What quantum resource does a device use, and what quantum limit does it run into? A 6-ECTS course on the three pillars of quantum technology, namely computation, communication and sensing, with weekly labs on IBM quantum processors.
Lecturers: Pedro Ribeiro (weeks 1–4), Giuseppe De Tomasi (weeks 5–7)
Teaching assistants: Rafael Carreira, Polina Kofman
Resource: a 2^n-dimensional state space, interference, entanglement. Limit: decoherence and gate errors; error-correction overhead.
Resource: no-cloning, measurement disturbance, entanglement. Limit: loss without amplification, noise.
Resource: phase coherence of superpositions, entanglement, squeezing. Limit: projection noise (the standard quantum limit), decoherence.
Weekly slots: Monday 13:30–17:00 · Tuesday 14:30–16:00 · Thursday 14:00–16:00
From week 2, the tutorial is on Monday, 15:30–17:00, on the lectures of the week before.
| Week | Dates | Lectures | Tutorial |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2–6 Nov | L1 Qubits, gates and measurements · L2 Mixed states and entanglement · L3 Generalised measurements and channels (Tue and Thu) | none |
| 2 | 9–13 Nov | L4 Open systems and decoherence · L5 Information measures · L6 Quantum trajectories and monitoring | I · Qiskit and a real quantum computer (CHSH), Mon 9 Nov 15:30–17:00 |
| 3 | 16–20 Nov | L7 Light–matter and superconducting circuits · L8 Atoms, ions, photons and spins · L9 Communication I: entanglement as a resource | II · Measuring noise on a real device, Mon 16 Nov 15:30–17:00 |
| 4 | 23–27 Nov | L10 Communication II: QKD and networks · L11 Sensing I: estimation and the SQL · L12 Sensing II: quantum Fisher information and entanglement | III · Teleportation, dense coding and BB84, Mon 23 Nov 15:30–17:00 |
| 5–7 | 30 Nov – 18 Dec | Quantum computation (Giuseppe De Tomasi): circuit model and complexity, algorithms (QFT, phase estimation, Shor, Grover), error correction and fault tolerance | IV · Ramsey estimation and GHZ sensing (Pedro), Mon 30 Nov 15:30–17:00; V–VI (Giuseppe) on the same IBM platform |
Week 1 has lectures only, on Monday 2, Tuesday 3 and Thursday 5 November. Tutorial I is on Monday 9 November, 15:30–17:00, after Lecture 4.
Tuesday 1 and Tuesday 8 December are public holidays; the changes will be announced.
