Pieter Kok

Last updated
Pieter Kok
BornJune 1972 (age 52)
Friesland, Netherlands
Alma mater University of Utrecht
University of Wales, Bangor
Scientific career
Fields Quantum information theory
Thesis State Preparation in Quantum Optics  (2001)
Doctoral advisor Samuel L. Braunstein

Pieter Kok is a Dutch physicist and one of the co-developers of quantum interferometric optical lithography. His research specializations include linear optical implementations of quantum communication and computation protocols, quantum teleportation and the interpretation of quantum theory. [1] He is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Sheffield. [2]

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Professor Kok was born in Friesland, Netherlands, graduated from the University of Utrecht with a masters in degree in Foundations of Quantum Theory, and later completing a PhD in physics from the University of Wales, Bangor in 2001. He has previously worked in the Quantum Computing Technologies Group at the NASA/Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in Pasadena, California, Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Bristol, England and at the Department of Materials, University of Oxford.

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This is a timeline of quantum computing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trapped-ion quantum computer</span> Proposed quantum computer implementation

A trapped-ion quantum computer is one proposed approach to a large-scale quantum computer. Ions, or charged atomic particles, can be confined and suspended in free space using electromagnetic fields. Qubits are stored in stable electronic states of each ion, and quantum information can be transferred through the collective quantized motion of the ions in a shared trap. Lasers are applied to induce coupling between the qubit states or coupling between the internal qubit states and the external motional states.

Quantum networks form an important element of quantum computing and quantum communication systems. Quantum networks facilitate the transmission of information in the form of quantum bits, also called qubits, between physically separated quantum processors. A quantum processor is a machine able to perform quantum circuits on a certain number of qubits. Quantum networks work in a similar way to classical networks. The main difference is that quantum networking, like quantum computing, is better at solving certain problems, such as modeling quantum systems.

Quantum metrology is the study of making high-resolution and highly sensitive measurements of physical parameters using quantum theory to describe the physical systems, particularly exploiting quantum entanglement and quantum squeezing. This field promises to develop measurement techniques that give better precision than the same measurement performed in a classical framework. Together with quantum hypothesis testing, it represents an important theoretical model at the basis of quantum sensing.

In quantum computing, a graph state is a special type of multi-qubit state that can be represented by a graph. Each qubit is represented by a vertex of the graph, and there is an edge between every interacting pair of qubits. In particular, they are a convenient way of representing certain types of entangled states.

In quantum optics, a NOON state or N00N state is a quantum-mechanical many-body entangled state:

Time-bin encoding is a technique used in quantum information science to encode a qubit of information on a photon. Quantum information science makes use of qubits as a basic resource similar to bits in classical computing. Qubits are any two-level quantum mechanical system; there are many different physical implementations of qubits, one of which is time-bin encoding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">One-way quantum computer</span> Method of quantum computing

The one-way quantum computer, also known as measurement-based quantum computer (MBQC), is a method of quantum computing that first prepares an entangled resource state, usually a cluster state or graph state, then performs single qubit measurements on it. It is "one-way" because the resource state is destroyed by the measurements.

In quantum information and quantum computing, a cluster state is a type of highly entangled state of multiple qubits. Cluster states are generated in lattices of qubits with Ising type interactions. A cluster C is a connected subset of a d-dimensional lattice, and a cluster state is a pure state of the qubits located on C. They are different from other types of entangled states such as GHZ states or W states in that it is more difficult to eliminate quantum entanglement in the case of cluster states. Another way of thinking of cluster states is as a particular instance of graph states, where the underlying graph is a connected subset of a d-dimensional lattice. Cluster states are especially useful in the context of the one-way quantum computer. For a comprehensible introduction to the topic see.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Dowling</span> Irish-American physicist (1955–2020)

Jonathan P. Dowling was an Irish-American researcher and professor in theoretical physics, known for his work on quantum technology, particularly for exploiting quantum entanglement for applications to quantum metrology, quantum sensing, and quantum imaging.

