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This text, for the first time, introduces quantum theory from the perspective of both the physical foundations and practical applications - from quantum computers to secure communication. It requires minimal mathematics and virtually no prior knowledge of physics, and is accessible to beginning undergraduates and students of related disciplines.
List of contents
- 1. Introduction
- 1.1: Some Experimental Evidence
- 1.2: Logic
- 1.3: Probability
- Chapter Summary
- Exercises
- 2. Reasoning About Measurements
- 2.1: Testable Propositions
- 2.2: Reachable States
- 2.3: Maximal Knowledge
- 2.4: The Operations AND and OR
- 2.5: Composition
- 2.6: Exchangeable Assemblies
- 2.7: Measuring a State
- 2.8: Preparing a State
- Chapter Summary
- Further Reading
- Exercises
- 3. Probability in Hilbert Space
- 3.1: Linear Algebra in a Nutshell
- 3.2: Propositions and States
- 3.3: Two-Level System
- 3.4: Observables and Transformations
- 3.5: Composite Systems
- 3.6: The Issue of Reality
- 3.7: Classical Limit
- Chapter Summary
- Further Reading
- Exercises
- 4. Computation
- 4.1: Gates and Circuits
- 4.2: Universality
- 4.3: Measurement-Based Computation
- 4.4: Deutsch-Jozsa Algorithm
- 4.5: Ground States and Classical Optimization
- 4.6: Simulation
- 4.7: High-Precision Measurement
- Chapter Summary
- Further Reading
- Exercises
- 5. Communication
- 5.1: Classical Information
- 5.2: Quantum Information
- 5.3: Cryptography
- 5.4: Superdense Coding and Teleportation
- Chapter Summary
- Further Reading
- Exercises
- References
- Index
About the author
Jochen Rau received degrees in physics and mathematics from Goethe University Frankfurt, University of Cambridge, and Duke University, and did postdoctoral research at Max Planck Institutes in Heidelberg and Dresden, at the European Centre for Theoretical Studies in Nuclear Physics and Related Areas, as well as at the Technical University of Darmstadt. He has taught theoretical physics at Goethe University Frankfurt and Ulm University, and is currently professor of mathematics at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences.
Summary
This text, for the first time, introduces quantum theory from the perspective of both the physical foundations and practical applications - from quantum computers to secure communication. It requires minimal mathematics and virtually no prior knowledge of physics, and is accessible to beginning undergraduates and students of related disciplines.
