CSE 434: "Intro to Quantum Computation"
(Spring 2025)

Course Information

Instructor: Andrea Coladangelo

TAs: Aadi Anand, Sami Badal Khan, Lukshya Ganjoo, Assaf Harel

Time & location: Tuesday and Thursday 10-11.20am, CSE2 G01

Class Q&A: Ed Discussion

Office hours:
Sami: Monday 11-12. Allen 3rd floor breakout
Andrea: Tuesday 4-5. Gates 212
Aadi: Wednesday 5-6. Allen 5th floor breakout
Assaf: Thursday 1-2. Gates 121
Luksh: Friday 3:30-4.30. Gates 121

Course Description

The goal of the course is to rigorously understand the basics of the theory of quantum computation, and to explore many fascinating applications and phenomena in quantum information. 

Prerequisites: Math 208 (Linear Algebra) and CSE 312 (Foundations of Computing II).

Tentative Schedule

04/01: Course overview; the double-slit experiment; complex numbers, linear algebra review (slides, notes)

04/03: Linear algebra review (continued); single-qubit states and measurements (notes)

04/08: Measurements in a different basis; uncertainty principle; global and relative phases (notes) 

04/10: Unitary evolution; Bra-ket notation; Elitzur-Vaidman tester; Quantum Key Distribution (notes, Elitzur-Vaidman slides, QKD slides)

04/15: States of many qubits, measurements (notes)

04/17: Quantum gates on multiple qubits; partial measurements (notes)

04/22: The Magic Square game; The CHSH game (slides, notes)

04/24: The CHSH game (continued) (notes)

04/29: Quantum teleportation; Basics of quantum computation

05/01: Midterm review

05/06: Basics of quantum computation (continued); Deutsch's algorithm

05/08: Simon's algorithm

05/13: Simon's algorithm (continued); Programming quantum algorithms

05/15: No class

05/20: Grover's algorithm

05/22: Grover's algorithm (continued), Shor's algorithm and period-finding (part 1)

05/27: Shor's algorithm and period-finding (part 2)

05/29: Shor's algorithm and period-finding (part 3)

06/03: Final (in class)

06/05: Final review, and TBD

Homeworks & Exams

Homework 1 (due Wednesday 04/09 at 11.59pm): pdf, tex

Homework 2 (due Wednesday 04/16 at 11.59pm): pdf, tex

Homework 3 (due Wednesday 04/23 at 11.59pm): pdf, tex

Midterm (due Wednesday 04/30 at 11.59pm): pdf

Homework 4 (due Wednesday 05/14 at 11.59pm): 

Homework 5 (due Wednesday 05/21 at 11.59pm): 

Homework 6 (due Wednesday 05/28 at 11.59pm): 

Final (in class):

Grading

60% homeworks, 20% mid-term, 20% final

Late submission policy

3 tokens for 24 hours late submission of homeworks, no questions asked (you may use all 3 on each homework). The tokens cannot be used on the take-home midterm.