This is the second semester of a two-semester sequence. The first semester focused on quantum information theory, covering the following topics: classical information, the Hilbert-space formulation of quantum mechanics, quantum states, quantum dynamics and measurements, quantum information, and quantum entanglement. It should be possible to take this course without having taken the first semester of the sequence.

The course syllabus details the topics to be covered and provides a complete schedule for the course. It is also your gateway to the web-based material: lecture notes, special handouts, homework assignments, and solution sets, which are available as pdf files linked to the syllabus.

The course assumes that you have a good background in linear algebra and some familiarity with the Hilbert-space formulation of quantum mechanics, including the description of quantum states as vectors in Hilbert space, observables as Hermitian operators, and time evolutions as unitary operators. The course is structured so that you could come up to speed on these things as the course progresses, but that would involve a bit of scrambling on your part to keep up. It will certainly be to your advantage if you have some familiarity with Dirac's bra-ket notation for manipulating the linear-algebraic mathematical objects of quantum mechanics, and you are familiar with the Pauli-matrix algebra for two-state quantum systems (qubits) and with the associated Bloch-sphere description of qubit quantum states.

The course will be taught as a graduate specialty course; i.e., you are expected to be taking the course because you are interested in and want to learn the material. The course will be taught on two tracks, a graded track and an ungraded (credit/no-credit) track. There will not be any exams. Those registering for a letter grade will be expected to do the homework assignments. All students are welcome and encouraged to register for a grade. Students intending to do a PhD dissertation on quantum information are required to be on the graded track. (You should be familiar with the University deadlines for changing grading options.) Students who prefer the ungraded track should register for the CR/NC grading option. To receive a grade of CR, students need only to attend the lectures and show interest.