ABSTRACT

A quantum computer is a computation deviice that makes direct use of quantum mechanical
phenomena, such as the superposition and entanglement of atoms, photons, electrons etc., to
perform operations on data. Quantum computers are different from digital computers based on
transistors . Whereas digital computers require data to be encoded into binary digits (bits),
quantum computation uses quantum properties to represent data and perform operations on these
data. A theoretical model is the quantum Turing machine, also known as the universal quantum
computer. Quantum computers shared theoretical similarities with non-deterministic and
probabilistic computers . It has the potential to perform calculations, billions of time faster than
any silicon based computer.

I.a THE QUANTUM COMPUTER

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 1.INTRODUCTION

Civilization has advanced as people discovered new ways of exploiting various physical
resources such as materials, forces and energies. In the twentieth century information was added
to the list when the invention of computers allowed complex information processing to be
performed outside human brains. The history of computer technology has involved a sequence of
changes from one type of physical realization to another --- from gears to relays to valves to
transistors to integrated circuits and so on.

Today’s computers are classical, a fact which is actually not entirely obvious. A basis of
modern computers rests on semiconductor technology. Transistors, which are the “neurons” of all
computers, work by exploiting properties of semiconductors. Classical computers are in a
certain, restricted, sense quantum mechanical, because, as far as we understand today, everything
is quantum mechanical. No, classical computers, although based on quantum physics, are not
fully quantum, because they do not use “quantumness” of matter at the information-theoretical
level, where it really matters.

Gordon Moore proposed Moore’s law in 1965, which originally stated that processor
power and speed would double in size every eighteen months (this was later revised to two
years). This law still holds but is starting to falter, and components are getting smaller. Soon they
will be so small, being made up of a few atoms that quantum effects will become unavoidable,
possibly ending Moore’s law. There are ways in which we can use quantum effects to our
advantage in a classical sense, but by fully utilizing those effects we can achieve much more.
This approach is the basis for quantum computing.

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 2.HISTORY

The fled of quantum computation is largely a body of theoretical promises for some impressively
fast algorithms which could be executed on quantum computers. However, since the first
significant algorithm was proposed in 1994 experimental progress has been rapid with several
schemes yielding two and three quantum-bit manipulations .

Quantum computers were first discussed by Paul Benioff in the context of simulating
classical Turing machines (very elementary conventional computers) with quantum unitary
evolution . Feynman considered the converse question of how well classical computers can
simulate quantum systems . He concluded that classical computers invariably super from an
exponential slow-down in trying to simulate quantum systems, but that quantum systems could,
in principle, simulate each other without this slowdown. It was Deutsch, however, who first
suggested that quantum superposition might allow quantum evolution to perform many classical
computations in parallel .

2.1 Worlds First Quantum Computer

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 3.QUANTUM MECHANICS

The Quantum mechanics is generally about the novel behaviour of very small things. At
this scale matter becomes quantized, this means that it can’t be subdivided no more. Quantum
mechanics has never been wrong, it explains why the stars shine, how matter is structured, the
periodic table, and countless other phenomena..

The following are main parts of quantum mechanics that are important for quantum
computing:
• Superposition
• Uncertainty
• Entanglement
• Representing information

Superposition
Superposition means a system can be in two or more of its states simultaneously. For example a
single particle can be traveling along two different paths at once. This implies that the particle
has wave-like properties, which can mean that the waves from the different paths can interfere
with each other. Interference can cause the particle to act in ways that are impossible to explain
without these wave-like properties. The ability for the particle to be in a superposition is where
we get the parallel nature of quantum computing: If each of the states corresponds to a different
value then, if we have a superposition of such states and act on the system, we effectively act on
all the states simultaneously.

Uncertainty
The quantum world is irreducibly small so it’s impossible to measure a quantum system without
having an effect on that system as our measurement device is also quantum mechanical. As a
result there is no way of accurately predicting all of the properties of a particle. There is a trade
off - the properties occur in complementary pairs (like position and momentum, or vertical spin
and horizontal spin) and if we know one property with a high degree of certainty then we must
know almost nothing about the other property. That unknown property’s behavior is essentially
random. An example of this is a particle’s position and velocity: if we know exactly where it is
then we know nothing about how fast it is going. This indeterminacy is exploited in quantum
cryptography. It has been postulated (and currently accepted) that particles in fact DO NOT have
defined values for unknown properties until they are measured. This is like saying that
something does not exist until it is looked at.

