Quantum Computing with a Topological Phase of Matter

Promotional image for talk: Elements of a successful scientific talk

Speaker(s): Christina Knapp

A central tenet of condensed matter physics is that the collective behavior of a system can be drastically different from that of its constituent parts. Topological phases of matter provide an especially dramatic example of this idea: the phase of matter cannot be identified within a local region, but is rather encoded in global properties of the system. As such, topological phases are insensitive to local noise, making them a promising platform for fault tolerant quantum computing. In this talk, we will explore how to build a quantum computer out of a topological superconductor. We will first cover what a topological superconductor is, and the current state of experiments. We will then describe how to build qubits from topological superconductors and their protection from a noisy local environment.

Colloquium

Junior and senior physics majors attend our biweekly colloquium series, held on Tuesday afternoons at 4:30 p.m. in Shanahan B460. The talks are open to all students and to the public, and are frequently attended by scientists from the other Claremont Colleges, Cal Poly Pomona, and others. The series features speakers from a broad range of institutions and fields of physics.