3. Enter the quantum

Runbiao Fang

Macroscopic Quantum States: When Macroscopic Objects Enter Quantum Superposition

Michael Hartley Freedman

Carlos Herdeiro, Roger Picken

I review how geometry enters probability theory, and how it enters quantum mechanics. The logic is similar in both cases, but the latter case is richer and more interesting.

Colin P. Williams

A quantum algorithm provides for the encoding of an exponentially large number of classical data bits by use of a smaller (polynomially large) number of quantum bits (qubits). The development of this algorithm was prompted by the need, heretofore not satisfied, for a means of entering real-world binary data into a quantum computer. The data format provided by this algorithm is suitable for subsequent ultrafast quantum processing of the entered data. Potential applications lie in disciplines (e.g., genomics) in which one needs to search for matches between parts of very long sequences of data. For example, the algorithm could be used to encode the N-bit-long human genome in only log2N qubits. The resulting log2N-qubit state could then be used for subsequent quantum data processing - for example, to perform rapid comparisons of sequences.