[Colloquium] Talk by Bill Fefferman (UMd) on “ The Power and Limitations of Quantum Computation”, Monday 3/6 1:30p

[Michael Franklin via Colloquium]

Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics

On *March 6* we will have a talk by Bill Fefferman from the University of
Maryland, which could be interesting for Computer Science
faculty/postdocs/students.

The talk will take place on March 6 at 1:30 pm at Acc 211 (Old Accelerator
building, Next to William Eckhardt Research Center).

The title and abstract are below


Title: The Power and Limitations of Quantum Computation Abstract: In the
popular imagination quantum computers are amazingly powerful-- capable of
solving hard optimization problems instantaneously by “trying all possible
solutions in quantum superposition”. Reality, as might be expected, conveys
a more subtle, but equally exciting picture. Although we have no evidence
that quantum computers can solve NP-hard problems efficiently, Shor’s
revolutionary quantum factoring algorithm demonstrates that quantum
computers can break the core primitive behind currently implemented
public-key cryptography schemes. This surprising power, combined with
breathtaking recent advances in the experimental control of quantum
systems, has profoundly challenged the most basic principles of
computation. In the wake of these advances, quantum computation has become
incredibly relevant both practically, in understanding the future of
cryptography, and theoretically, in understanding foundational aspects of
computational complexity theory. In this talk, we give an overview of the
latest results toward characterizing the power and limitations of quantum
computers. Our focus will be not only on understanding the power of quantum
computers of the indefinite future but also on the desire to rigorously
analyze the power of present-day existing quantum devices which are not yet
fully scalable quantum computers. No prior background in computational
complexity theory will be assumed.
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