Entry requirements

120 credits within science/engineering. Quantum Physics or Quantum Physics F. Computer Programming I or Introduction to Scientific Computing. Linear Algebra II.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• Explain the physics fundamental to quantum computers and classical computers.
• Apply physical and technological principles to discuss differences between classical and quantum computers.
• Compare problem classes and differentiate between problems suitabile for quantum computing versus those that perform equally well on classical computer architectures.
• Describe the basic building blocks of quantum processing units (QPU). 
• Classify  quantum programming languages and describe their roles in quantum algorithm development. 
• Implement quantum algorithms using a quantum programming language. 
• Simulate of quantum systems and describe the execution of programs on real quantum hardware. 

Content

• Physics and technology for quantum computing: quantum mechanics principles; classical vs quantum computing; qubits, quantum gates, and quantum circuits.
• Technological and physics limits of classical and quantum computers: classical and non-classical Turing-machines 
• Introduction to quantum programming languages: an overview of well-known quantum programming languages, basic concepts for programming QPU such as describing qubits, quantum states, and quantum operations, and setting up the programming environment. 
• Writing quantum algorithms: basic quantum algorithms, e.g., quantum teleportation, superdense coding, Shor's algorithm and quantum cryptography, quantum circuit design using Qiskit. 
• QPU primitives and applications: essential quantum algorithms, including amplitude amplification, the Quantum Fourier Transform, and phase estimation; real-world applications, including quantum search techniques.
• Simulating quantum systems: quantum simulation techniques; hands-on experience with quantum simulators and error correction.
• Running programs on quantum Hardware: introduction to quantum hardware providers, e.g., IBM Quantum, Rigetti, IonQ, Google Quantum AI; how quantum programs run on actual quantum hardware. 

Instruction

Lectures, lessons, seminar, laboratory exercises.

Assessment

Programming assignments. Written exam. Oral and written project presentations.

Other regulations

1FA023 and 1FA019 cannot be included in the same degree. 1FA019 is a more advanced course that includes the content in 1FA023.