Non-locality and contextuality in Quantum Computation

• Grant number: 21/12850-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2021
• End date: November 30, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Physics
• Principal Investigator: Bárbara Lopes Amaral
• Grantee: Felipe Almeida Barretto
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/06454-7 - Non-locality and contextuality as resources for quantum information, quantum computation and the certification of quantum devices, AP.JP

Abstract

Quantum non-locality and contextuality are a consequence of the impossibility of explaining the probabilities of measurement results in quantum systems from pre-existing values that are independent of other compatible measurements that can be jointly performed. Nonlocality and contextuality are two surprising characteristics of quantum theory and we believe that understanding them is a key step to explaining quantum physics from first principles, one of the greatest challenges of recent times. Besides the evident importance of non-locality and contextuality for foundations of quantum theory, they have also been identified as resources for quantum computation, in addition to other applications. Today's computers lack the power and sufficient processing speed to support certain complex tasks such as factoring very large numbers, computing discrete logarithms, and simulating complex systems. Although this fact has not been definitively proven, there is strong evidence that quantum computers will be able to solve problems that no classical computer can. This evidence also points to the unique characteristics of quantum physics that are behind this computational power: entanglement, non-locality, and contextuality. For this reason, these characteristics are seen as resources, and the goal of this project is to study them from this operational point of view. (AU)