Essay: Literature Review On Quantum Computing." (49 Characters)

Quantum Computing Applications

Discuss about the Literature Review on Quantum Computing.

Quantum computing is a complex type of computation that uses quantum-mechanical formula. The idea is still in its infant stage. Realization of quantum computing will result in way faster-processing units than the current binary digital computers; this is because quantum bits can have multiple states (from the superposition of absolute states) compared to binary bits that have only two definite states (ones and zeros). However, scientists are still conducting research to actualize the idea. As of now, the development of quantum computers, which are used in quantum computing, is still in its baby phases with a lot of experiments being carried out by a small number of quantum bits. Several scholars have written on the topic to explain quantum computing applications, its strengths and weaknesses, and the implication it has to the future of computing. Both practical and theoretical research continues with fund from both national governments and the military.

Quantum computing aggregates theories from computer science, quantum physics, and classical information theory. Steane, A. (1998) summarizes the whole concept of quantum theory and the related computer information concept. The realization of the importance of mathematical information and physics has led to new technological developments in the field of quantum physics such as quantum cryptography, teleportation, and quantum error correction. The underlying theme for these applications lies in the concept of superpositioning of quantum states. Cryptography entails the involvement of the quantum states to perform secure transformation of information. The transmission of quantum states to facilitate reliable transmission is called teleportation. Quantum error correction involves preserving coherence when irreversible noise operations are present. These applications make use of both the classical information concept and computer science such as Shannon's theorem, Turing machines, computational complexity and error correcting codes. This article also talks about basic quantum ideas like quantum gates, data compression and qubits, teleportation and the “no cloning” feature. It contains superficial information about quantum cryptography since the idea is still in its infant stages. However, teleportation requires more research to help in its actualization since it is still in its infant stages. The author concludes by addressing potential areas of research in the field of quantum computing.

Apart from the complex applications that need great physics and mathematical understanding, quantum computers can be used to perform simple processing tasks but in a faster fashion. According to Leuenberger and Loss, (2001), quantum computers are capable of outperforming the classical computers in searching databases and factoring numbers. It takes advantage of the parallelism of quantum mechanics to search databases quickly. The author also mentions Grover’s algorithm which applies superpositioning of single-particle states of quantum physics and Shor’s algorithm that applies both entanglements of systems comprised of many particles and superpositioning. Recently, Rydberg atoms have been used to implement Grover’s algorithm successfully. The author proposes the application of Grover’s algorithm over Shor’s because it utilizes molecular magnets. The article also demonstrates theoretically that the molecular magnets are the ideal candidates for building efficient and dense memory devices. A single molecule can serve a dynamic random access memory. Therefore, quantum computers will be able to achieve processes that users of classic computers cannot fathom in a very small period. However, the concept is still not a reality; it requires more research and resources before it can be actualized.

Quantum Computing Strengths and Weaknesses

Hassan and Talib (2016) address the fields in computer science in which quantum computers can be used. One application is in quantum cryptography. The channels for transmitting qubits are secure. The protocols require a secured one-time key that heavily encrypts the information to be distributed. The BB84 protocol used for encryption can detect hacking attempts. Another application is quantum algorithms. There are many quantum algorithms. The most popular one is Grover’s search algorithm (Leuenberger and Loss, 2001). Search the algorithms have multiple applications in the day to day world of computing. For example, a database search is a common use of such algorithms. Another popular algorithm is that for project scheduling called optimal quantum query algorithm. Quantum computers can also detect and correct classical errors such as bit flips by application of redundant correcting codes. The authors address complexity as the most crucial application in quantum the computing. The ability to solve complex theories gives it a huge advantage over classical computing. For example, some scientists have said that quantum Turing machines can be able to solve complex Church Turing problem.

Understanding the applications of quantum computing and their benefits first need one to have an insight into the history of computing. Ifrah, Harding, Bellos, and Wood, (2000) write about the advancement in computing phase to the point of applying quantum mechanics. The book talks about the origin of numbers and the history of computations. The authors marvel at the advancement in computing from basic numbering systems to the simple processing of numbers in early computers. The advancement made the first computer users become curious about improving the binary systems to make great achievements in the scientific, technical, and conceptual fields. Similarly, achieving a computer system that is intelligent enough to perform its calculations without human involvement was attributed to be one of the greatest achievements in the history of computing. Therefore, the actualization of complex processes like teleportation will be a huge milestone. There is thus a need to speed up the process of applying quantum mechanics in computing to satisfy scientists curiosity among other reasons.

