Applications are invited for a Ph.D. position at the Centre for Quantum Computer Science, University of Latvia, lead by prof. Andris Ambainis. The Centre is among the strongest European research groups in quantum algorithms and currently consists of 4 faculty members and 13 postdocs and graduate students.

Research of the Centre is centered around the question is "What can we compute with quantum computers?". We are interested in both developing new algorithms for quantum computers and studying the limits of what can be achieved with them. We are also interested in a variety of mathematical questions motivated by quantum computing.

The Ph.D. student will be a part of a new research project "Quantum algorithms: from complexity theory to experiment", including the following questions:
- design of new quantum algorithms for problems in graph theory, optimization and machine learning;
- complexity-theoretic study of maximum possible quantum advantage and possible bounds on it, both for quantum algorithms and quantum communication protocols;
- development of a theoretical foundation for experimental work on near-term quantum computing;
- study of connections between quantum computing and questions in classical computer science/mathematics.

We are looking for candidates with an interest in one or more of these topics, with a Master's degree in computer science, mathematics or physics.

The expected length of a Ph.D. study at the University of Latvia is 3 years, starting from October 1, 2019. The successful applicant will receive salary from the project as a research assistant and will be provided funding for research travel.

Applicants should send their CV (including contact data of possible references) to Andris Ambainis (ambainis@lu.lv), by May 10, 2019.