A Student’s Guide to Quantum Computing

The study guide addresses issues of quantum computing and quantum cryptography. The first part of the guide considers the fundamental principles of quantum computing. The security of modern information systems and technologies is based on the strength of the cryptographic transformations they employ for cryptographic information processing. Using Shor’s and Grover’s quantum algorithms, certain mathematical problems can be solved with even polynomial complexity. The ideas of utilizing the capabilities of the quantum environment were proposed by Paul and Feynman. It is important not only to build a quantum computer itself, but also to consider the technical characteristics that such a computer will possess. The content of the study guide corresponds to Specialty 125 — Cybersecurity and may be used by undergraduate and graduate students, as well as PhD students, of all departments of the Educational and Scientific Institute of Information Protection of the State University of Information and Communication Technologies, V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, as well as students of related specialties at other higher education institutions of Ukraine.

Marcus Stephen Edwards

Peter Hu, Yangqiuting Li, Chandralekha Singh

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection in Investigating and Improving Quantum Education through Research.] Quantum information science and engineering (QISE) is a rapidly developing field that leverages the skills of experts from many disciplines to utilize the potential of quantum systems in a variety of applications. It requires talent from a wide variety of traditional fields, including physics, engineering, chemistry, and computer science, to name a few. To prepare students for such opportunities, it is important to give them a strong foundation in the basics of QISE, in which quantum computing plays a central role. In this study, we discuss the development, validation, and evaluation of a Quantum Interactive Learning Tutorial, on the basics and applications of quantum computing. These include an overview of key quantum mechanical concepts relevant to quantum computation (including ways a quantum computer is different from a classical computer), properties of single- and multiqubit systems, and the basics of single-qubit quantum gates. The tutorial uses guided inquiry-based teaching-learning sequences. Its development and validation involved conducting cognitive task analysis from both expert and student perspectives and using common student difficulties as a guide. For example, before engaging with the tutorial, after traditional lecture-based instruction, one reasoning primitive that was common in student responses is that a major difference between an N -bit classical and N -qubit quantum computer is that various things associated with a number N for a classical computer should be replaced with the number 2 N for a quantum computer (e.g., 2 N qubits must be initialized and 2 N bits of information are obtained as the output of the computation on the quantum computer). This type of reasoning primitive also led many students to incorrectly think that there are only N distinctly different states available when computation takes place on a classical computer. Research suggests that this type of reasoning primitive has its origins in students learning that quantum computers can provide exponential advantage for certain problems, e.g., Shor’s algorithm for factoring products of large prime numbers, and that the quantum state during the computation can be in a superposition of 2 N linearly independent states. The inquiry-based learning sequences in the tutorial provide scaffolding support to help students develop a functional understanding. The final version of the validated tutorial was implemented in two distinct courses offered by the physics department with slightly different student populations and broader course goals. Students’ understanding was evaluated after traditional lecture-based instruction on the requisite concepts and again after engaging with the tutorial. We analyze and discuss their improvement in performance on concepts covered in the tutorial. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Fahimeh Bayeh, Linh Dinh, Dongho Lee +1 more

This paper describes the design and implementation of a two-day quantum hackathon for underrepresented high school students in Nova Scotia, Canada. The first day of the hackathon is spent introducing students to quantum computing through hands-on activities, whereas the second day teaches students to apply this knowledge through guided challenges. Both days are informed by the theory of mastery learning and specification grading, with the full curriculum being crafted within the Integrated Course Design framework. This requires identifying situational factors unique to our target demographics, from which we develop learning outcomes, and then work backwards to a full curriculum with educative assessments. A novel aspect of our hackathon is that all circuit simulations are performed within Quirk: a decision based on best practices in computer science education. Based on feedback from students, we conclude that our hackathon successfully introduced students to the basics of quantum computing, and was able to reach most of our target demographics.

Noson S. Yanofsky

Michal Charemza