Walther et al., (2005) also try to explain the physics behind quantum computation. He writes that these computations have their basis on the union of quantum logic gates which are capable of processing quantum bits (otherwise referred to as qubits). Briegel and Raussendorf proposed a one-way quantum processing machine that changed the general understanding of quantum computing understanding and the overall perception of quantum physics. This current model requires the qubits to in an initial entangled state. Then, there is a sequence of measurements in each qubit in the cluster as the units move in a classical feedforward fashion. The one-way computer cannot be reversed. The measurement choices and order determine the type of algorithm used for computation. Just like other applications and theories in quantum computing, the use of cluster state is currently under research to identify its feasibility in qubit operations.

Quantum computation complexity is an over the top exciting new area that touches on foundations of both theoretical computer science and quantum physics.The research before implementation of quantum computing encompasses an analysis of the concept’s strengths and weaknesses. Currently, the general idea is that quantum computers are way better than the classical ones. According to Bennett, Bernstein, Brassard, and Vazirani, (1997), quantum computers are way powerful in terms of their processing speed. They can solve discrete logarithms in polynomial time by applying Shor’s algorithm. There is also prove that relative to a permutation oracle chose uniformly at random. However, Quantum Turing machines cannot solve permutations with the probability of 1. This concept has been proven in this article.

According to an article by Zahid Hussain (2016), the best aspect of quantum computers is they are very secure, thus unhackable in regard to theory. They use observer effect, thus if you try to measure the parameter of a micro particle it will alter other as well thus resolving the major issue of communication. Every Attempt to spy on a communication will alter he transmitted message. The major reasons that make the quantum more secure area, firstly the unknown quantum state which can't be copied and thus nobody can take advantage of the unknown state. Secondly, attempts to measure or calculate the quantum state will definitely disturb the system, thus any message intercepted by eavesdroppers or receivers will be infected. Thirdly, if the state of quantum is measured and changed, it can't be reversed to its original state again. The above-mentioned aspect gives power to quantum computation and makes it very safe and secure for eavesdroppers. According to Gruska (2000), very high-level research is required for the quantum information to be standardized for it to be available for the public to use it.

Hassan and Talib (2016) try to address the weaknesses and strengths of quantum computing by comparing it to the traditional computing. He summarizes the comparisons in a table.

Apart from the comparisons made in the table above, quantum computers are still not a reality, unlike classical computers which have been used over and over. Therefore, people should not be too optimistic on the idea of quantum computing since it might end up disappointing. The applications are mere speculations of what they might achieve. Nobody is sure if they will be able to perform the applications mentioned by the scientists. Another weakness is that quantum computing is prone to inconsistencies due to its perturbation nature.

Despite these weaknesses, quantum computing also has a fair share of its strengths. For example, information transmitted via qubits cannot be distorted by noise interferences. Quantum algorithms are designed to speed up decoding processes (Repolles, 2016). The ability to solve complex theories gives it a huge advantage over classical computing. For example, some scientists have said that quantum Turing machines can be able to solve complex Church Turing problem.

The concept of quantum computing is a brilliant one that can result in lots of technological impacts in the future of humanity. According to Hassan and Talib, quantum computing is a sign of changes in the following fields. The first implication would be safer airplanes. The author argues that the jet software that are currently too complex for the classical computers would be easily handled by the quantum computers. A developer of a quantum computer called D-Wave by the name Lockheed Martin has plans to use his machine for this application. Achieving this application will be a huge boost to the air travelling industry. The second implication would be the discovery of distant planets (Knill,2005). Quantum computers will be capable of aggregating and analyzing information collected by the spaceships and the telescopes. Such information will be important in searching for other planets with similar characteristics as planet earth. Another major implication will be a boost in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Personalized advertising can be made possible from information collected and stored by quantum computers (Nielsen and Chuang 2010). This will, in turn, improve consumer spending and therefore improve the country’s GDP. The actualization of quantum computing will be beneficial to the health industry and its search for a cancer solution. It helps to detect the cancers earlier in the patients through the computational models that will help in determining the development process of diseases. Earlier detection of cancers will be huge for the health industry since it will greatly reduce the mortality rate.

