Quantum Physics

Quantum computers can only offer a computational advantage when they have sufficiently many qubits operating with sufficiently small error rates. In this talk, I will show how both these requirements can be practically characterized by variants of randomized benchmarking protocols. I will first show that a simple modification to protocols based on randomized benchmarking allows multiplicative-precision estimates of error rates.  I will then outline a new protocol for estimating the fidelity of arbitrarily large quantum systems using only single-qubit randomizing gates.

The methodology employed in reconstructing quantum theory involves defining a general mathematical framework that frames a landscape of possible theories and then positing principles that uniquely pick out quantum theory. In contrast, many traditional interpretations of quantum theory consider only quantum theory, not a larger space of possible theories. I will defend the modal methodology used in reconstruction by tracing the historical roots of Einstein’s distinction between principle and constructive theories. Einstein’s principle theories (exemplified by thermodynamics and special relativity) are often cited as inspiration for reconstructing quantum theory. The concept of a “physics of principles” emerged at the end of the nineteenth century in the context of the application of Lagrangian mechanics to electromagnetism. This case is an intriguing historical precedent for reconstructing quantum theory. I will also offer some reflections on how the application of a similar modal methodology in axiomatic QFT plays out.