Quantum information science

Quantum information science is a field that combines the principles of quantum

mechanics with information science to study the processing, analysis, and transmission
of information. It covers both theoretical and experimental aspects of quantum physics,
including the limits of what can be achieved with quantum information. The
term quantum information theory is sometimes used, but it does not include
experimental research and can be confused with a subfield of quantum information
science that deals with the processing of quantum information.

Scientific and engineering studies

Quantum teleportation, entanglement and the manufacturing of quantum
computers depend on a comprehensive understanding of quantum physics and
engineering. Google and IBM have invested significantly in quantum computer
hardware research, leading to significant progress in manufacturing quantum computers
since the 2010s. Currently, it is possible to create a quantum computer with over
100 qubits, but the error rate is high due to the lack of suitable materials for quantum
computer manufacturing. Majorana fermions may be a crucial missing material.
Quantum cryptography devices are now available for commercial use. The one time
pad, a cipher used by spies during the Cold War, uses a sequence of random keys for
encryption. These keys can be securely exchanged using quantum entangled particle
pairs, as the principles of the no-cloning theorem and wave function collapse ensure the
secure exchange of the random keys. The development of devices that can transmit
quantum entangled particles is a significant scientific and engineering goal
Qiskit, Cirq and Q Sharp are popular quantum programming languages.
Additional programming languages for quantum computers are needed, as well as a
larger community of competent quantum programmers. To this end, additional learning
resources are needed, since there are many fundamental differences in quantum
programming which limits the amount of skills that can be carried over from traditional
programming.

Related mathematical subjects

Quantum algorithm and quantum complexity theory are two of the subjects
in algorithms and computational complexity theory. In 1994, mathematician Peter
Shor introduced a quantum algorithm for prime factorization that, with a quantum
computer containing 4,000 logical qubits, could potentially break widely used ciphers
like RSA and ECC, posing a major security threat. This led to increased investment
in quantum computing research and the development of post-quantum cryptography to
prepare for the quantum computing era.