The theory and practice of quantum computing have both developed dramatically in recent years. At the top, advances in theory and algorithms have taught us much about the nature of computational complexity and broadened the range of potential uses of quantum computers. At the bottom, physicists are investigating a breathtaking array of potential qubit storage and quantum gate technologies.
We study fundamental aspects of quantum theory through the analysis of relevant information processing tasks and algorithms. We are interested in the formulation of physical principles in terms of information processing possibilities.
When the particles that make up a material are strongly-correlated, we theorists get a run for our money: qualitatively new behaviour emerges and the whole is a lot more than the sum of its parts. The theoretical description of matter in such challenging circumstances benefits from very close interaction with experimentalists. For this reason the University of Kent has set up, as part of the SEPnet collaboration, a small outpost of theorists at the ISIS Facility in the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.
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