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Entanglement
In 1935 Einstein (along with colleagues Podolski and Rosen) demonstrated a paradox (named
EPR after them) in an attempt to refute the undefined nature of quantum systems. The results of
their experiment seemed to show that quantum systems were defined, having local state
BEFORE measurement. Although the original hypothesis was later proven wrong (i.e. it was
proven that quantum systems do not have local state before measurement). The effect they
demonstrated was still important, and later became known as entanglement. Entanglement is the
ability for pairs of particles to interact over any distance instantaneously. Particles don’t exactly
communicate, but there is a statistical correlation between results of measurements on each
particle that is hard to understand using classical physics. To become entangled, two particles are
allowed to interact; they then separate and, on measuring say, the velocity of one of them
(regardless of the distance between them), we can be sure of the value of velocity of the other
one (before it is measured). The reason we say that they communicate instantaneously is because
they store no local state and only have well defined state once they are measured. Because of this
limitation particles can’t be used to transmit classical messages faster than the speed of light as
we only know the states upon measurement. Entanglement has applications in a wide variety of
quantum algorithms and machinery.

Representing Information
Quantum mechanical information can be physically realized in many ways. To have something
analogous to a classical bit we need a quantum mechanical System with two states only, when
measured. Methods for representing binary information in a way that is capable of exhibiting
quantum effects (e.g. entanglement and superposition) are: electron spin, photon direction,
polarization of photons and nuclear spins.

3.1 Data Representation

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 4. ELEMENTS OF QUANTUM COMPUTING

The basic element of quantum computing includes the qubits, the quantum gates, quantum
circuits and quantum algorithms .

The Qubit
The qubit is the quantum analogue of the bit, the classical fundamental unit of information . It is
a mathematical object with specific properties that can be realized physically in many different
ways as an actual physical system. Just as the classical bit has a state (either 0 or 1), a qubit also
has a state. Yet contrary to the classical bit, 0 and 1 are but two possible states of the qubit, and
any linear combination (superposition) thereof is also physically possible. In general, thus, the
physical state of a qubit is the superposition.

“ψ = α0 + β1”

(Where α and β are complex numbers). The state of a qubit can be described as a vector in a
two-dimensional Hilbert space, a complex vector space. The special states 0 and 1 are known as
the computational basis states, and form an orthonormal basis for this vector space. According to
quantum theory, when we try to measure the qubit in this basis in order to determine its state, we
get either 0 with probability α² or 1 with probability β². Since α² + β² = 1 (i.e., the qubit is a unit
vector in the aforementioned two-dimensional Hilbert state), we may (ignoring the overall phase
factor) effectively write its state as ψ = cos(θ)0 + eiφsin(θ)1, where the numbers θ and φ define a
point on the unit three-dimensional sphere, as shown here. This sphere is often called the Bloch
sphere, and it provides a useful means to visualize the state of a single qubit.
Theoretically, a single qubit can store an infinite amount of information, yet when measured it
yields only the classical result (0 or 1) with certain probabilities that are specified by the
quantum state. In other words, the measurement changes the state of the qubit, “collapsing” it
from the superposition to one of its terms. The crucial point is that unless the qubit is measured,
the amount of “hidden” information it stores is conserved under the dynamic evolution (namely,
Schrödinger's equation). This feature of quantum mechanics allows one to manipulate the
information stored in unmeasured qubit with quantum gates, and is one of the sources for the
putative power of quantum computers.

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Quantum Gates
Classical computational gates are Boolean logic gates that perform manipulations of the
information stored in the bits. In quantum computing these gates are represented by matrices, and
can be visualized as rotations of the quantum state on the Bloch sphere. This visualization
represents the fact that quantum gates are unitary operators, i.e., they preserve the norm of the
quantum state (if U is a matrix describing a single qubit gate, then U†U=I, where U† is the ad
joint of U, obtained by transposing and then complex-conjugating U). As in the case of classical
computing, where there exists a universal gate (the combinations of which can be used to
compute any computable function), namely, the NAND gate which results from performing an
AND gate and then a NOT gate, in quantum computing it was shown that any multiple qubit
logic gate may be composed from a quantum CNOT gate (which operates on a multiple qubit by
flipping or preserving the target bit given the state of the control bit, an operation analogous to
the classical XOR, i.e., the exclusive OR gate) and single qubit gates. One feature of quantum
gates that distinguishes it from classical gates is that they are reversible: the inverse of a unitary
matrix is also a unitary matrix, and thus a quantum gate can always be inverted by another
quantum gate .

