Grant: Discovery Grants Program - Individual

Quantum computers, if realized, would offer unprecedented computational capabilities and almost certainly have a profound effect on our society. The vision of exploiting this vast information-processing potential is a driving force in the exciting research field of quantum information. The challenges involved in this area, while significant, offer new perspectives on basic questions in physics and computer science. Beyond possibly giving us quantum computers, advancing our technological prowess in controlling quantum systems (as well as our fundamental understanding of the underlying physics) is likely to benefit society in other, currently unanticipated ways. To contribute towards these goals, this program will evaluate existing and propose new ways of storing, manipulating and transmitting quantum information, identifying the limits of what is physically possible in a given quantum system. A first subproject will develop numerical and statistical methods aimed at characterizing complex quantum systems and processes in an efficient manner. This is becoming increasingly relevant as experimentalists are rapidly extending their repertoire of quantum substrates under study. A second subproject will be concerned with the reliable storage of information in open quantum systems, especially those providing a certain type of intrinsic protection. This will contribute to the theory of error-correction and fault-tolerant computing. In addition, this subproject will advance our understanding of communication using quantum states by studying the information-carrying capacity of fiber-optic cables. Finally, a third subproject will examine existing technological and physical information-processing limitations from a different perspective: such restrictions often provide a basis for security of cryptographic primitives. By working towards the design of protocols based on corresponding alternative security assumptions, the subproject will contribute towards maintaining a reliable information security infrastructure into the future.