Research in Quantum information processing studies the potential use of quantum mechanical systems–individual atoms, ions, photons, and nanoscale solid state devices–for information-processing tasks such as computation and communication. Such quantum systems may offer large gains over classical information processing. Algorithms for quantum computers are known which outperform the best known classical algorithms for a number of problems: factoring large numbers, searching an unstructured database, and the simulation of quantum systems. Quantum communications can offer perfectly secure encryption (through quantum key distribution) and capacity gains due to purely quantum resources, such as entanglement. In the QIP group at USC, research is done on a variety of problems. Particular areas of research include: the protection of quantum computers from noise (decoherence) by error correction, decoherence-free subspaces and subsystems, and refocusing pulses; weak and continuous measurements and quantum trajectories; realistic modeling of near-term experiments; quantum random walks; quantum chaos; quantum phase transitions; optical quantum computing and quantum communications; design of single photon sources and detectors; quantum information theory; asymptotic resource inequalities; and quantum channel capacities.
Faculty
Andrea Martin Armani
Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and Chemistry
Todd Andrew Brun
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Physics and Astronomy
Stephen Burke Cronin
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Paul Daniel Dapkus
Professor Emeritus of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Brandon Franzke
Senior Lecturer of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Jonathan L. Habif
Research Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Mercedeh Khajavikhan
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Murali Kota
Adjunct Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Tony Levi
Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Physics and Astronomy
Daniel Amihud Lidar
Viterbi Professorship in Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics and Astronomy
Anupam Madhukar
Kenneth T. Norris Professor in Engineering and Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Biomedical Engineering, and Electrical and Computer Engineering
Benjamin W. Reichardt
Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Alan E. Willner
Andrew and Erna Viterbi Professorial Chair and Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
J. Joshua Yang
Arthur B. Freeman Chair Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering