Quantum Computation and Quantum Information | 
 enlarge | Authors: Michael A. Nielsen, Isaac L. Chuang
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Category: Book
List Price: $85.00
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Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 35248
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Pages: 675
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.3
Dimensions (in): 9.6 x 6.9 x 1.7
ISBN: 0521635039
Dewey Decimal Number: 004.1
EAN: 9780521635035
Publication Date: September 2000
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Product Description
In this first comprehensive introduction to the main ideas and techniques of quantum computation and information, Michael Nielsen and Isaac Chuang ask the question: What are the ultimate physical limits to computation and communication? They detail such remarkable effects as fast quantum algorithms, quantum teleportation, quantum cryptography and quantum error correction. A wealth of accompanying figures and exercises illustrate and develop the material in more depth. They describe what a quantum computer is, how it can be used to solve problems faster than familiar "classical" computers, and the real-world implementation of quantum computers. Their book concludes with an explanation of how quantum states can be used to perform remarkable feats of communication, and of how it is possible to protect quantum states against the effects of noise.
Book Description
This text is the first comprehensive introduction to an exciting new cross-disciplinary field which utilizes the strange effects of quantum mechanics to enable information processing and computing feats that would be impossible on traditional 'classical' computers. The authors describe what a quantum computer is, how it can be used to solve problems faster than familiar 'classical' computers, and the real-world implementation of quantum computers. This book will provide an in-depth knowledge of the subject to readers without any background in the field.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 Interdisciplinary! August 13, 2002
Palle E T Jorgensen (Iowa City, Iowa United States)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
Classical computation follows the model of A. Turing,-- strings of bits, i.e., 0s and 1s; a mathematical model, now called the Turing mashine. Analogues based instead on two-level quantum systems were suggested in the 1980ties by R.P. Feynman and D. Deutsch. But it wasn't until Peter Shor's qubit-factoring algorithm in the mid 1990ties that the subject really took off, and really caught the attention of the math community. That there is a polynomial factoring algorithm shook the encryption community as well, for obvious reasons. New elements of thinking in the quantum realm, and not part of the classical framework, include superposition of (quantum) states, and (quantum) coherence. This makes a drastic change in the whole theoretical framework when one passes from the classical notion of bit-registers to that of qubit-registers. In passing from logic gates to quantum gates(unitary matrices), the concept of switching networks changes. It introduces new challenges, and new truely exciting opportunities. It is not easy for authors to make everyone happy;-- this is especially so in a new field,--one which has grabbed headlines, and one which is at the same time interdisiplinary. In this case, the authors succeed as well as anyone, I believe.-- This lovely book covers several of the appropriate areas of physics (quantum theory, (some) experiment...), of computer science (the mathematical side of the subject), and of math (operators in Hilbert space, and the theory of algorithms);-- each member of the particular scientific specialty has very definite ideas of his/her own subject,-- and that of the others. Nonetheless, in this readers opinion, the two authors did a great job;-- they explain math to the physics community,-- and they sucessfully teach quantum theory and theoretical CS to mathematicians. The book is suitable for grad students: has lots of great exercises, but it could perhaps have used some more worked examples. (Fortunately they can be found in other books on quantum computation.) The Nielsen-Chuang book is most certainly a great entry for students into this exciting new subject. There are other books,-- but they, for the most part, take a more narrow view. The material in Nielsen-Chuang is timeless,-- and I expect the book will also be popular ten years from now.
Great reference text - hard to learn from for the first time January 1, 2005
Jacob D. B. (United States)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful
This book has found its many uses as a reference. In particular the citations helped me locate key papers that I needed to work toward my research project. If you want to do research in this area than I recommend you add this text to your collection without question, however if you are trying to teach yourself quantum mechanics (like I did) I can suggest several other books that will help you along your quest.
This book lacks worked examples, I recommend the worked problems text: (Problems & Solutions in Quantum Computing & Quantum Information, ISBN: 9812387900) This book also skips over many `simple' concepts as expected for the depth of coverage. The kindest introduction to quantum computing out of the dozen books on my shelf is:
(Approaching Quantum Computing, Dan C. Marinescu, Gabriela M. Marinescu , ISBN: 013145224X).
There are now many texts on the subject of quantum computing, but there is a reason why this text is citied hundreds of times by the top people in this field. For a research project you must get this book, if you are teaching a class it might be wise to mention this book and refer students to another text. I think that the text (Explorations in Quantum Computing, ISBN: 038794768X) is good in the amount of material covered, but does not go into depth on key points -- It could be argued that the Mathematica simulation files more than compensate for this. I have not had a chance to read the Gruska text (Quantum Computing, ISBN: 0077095030) since it is out of print for the time being. I hear a new addition is on its way and I am interested in reading that book.
I would say that this text will remain a classic but the material is not easy for me to grasp. The book is hard, but quantum computing is hard so this is expected. I could live without the other texts on my shelf, but I need NC. If you do buy this book search for the "Quantum Computing Tutorial by Mark Oskin", an Assistant Professor at the University of Washington. His notes were designed as a guide for his students using the NC text, and they will help you get through some key examples. I downloaded the file: quantum-notes.pdf but it is also free in latex for professors.
Good for Research and Self-Study January 18, 2002
Adrian C Keister (Radford, VA USA)
11 out of 16 found this review helpful
I think that this book is excellent for self-study, and does provide a significant level of rigour. I believe that the authors do a significantly good job defining their terms and making sure the reader is "with them." For example, just a few lines up from Equation 5.36 on page 226, in fact immediately after the start of Section 5.3.1, the authors make the comment, "For positive integers x and N, x < N, with no common factors,...". Now I would assume that Equation 5.36 would reference these same variables, and thus the restriction would still apply. This is admittedly rather a specific example, but it illustrates the point: the authors have a well-developed sense of logical flow, and such flow makes it much easier to follow what is rather a difficult subject. The subject is difficult because it spans such a huge variety of disciplines. My advice is to take courses in mathematics: linear algebra (easily the most important of all the classes), abstract algebra, discrete mathematics, advanced calculus, number theory; in physics: classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electricity and magnetism; electrical engineering: linear circuits, digital logic, microprocessors; and in computer science: algorithms and data structures, cryptography. Then I think you would have an adequate background to understand this top-notch, advanced book.
An essential text June 17, 2005
A. Shiekh (Tsaile, AZ United States)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
Despite its age, I keep coming back to this text for the careful prose and knowledgeable authors; so much so that I am ordering the hardback edition, having worn out the binding of the paperback edition. It is both a book to learn from and one to refer to later. It will eventually be outdated, but I don't see this as having happened yet. Although a large book, it is not bulked out like some, containing a lot of useful and relevant material. Perhaps not the text for those setting out from a 'cold start', but then a great follow up to 'The Quest for Quantum Computing" by Julian Brown. Not overtly rigorous, which is to its credit, as the concepts remain clear as a result. Certainly an essential text, where the prose does not get in the way. A very readable book about a very exciting subject, that is sure to deliver to the determined reader.
Wonderful coverage and approach January 24, 2004
Jeff (Chicago, IL United States)
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is the textbook for a course offered in CS at the University of Chicago. As a chemist, I found the introduction and Chapter 3 to be a an excellent introduction to the ideas from classical computation theory needed to understand quantum computation. I also found Chapter 2 to be one of the better introductions to quantum mechanics I have seen. Qubits are an excellent basis (unintended joke) for learning quantum mechanics on. I've checked out a few books on the subject and have found no finer book for anyone-chemist, physicist, mathematician, computer scientist-to learn quantum computing.
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