4.1 THE CNOT GATE

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 5.CLASSICAL COMPUTERS VS QUANTUM COMPUTERS

Classical computing relies, at its ultimate level, on principles expressed by Boolean

algebra, operating with a (usually) 7-mode logic gate principle, though it is possible to exist with
only three modes (which are AND, NOT, and COPY). Data must be processed in an exclusive
binary state at any point in time - that is, either 0 (off / false) or 1 (on / true). These values are
binary digits, or bits. The millions of transistors and capacitors at the heart of computers can only
be in one state at any point. While the time that the each transistor or capacitor need be either in
0 or 1 before switching states is now measurable in billionths of a second, there is still a limit as
to how quickly these devices can be made to switch state. As we progress to smaller and faster
circuits, we begin to reach the physical limits of materials and the threshold for classical laws of
physics to apply .
The Quantum computer, by contrast, can work with a two-mode logic gate: XOR and a mode
we'll call QO1 (the ability to change 0 into a superposition of 0 and 1, a logic gate which cannot
exist in classical computing). In a quantum computer, a number of elemental particles such as
electrons or photons can be used (in practice, success has also been achieved with ions), with
either their charge or polarization acting as a representation of 0 and/or 1. Each of these particles
is known as a quantum bit, or qubit, the nature and behavior of these particles form the basis of
quantum computing. The two most relevant aspects of quantum physics are the principles of
superposition and entanglement.

5.1 QUANTUM VS CLASSICAL

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 6. BENEFITS OF QUANTUM COMPUTING

Quantum computing offers many potential benefits to the organizations of tomorrow. This new
conceptualization of computing power will result in three main benefits: increases in computing
power, advances in security, and the ability for firms to use the sci-fi concept of teleportation.
Each of these opportunities can overcome the limitations of the current computational paradigm .

Quantum Computation: Increase in Computing Power

Utilizing quantum parallelism, a quantum computer can calculate or factor any huge number that
is currently infeasible to be analyzed on a classical computer. For example, factoring a number
with 400 digits will take the existing fastest supercomputers billions of years to accomplish. A
quantum computer can obtain the answer within a year. Therefore, quantum computers well
serve the purpose of searching information in unsorted databases or performing difficult
mathematical calculations that are impossible using semiconductor computers.

Quantum Cryptology: Advances in Security

Linked with the first benefit (the increase in computing power) then comes the possibility for
advancements in computing security. Quantum cryptography allows two parties to exchange
public keys in a private channel and thus secure privacy in quantum communication. The
technical aspect of quantum cryptography requires tremendous amount of physics knowledge;
the basic idea is that quantum mechanics will not allow any eavesdropper to obtain the private
key. Two legitimate parties will reveal a random subset of the key bits and check the error rate to
test for eavesdropping. In so doing, even though eavesdropping will not be prevented, any
attempt, regardless how subtle and complicated, to break into the communication channel will be
detected.

Teleportation
Perhaps the most astounding of the claimed for benefits of quantum computing is teleportation,
the favoured local transportation mechanism in Star Trek episodes. Teleportation is the capability
to make an object or a person disintegrates in one place while a perfect replica appears in
another. In physics, teleportation has never been taken seriously because of the uncertainty
principle. According to the uncertainty principle, the duplicating process will disturb or destroy
the original objects; the more an object is duplicated, the more it is destroyed. The detail
information regarding how the duplication is made and how the original object is destroyed is
unknown. Therefore, it will reach a point where one cannot extract enough information from the
original to make a perfect replica.

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 CONCLUSION

It is important that making a practical quantum computing is still far in the future. Programming
style for a quantum computer will also be quite different.

Development of quantum computer needs a lot of money. Even the best scientists can’t answer a
lot of questions about quantum physics. Quantum computer is based on theoretical physics and
some experiments are already made. Building a practical quantum computer is just a matter of
time.

Quantum computers easily solve applications that can’t be done with help of today’s computers.
This will be one of the biggest steps in science and will undoubtedly revolutionize the practical
computing world.

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 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURE NO FIGURE NAME PAGE NO

I.a THE QUANTUM COMPUTER I.

2.1 WORLD’S FIRST QUANTUM 2

COMPUTER

3.1 DATA REPRESENTATION 4

4.1 THE CNOT GATE 6

5.1 QUANTUM VS CLASSICAL 7

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CONTENTS. PAGE NO.

ABSTRACT I

LIST OF FIGURES II

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 2 HISTORY 2

CHAPTER 3 QUANTUM MECHANICS 3

• Superposition
• Uncertainty
• Entanglement
• Representing information

CHAPTER 4 ELEMENTS OF QUANTUM COMPUTING 5

• The Qubit
• Quantum Gates

CHAPTER 5 CLASSICAL COMPUTERS VS QUANTUM 7

COMPUTERS

CHAPTER 6 BENEFITS OF QUANTUM COMPUTING 8

• Quantum computation
• Quantum Cryptology
• Teleportation

CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION 9

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