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Slide1 : Michael A. Nielsen University of Queensland Quantum Mechanics I: Basic Principles Goal of this and the next lecture: to introduce all the basic elements of quantum mechanics, using examples drawn from quantum information science. “I ain’t no physicist but I know what matters” - Popeye the Sailor


Slide2 : What is quantum mechanics? It is a framework for the development of physical theories. It is not a complete physical theory in its own right. Quantum electrodynamics (QED) Operating system Applications software Quantum mechanics Specific rules Newton’s laws of motion Newtonian gravitation QM consists of four mathematical postulates which lay the ground rules for our description of the world.


Slide3 : How successful is quantum mechanics? It is unbelievably successful. No deviations from quantum mechanics are known Most physicists believe that any “theory of everything” will be a quantum mechanical theory Not just for the small stuff! QM crucial to explain why stars shine, how the Universe formed, and the stability of matter. A conceptual issue, the so-called “measurement problem”, remains to be clarified. Attempts to describe gravitation in the framework of quantum mechanics have (so far) failed.


Slide4 : The structure of quantum mechanics linear algebra Dirac notation 4 postulates of quantum mechanics 1. How to describe quantum states of a closed system. 2. How to describe quantum dynamics. 3. How to describe measurements of a quantum system. 4. How to describe quantum state of a composite system. “state vectors” and “state space” “unitary evolution” “projective measurements” “tensor products”


Slide5 : Example: qubits (two-level quantum systems) “Normalization” photons electron spin nuclear spin etcetera “All we do is draw little arrows on a piece of paper - that's all.” - Richard Feynman


Slide6 : Postulate 1: Rough Form Quantum mechanics does not prescribe the state spaces of specific systems, such as electrons. That’s the job of a physical theory like quantum electrodynamics. Associated to any quantum system is a complex vector space known as state space. Example: we’ll work mainly with qubits, which have state space C2. The state of a closed quantum system is a unit vector in state space.


Slide7 : A few conventions This is the ket notation. We always assume that our physical systems have finite-dimensional state spaces. Qudit nearly v


Slide8 : Quantum not gate: Input qubit Output qubit Matrix representation: General dynamics of a closed quantum system (including logic gates) can be represented as a unitary matrix. Dynamics: quantum logic gates


Slide9 : Hermitian conjugation; taking the adjoint Unitary matrices A is said to be unitary if We usually write unitary matrices as U.


Slide10 : Nomenclature tips matrix = (linear) operator = (linear) transformation = (linear) map = quantum gate (modulo unitarity)


Slide11 : Postulate 2


Slide12 : Why unitaries? Unitary maps are the only linear maps that preserve normalization. Exercise: prove that unitary evolution preserves normalization.


Slide13 : Pauli gates


Slide14 : Exercise: prove that XY=iZ Exercise: prove that X2=Y2=Z2=I


Slide15 : Measuring a qubit: a rough and ready prescription “Measuring in the computational basis”


Slide16 : Measuring a qubit


Slide17 : More general measurements


Slide18 : Qubit example


Slide19 : Inner products and duals “Young man, in mathematics you don’t understand things, you just get used to them.” - John von Neumann Example:


Slide20 : Duals as row vectors


Slide21 : Postulate 3: rough form


Slide22 : The measurement problem Quantum system Measuring apparatus Rest of the Universe Postulate 3 Postulates 1 and 2 Research problem: solve the measurement problem.


Slide23 : Irrelevance of “global phase”


Slide24 : Revised postulate 1 Associated to any quantum system is a complex inner product space known as state space. The state of a closed quantum system is a unit vector in state space. Note: These inner product spaces are often called Hilbert spaces.


Slide25 : Multiple-qubit systems Measurement in the computational basis: General state of n qubits: “Hilbert space is a big place” - Carlton Caves “Perhaps […] we need a mathematical theory of quantum automata. […] the quantum state space has far greater capacity than the classical one: […] in the quantum case we get the exponential growth […] the quantum behavior of the system might be much more complex than its classical simulation.” – Yu Manin (1980)


Slide26 : Postulate 4 The state space of a composite physical system is the tensor product of the state spaces of the component systems. Example: Properties


Slide27 : Some conventions implicit in Postulate 4 Alice Bob


Slide28 : Examples


Slide29 : Quantum entanglement Alice Bob Schroedinger (1935): “I would not call [entanglement] one but rather the characteristic trait of quantum mechanics, the one that enforces its entire departure from classical lines of thought.”


Slide30 : Summary Postulate 1: A closed quantum system is described by a unit vector in a complex inner product space known as state space. Postulate 2: The evolution of a closed quantum system is described by a unitary transformation. Postulate 4: The state space of a composite physical system is the tensor product of the state spaces of the component systems.