisesti rekisteröityä kurssille siinä kohtaa, kun tehtävien tekeminen alkaa kiinnostaa.

-> kurssidokumentti

Who is the course intended for?

Part C of the Quantum Computing is suitable for anyone who has completed the previous parts and wants to learn more about quantum information. In addition to the material covered in Parts A and B, familiarity with the basics of complex numbers is expected. If you’ve never even heard of complex numbers, you might want to check out some videos on the topic, which you can find on YouTube. Part C is slightly more challenging than Part B, and the exercises may require some patience. This section of Quantum ABCs is also designed so that you can learn by doing. An essential part of the course is the independent exercises, which progress from easy to more difficult. It’s worth trying to solve the problems on your own—it’s rewarding.

What will you learn on the course?

In previous parts of the Quantum ABCs, you have already become familiar with quantum gates and their corresponding matrices. In Part C, you will learn to understand this connection more deeply. The following applications of quantum information will be covered:

quantum tomography
random sampling
Bell's inequality and its connection to the coordination of cooperative action
quantum teleportation

In addition

The description of quantum states is extended to include, first, all pure states and then all mixed states as well.
The description of quantum measurements first extends to various types of measurements and then also to measurements that use auxiliary systems
Quantum gates are identified as reversible quantum processes, and irreversible processes are also included.

How is the course delivered?

Part C is carried out in the same way as parts A and B. In order to complete the course, you should study all the material in the course and in particular

test all the try-it-yourself boxes
answer all the questions (it is OK if you get them wrong)
complete all the exercises to the end
at the very end, reflect on what you have learned and summarise the main points in a few sentences

Click on Save after your activity whenever there is one in the box. This way your work is recorded. Saving also triggers a check of your answer. If your answer is wrong, then for the tasks, keep trying.

You can only answer a question once, so it's not worth going off on a wild guess. If in doubt, go back to the text and videos or the 'try it yourself' box associated with the question. Of course, it's OK to get it wrong, but then you know you need a refresher. The purpose of the questions is to give you a chance to test that you've understood the point.

You can do the exercises as many times as you need to. The exercises will give you practice on the topics covered in the course. Typically, the insight sought in an assignment requires experimentation. When a gate assignment comes up, fearlessly try all the gates and feeds it allows. As a general rule, you should complete the assignments as they come up. Of course, you can also leave a difficult assignment for later. To pass the course, all assignments must be completed.

You can check your performance at the end of the document, where you will find a list of unanswered questions and unfinished assignments.

Need help with your tasks?

If you need help with course assignments or want clarification on something, the right place to ask questions is the course discussion board. You can access the discussion board from the Discussion section in the top bar.

For most of the tasks, you can already find a hint by clicking on the green Quantum Owl logo below the task. If you get stuck, ask for advice in the discussion board. It is worth checking the previous discussion first, as someone else may have already asked the same question.

Who is responsible?

The teacher in charge of Quantum Algebra is Teiko Heinosaari. For any questions regarding the course, please contact the teacher at kvanttiaakkoset@jyu.fi. Any questions regarding assignments or other course material belong in the discussion board.

The course is also being studied

The course is being developed based on research findings. All course participants are invited to take part in the research, although participation is voluntary. You may decline to participate in the research studies or withdraw from them at any time by contacting the course instructor. Participation or non-participation in the research will not affect your completion of the course, the course requirements, or your evaluation. The research will be conducted in such a way that students’ names are anonymized.

The research findings will be used to write theses and, possibly, research articles. No one participating in the research can be identified from the publications.

How will the document be used?

The course material is one coherent document with text, videos, questions and exercises.

Instructions for watching videos:

Before you start watching the video, read the accompanying text next to or below the video (depending on the device you are using).
Speed allows you to adjust the speed of the video.
Adv allows you to see the forward and backward jumps.
You can turn on the subtitles by clicking on the three dots behind (Chrome) or the CC icon(Firefox).
Hidefile allows you to hide the video view after watching it.

I will not do the course in one sitting. How do I remember where I am?

There are orange bars on the right-hand side of the page. The orange bar indicates a block that you have not yet read. Click on the orange bar to mark it as read. Click on to mark the document blocks up to the previous title level as read. If you don't like the bars, you can disable them completely by clicking on the wheel -> Mark all as read. However, bars are the preferred way to keep track of your progress, so you should at least try using them.

I like to write myself notes in the margin. How can I do that?

Writing a note in the margin is called commenting in TIM. It is worth making commenting an active part of your learning. Here's how to do it:

Click on the block and then on the edit menu . Select Comment/note.
Enter your comment in the Add comment form.
Select whether the comment is visible to everyone(Everyone) or only to you(Just me).
Save the comment by clicking on Save.

Note! Even if you write a comment for everyone, your name will not appear in it. You are welcome to share your thoughts with others.

If you have moved the editing menu to the left of the block, click on the block and the letter C (Comment) will appear on the right, click on the letter C

What is TIM?

The Alphabet of Quantum Computation uses TIM as its platform. TIM (The Interactive Material) is a versatile learning platform that allows the creation of interactive learning materials. TIM is open source software maintained by the Faculty of Information Technology at the University of Jyväskylä. More about TIM can be found here. The essential thing for this course is that this TIM document contains different interactive tasks. In addition, you can modify the view of the document to some extent to your liking. The image in the upper left corner of the book shows the table of contents.