Quantum Algorithms for Quantum Field Theories

Quantum field theory reconciles quantum mechanics and special relativity, and plays a central role in many areas of physics. I will discuss a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for simulating a quantum field theory, which I developed in collaboration with Keith Lee and John Preskill. Such simulations are believed to require exponential time on classical computers. No prior knowledge of quantum algorithms or quantum field theory will be assumed.

Speaker Bio: Stephen Jordan got his Bachelor's degree in physics in 2003 from Penn State, and his PhD in physics in 2008 from MIT. After a postdoc at Caltech, he joined NIST's Applied and Computational Mathematics division in April 2011. He also maintains the "Quantum Algorithm Zoo" (http://math.nist.gov/quantum/zoo/), a comprehensive repository of quantum algorithms.

Presentation Slides: PDF

Note: Visitors from outside NIST must contact Cathy Graham; (301) 975-3668; at least 24 hours in advance.