Meter and Oskin (2006) also address the implications of quantum computing specifically for the computer architecture industry. This article describes the desired speeds and sizes of systems that would make the actualization of quantum computing a reality. Other engineering areas to be looked at are concurrency, network topologies, storage capacity etcetera. The engineering field will have to research more on how to adjust their hardware’s to cope up with the fast processing speeds of the quantum computers. Additional investment is thus required in the hardware industry as the research of quantum computing keeps getting closer and closer to actualization (Stepanenko, Trif and Loss, 2008)

Renner, R. (2008) used quantitative analysis to research on the security issues of quantum computing. He also interviewed several computer scientists to find out about how secure the quantum computers will be if actualized. The channels for transmitting qubits are secure. The protocols require a secured one-time key that heavily encrypts the information to be distributed. The BB84 protocol used for encryption can detect hacking attempts (Hassan and Talib, 2016). In addition, the variables in quantum computing concept make the networks and communication channels secure. The qubits cannot be transferred through noisy channels which may be prone to interfering with the communication. Such facts can only be obtained from conducting extensive researches in the internets and also understanding the history of computing. The history helps researchers to identify specific areas to research upon (Ifrah, Harding, Bellos and Wood, (2000).

Most of the information on the materials used originate from scientific journals and reports. There are many sources for the future applications of quantum computers. According to Leuenberger and Loss, (2001), information on the algorithms of quantum computers is readily available in computer science journals that are all over the internet. Despite the fact that the journals may slightly differ in details and the specific area of specialization, all point to the common part that quantum computing is still a dream that needs more research. However, there have been positive reports on the building of quantum computers. For example, a developer of a quantum computer called D-Wave by the name Lockheed Martin has plans to use his machine for jet softwares applications. This will contribute hugely to the safety of airplane industry (Steane, 1998).

Conclusion

In conclusion, there have been breakthroughs in the research for quantum computing such as the building of D-Wave computer by Lockheed Martin (Hassan and Talib, 2016). The future of computing is thus bright considering the amount of effort and resources put in the research for the actualization of quantum computing. The applications of quantum computers include quantum cryptography, ability to solve complex Turing processes, teleportation and many other (Williams, 2010). As much as the application sounds too good, people should not be optimistic about the concept since other scientists claim that it may not be a reality. Similarly, as much as the quantum computers have their strengths in terms of processing speeds and a lot more, they also have major weaknesses. However, we should be hopeful that the theory becomes a reality since its implications show major improvements in the health industry, airfield industry and many more (O’brien, 2007). Finally, quantum computing still needs more research; governments should increase their funding to improve the resource for conducting the studies.

References

Bennett, C. H., & DiVincenzo, D. P. (2000). Quantum information and computation. Nature, 404(6775), 247.

Bennett, C. H., Bernstein, E., Brassard, G., & Vazirani, U. (1997). Strengths and weaknesses of quantum computing. SIAM journal on Computing, 26(5), 1510-1523.

Gruska, J. (2000). Descriptional complexity issues in quantum computing. Journal of Automata, Languages and combinatorics, 5(3), 191-218.

Hussain, Z., & Talib, A. Strengths and Weaknesses of Quantum Computing.

Ifrah, G., Harding, E. F., Bellos, D., & Wood, S. (2000). The universal history of computing: From the abacus to quantum computing. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Knill, E. (2005). Quantum computing with realistically noisy devices. Nature, 434(7029), 39.

Leuenberger, M. N., & Loss, D. (2001). Quantum computing in molecular magnets. Nature, 410(6830), 789.

Marinescu, D. C., & Marinescu, G. M. (2005). Approaching quantum computing (pp. 1-41). Pearson/Prentice Hall.

Meter, R. V., & Oskin, M. (2006). Architectural implications of quantum computing technologies. ACM Journal on Emerging Technologies in Computing Systems (JETC), 2(1), 31-63.

Nielsen, M. A., & Chuang, I. L. (2010). Quantum computation and quantum information. Cambridge university press.

O'brien, J. L. (2007). Optical quantum computing. Science, 318(5856), 1567-1570.

Renner, R. (2008). Security of quantum key distribution. International Journal of Quantum Information, 6(01), 1-127.

Repollés Rabinad, A. M. (2016). Quantum computing with molecular magnets (Vol. 131). Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.

Steane, A. (1998). Quantum computing. Reports on Progress in Physics, 61(2), 117.

Stepanenko, D., Trif, M., & Loss, D. (2008). Quantum computing with molecular magnets. Inorganica chimica acta, 361(14-15), 3740-3745.

Walther, P., Resch, K. J., Rudolph, T., Schenck, E., Weinfurter, H., Vedral, V., ... & Zeilinger, A. (2005). Experimental one-way quantum computing. Nature, 434(7030), 169.

Weber, J. R., Koehl, W. F., Varley, J. B., Janotti, A., Buckley, B. B., Van de Walle, C. G., & Awschalom, D. D. (2010). Quantum computing with defects. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 107(19), 8513-8518.

Williams, C. P. (2010). Explorations in quantum computing. Springer Science & Business Media.