Quantum Computing Theory

We are currently in the middle of a "quantum space race" that is rapidly gaining momentum, and providing both technological and conceptual breakthroughs. At present an array of global research centres, universities and companies are competing to develop a full-scale quantum computer.

At the heart of this endeavour is the claim that: "Information is a fundamental aspect of the laws of physics, and information processing using quantum mechanics can be drastically more powerful than using classical mechanics." Despite quantum mechanics being almost 100 years old, we are only now starting to unpack these concepts and build devices to exploit this profound difference between classical and quantum physics.

The focus right now is to realise quantum algorithms for the so-called "Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum" NISQ regime. This is a rapidly developing field, and it is speculated that within the next year we could witness a major milestone: the first quantum computation that drastically out-performs any classical computer.

The focus of the PhD project will be the development of quantum algorithms with the aim of near-term implementation on NISQ machines. The project will primarily involve the theoretical analysis of quantum algorithms and their implementations, but it could also involve the study of structural features of quantum information theory relevant to the NISQ regime (such as quantum entanglement).