Quantum computing and quantum internet

• Grant number: 22/07594-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: August 01, 2022
• End date: May 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Computer Science
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Kon
• Grantee: André Nogueira Ribeiro
• Host Institution: Instituto de Matemática e Estatística (IME). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 14/50937-1 - INCT 2014: on the Internet of the Future, AP.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/06452-2 - Quantum walks and its applications in quantum networks, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

Quantum computing was born from the idea of creating a machine capable of simulating more complex quantum systems, proposed by physicist Richard Feynman and mathematician Yuri Manin. The effort for such simulations on classical computers grows exponentially as a function of the size of the system, which makes them unfeasible for any problem of interesting size. In addition to this focus, studies in the area of algorithms have also been successful with quantum computing, in which algorithms considerably faster than the classical ones have already been proposed, such as Shor's algorithm for factoring numbers. Also noteworthy is the fact that quantum computing is an object of study with a range of new possibilities to be explored, which makes it more exciting and promising. In the current scenario, companies such as Google and IBM, prominent in this field, have working quantum machines, which demonstrate the great relevance of this study, while they are able to perform tasks inaccessible to classical computers (according to publications by Google in 2019 and by IBM in 2021). Some of the challenges encountered in the work of improving such computers are increasing the number of qubits (basic unit of memory of a quantum computer), decreasing noise, and increasing cohesion time (duration time of quantum phenomena to execute an algorithm).In this scientific initiation project, motivated by what was presented, the fellowship holder, during the first year, will systematically study the main concepts of Quantum Computing and Quantum Communication. In particular, some of the concepts he will study are qubits, logic gates, properties of quantum physics, circuits, algorithms, programming languages for quantum computers, interference, Bell states, quantum teleportation, quantum entanglement, purification, and error correction in this context, and quantum repeaters. The research will result in a set of seminar slides that will be publicly available on the project website (https://interscity.org/quantum-internet). Finally, the knowledge acquired during this first year will serve as the basis for the proposal for the second year of the project, i.e., original research involving the proposal and evaluation of new protocols for the Quantum Internet.(AU)