Quantum Catch-up Course

Course manual 2024/2025

Course content

This course prepares students starting with the MSc Quantum Computer Science for the programme, particularly for the courses Quantum Computing and Introduction to Quantum Hardware. It offers the relevant quantum physics topics to students entering the programme with a mathematics or computer science background, and it teaches the needed computer science topics to students with a physics background.

Lectures covering these topics will be given to all students, and then students decide which material to focus on specifically according to the knowledge gap they have encountered. A lecturer and teaching assistants will be available to help them.

Topics covered in the lectures include:

• Linear algebra: complex numbers, vectors, inner products, unitaries
• Basic quantum theory: Hilbert space, qubits, Bloch sphere
• Basic quantum mechanics: wavefunctions, Schrödinger equation, harmonic oscillators
• Basic computer science: Big-O notation, complexity analysis of (randomised) algorithms

Study materials

Other

• Lecture Notes made available during the course

Objectives

• Work with standard linear algebra concepts on complex vector spaces.
• Understand basic concepts from quantum theory.
• Understand basic physics concepts from quantum mechanics.
• Perform basic complexity theoretic analysis of algorithms.

Teaching methods

• Lecture
• Self-study
• Exercises
• Seminar

Lectures will summarize the background material they need to know for starting the MSc Quantum Computer Science programme. Students will deepen their understanding with practice problems during the exercise classes. Students who have identified gaps in their knowledge can use the self-study time to learn the relevant material.

Learning activities

Assessment

This is a pass/fail course.

Students are assessed based on a final exam.

Assignments

Please check the course page in Canvas for further details. 

Fraud and plagiarism

The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl

Course structure

Contact information

Coordinator

• dr. M. Ozols