QnTM: EMT: Self-Correcting Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computers

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Building a quantum computer is widely considered one of the great experimental and intellectual challenges for physics and computer science over the next few decades. This proposal aims to jump-start this process by designing quantum devices whose inherit physics enforces self-correction of the quantum errors arising due to decoherence, imprecise device fabrication, and faulty quantum control. Intellectual merit: Understanding how robust computation can emerge from simple physical systems is one of the great challenges addressed by our proposal for self-correcting quantum computers, but this problem is ubiquitous across many fields, including both nanotechnology and the biological sciences, where higher level function emerges from noisy constituent components. Further, the substance of a self-correcting quantum computer will represent a new phase of matter for quantum many-body systems, and insights gained in this proposal are likely to be essential to understand the properties of many other quantum many-body systems. Broader Impact: Since the ideas of self-correcting quantum computing have the potential to revolutionize how we conceive of building a quantum computer, the broad impact of this proposal will be disseminated to educators and journalists in workshops and public lectures. In addition development of a seminar and courseware bridge the gap between theoretical fault-tolerance and the fault-tolerance of physical devices will be pursued. Finally, this proposal would further enhance the education and interdisciplinary research environment at the University of Washington by bringing one of the PIs (Bacon) to the campus, who naturally rests between the Computer Science, Physics and Chemistry departments.