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Foundations of Quantum Mechanics: From Photons to Quantum Computers

Author(s): Reinhold Blumel, PhD, Charlotte Augusta Ayres Professor of Physics, Wesleyan University, Connecticut
Details:
  • ISBN-13: 9780763776282
  • Hardcover    331 pages      © 2010
Price: International Sales $132.95 US List
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Overview

Quantum computers are the proposed centerpieces of a revolutionary, 21st century quantum information technology. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate courses in modern quantum physics, Foundations of Quantum Mechanics: From Photons to Quantum Computers takes the reader into the fascinating world of quantum mechanics and continues on an in-depth study of quantum information and quantum computing, including an entire chapter on the future of quantum technology. This accessible text with modern applications focuses on what is “quantum” about quantum mechanics; topics discussed include the EPR paradox, entanglement, teleportation, Bell’s Theorem, quantum computing, and code-breaking with quantum computers.

ShowKey Features

  • Focuses on the “non-classical” aspects of quantum mechanics, such as EPR correlations and Einstein’s “spooky action at a distance” without neglecting the “machinery” of quantum mechanics
  • Contains chapters on modern quantum topics, including interaction-free measurement, quantum factoring, and quantum computing, not found in traditional quantum mechanics textbooks
  • Discusses the process of teleportation; no longer science fiction, but firmly grounded in experimentation
  • Presents key quantum algorithms such as the Deutsch-Jozsa algorithm, Shor’s factoring algorithm, and Grover’s data-base search algorithm that demonstrate how quantum computers rival traditional computers
  • Contains an in-depth chapter that presents quantitatively, the physics of an actual quantum computer
  • Includes numerous exercises at the end of each section to evaluate the acquired knowledge

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ShowTable of Contents

Chapter 1  Photons
Chapter 2  Wave-Particle Duality
Chapter 3  The Machinery of Quantum Mechanics
Chapter 4  Measurement
Chapter 5  Interaction-Free Measurements
Chapter 6  EPR Paradox
Chapter 7  Classical and Quantum Information
Chapter 8  Quantum Computing
Chapter 9  Classical Cryptology
Chapter 10  Quantum Factoring
Chapter 11  Ion-Trap Quantum Computers
Chapter 12  Outlook
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ShowAbout the Author(s)

Reinhold Blumel, PhD-Charlotte Augusta Ayres Professor of Physics, Wesleyan University, Connecticut

Reinhold Blumel, PhD is the Charlotte Augusta Ayres Professor of Physics at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut. He is an elected Fellow of the American Physical Society and has published more than 100 scientific papers in peer-reviewed, professional physics journals. Reflecting his interest in quantum mechanics and its applications, he has previously published the book Chaos in Atomic Physics.

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ShowReviews

  • Blümel (Wesleyan Univ.) has written a very readable review of quantum mechanics for undergraduate students. His book has a dual focus: to provide an in-depth understanding of the aspects of quantum mechanics that have no classical analogue, and to review up-to-date applications of quantum mechanics in the field of quantum information processing. For the nonclassical aspects, which are so difficult for undergraduate students to grasp, the author succeeds in finding compelling ways to explain the material...Blümel does achieve his goal of offering insight into the peculiar principles at the heart of quantum mechanics and their modern-day applications. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through graduate students.

    -P. Oxley, College of the Holy Cross
    Choice Reviews Online

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ShowAppropriate Courses

Ideal for Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Physics courses taught within the Physics Department.

Also appropriate for course in: Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Information Theory, Quantum Computing, Topics in Quantum Mechanics, Recent Developments in Quantum Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics and Measurement, or Foundations of Quantum Mechanics

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