Quantum imaging is a new sub-field of quantum optics that exploits quantum correlations such as quantum entanglement of the electromagnetic field in order to image objects with a resolution or other imaging criteria that is beyond what is possible in classical optics. Examples of quantum imaging are quantum ghost imaging, quantum lithography, imaging with undetected photons, sub-shot-noise imaging, and quantum sensing. Quantum imaging may someday be useful for storing patterns of data in quantum computers and transmitting large amounts of highly secure encrypted information. Quantum mechanics has shown that light has inherent “uncertainties” in its features, manifested as moment-to-moment fluctuations in its properties. Controlling these fluctuations—which represent a sort of “noise”—can improve detection of faint objects, produce better amplified images, and allow workers to more accurately position laser beams.

Quantum lithography is a type of photolithography, which exploits non-classical properties of the photons, such as quantum entanglement, in order to achieve superior performance over ordinary classical lithography. Quantum lithography is closely related to the fields of quantum imaging, quantum metrology, and quantum sensing. The effect exploits the quantum mechanical state of light called the NOON state. Quantum lithography was invented at Jonathan P. Dowling's group at JPL, and has been studied by a number of groups.

Andrew G. White FAA is an Australian scientist and is currently Professor of Physics and a Vice-Chancellor's Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. He is also Director of the University of Queensland Quantum technology Laboratory; Deputy-Director of the ARC Centre for Engineered Quantum systems, and a Program Manager in the ARC Centre for Quantum Computer and Communication Technology..

In quantum information theory, quantum discord is a measure of nonclassical correlations between two subsystems of a quantum system. It includes correlations that are due to quantum physical effects but do not necessarily involve quantum entanglement.

In quantum mechanics, the cat state, named after Schrödinger's cat, refers to a quantum state composed of a superposition of two other states of flagrantly contradictory aspects. Generalizing Schrödinger's thought experiment, any other quantum superposition of two macroscopically distinct states is also referred to as a cat state. A cat state could be of one or more modes or particles, therefore it is not necessarily an entangled state. Such cat states have been experimentally realized in various ways and at various scales.

Linear optical quantum computing or linear optics quantum computation (LOQC), also photonic quantum computing (PQC), is a paradigm of quantum computation, allowing (under certain conditions, described below) universal quantum computation. LOQC uses photons as information carriers, mainly uses linear optical elements, or optical instruments (including reciprocal mirrors and waveplates) to process quantum information, and uses photon detectors and quantum memories to detect and store quantum information.

Integrated quantum photonics, uses photonic integrated circuits to control photonic quantum states for applications in quantum technologies. As such, integrated quantum photonics provides a promising approach to the miniaturisation and scaling up of optical quantum circuits. The major application of integrated quantum photonics is Quantum technology:, for example quantum computing, quantum communication, quantum simulation, quantum walks and quantum metrology.

The KLM scheme or KLM protocol is an implementation of linear optical quantum computing (LOQC) developed in 2000 by Emanuel Knill, Raymond Laflamme and Gerard J. Milburn. This protocol allows for the creation of universal quantum computers using solely linear optical tools. The KLM protocol uses linear optical elements, single-photon sources and photon detectors as resources to construct a quantum computation scheme involving only ancilla resources, quantum teleportations and error corrections.

Continuous-variable (CV) quantum information is the area of quantum information science that makes use of physical observables, like the strength of an electromagnetic field, whose numerical values belong to continuous intervals. One primary application is quantum computing. In a sense, continuous-variable quantum computation is "analog", while quantum computation using qubits is "digital." In more technical terms, the former makes use of Hilbert spaces that are infinite-dimensional, while the Hilbert spaces for systems comprising collections of qubits are finite-dimensional. One motivation for studying continuous-variable quantum computation is to understand what resources are necessary to make quantum computers more powerful than classical ones.

References

  1. "Quantum Computing" in "The Material World". BBC Radio 4. 6 April 2006.
  2. Youtube video: The physics of time travel by the University of Sheffield.

Selected publications