CO 481 / CS 467 / PHYS 467: Introduction to Quantum Information Processing, W2025
Instructor: Debbie Leung
Email: wcleung(at)uwaterloo(dot)ca
Email for the course: TBA
This is a 400-level course which requires some background material in multiple subjects (quantum mechanics, theory of computation, circuits and algorithm, matrix analysis, linear algebra, proofs, probability, and combinatorics).
Some materials covered in PMATH343 by Professor William Slofstra or the equivalent can be very helpful and relevant for CO481/CS467/PHYS467, but all necessary background beyond the official prerequisites will be provided. The expectation within CO481/CS467/PHYS467 is that, students missing some of the background are welcomed to enroll, and we will provide a quick summary to the background in the theory of computation and quantum mechanics, with the understanding that students new to any of the subjects can catch up with additional effort and with help from the instructor and TAs. Clarification questions in the mathematical derivations and/or physical intuitions are encouraged in lectures.
While the course only requires a small amount of knowledge from a diverse list of subjects, the course material has difficulty commensurate with a 400-level course in both the mathematics faculty and the science faculty. Furthermore, the course material is simultaneously that of a 400-level mathematics course AND a 400-level physics course, and is highly interdisciplinary. Therefore, students may find themselves in the need of additional background and/or effort compared to other 400-level courses within their programs.
Last but not least, students will be treated to some of the most counterintuitive, amazing and beautiful ideas in computation, cryptography, and deep understanding of quantum mechanics found in the last 3 decades.
The final grade of the course will be calculated according to the formula 50% for 5 assignments, 18% quiz, 32% final exam, without curving nor redistribution of marks.
Assignments are due Mondays 8:30am on Crowdmark without extensions to individual students (due dates may change for the entire class). Instead of a Friday 4:30pm due date, a full weekend is given as a pre-emptive and only extension. Students should start the assignment early as we cover the materials. Since each assignment carries 10% of the course total, students should allocate sufficient amount and start early, and seek help from the instructor or TAs promptly.
The quiz, held Feb 13 with grading expected to finish before the end of reading week, is compulsory, and students must score 35% or above to pass the course. The quiz is set up to help students assess their standing in the course well in advance of drop day. In additional, no INC will be given for a student who misses or fails the quiz.
STUDENTS WHOSE GRADUATION PLANS CAN BE AFFECTED BY DROPPING THE COURSE MUST DECIDE BY ADD DAY (JANUARY 17) IF THE COURSE IS SUITABLE. This is before the first assignment is due, so a take home test will be given (unweighted towards the course total) and due Jan 13 Mon 8:30am and graded before noon Jan 16 (to be confirmed with the TAs). Any doubt should be discussed with the instructor as early as possible.
For all of the above notes, copyright 2025 Debbie Leung openly licensed via CC by 4.0.
The syllabus and the lecture notes have pointers to related sections in NC. Very comprehensive.
The syllabus and the lecture notes have pointers to related sections in KLM. Available on reserve in UW library as an ebook, this textbook provides more details for building the background in the linear algebra needed, and has more on the query complexity model.
The syllabus and the lecture notes have pointers to related sections. Available on reserve in UW library as an ebook, this textbook was written with amazing clarity and intuitions.
CO481/CS467/PHYS467 and QIC 710 are closely related course, so, the notes and video could be great references. e.g., Part 2 chapter 1 for QIC 710 overlaps with our topic02, Part 1 and Part 3 chapters 9-10 are related to our topic03 and topic04, Part 2 chapter 2 onwards is related to our topic05, topic06, topic07, Part 3 chapters 1-5 are related to our topic08, Part 3 chapters 6-7 are related to our topic09.
Expository articles on pillars of the field, written by some of our founders, with historical perspectives! We will use the chapter on cryptology.
Advanced level treatment of many important subjects in theoretical quantum information science accumulated over the years. This open access resource has been evolving from the oldest text (online and physical) available on the subject since 1997!