Quantum many-body information

微观粒子，如电子、原子和某些微细加工设备，其行为并不像常识所规定的那样。相反，它们遵守量子力学奇怪的定律。例如，这些数学定律预测，一个微观粒子可以同时出现在两个地方。虽然很难(如果不是不可能)对这些定律有一个直观的感觉，但它们在数学上得到了很好的理解，它们导致了许多科学预测，而且从来没有实验与它们相矛盾。正是通过研究量子力学定律，激光器和晶体管等器件在制造之前才在理论上被发现。这两种设备引发了信息革命，改变了我们的生活方式和追求知识的方式。 虽然量子力学是信息时代的核心，但信息本身仍然是经典的：智能手机处理的比特在给定的时间不会有两个不同的值，也不会以量子力学带来的任何违反直觉的方式表现出来。量子信息科学是一个跨学科的研究领域，旨在利用量子力学效应来提高信息技术。量子计算的潜在技术影响吸引了政府机构和大公司的大量投资，近年来，在投机投资者的支持下，出现了大量初创公司。QIS的潜在应用范围从密码学和密码破译，到材料和化学品的设计和模拟，再到快速优化和机器学习技术。 在接下来的五年里，我的NSERC支持的研究将以创新的方式将理论计算机科学和物理学的想法和技术结合起来，目标是实现新技术。这包括发现量子信息处理的新应用和促进其实施的新方法。量子技术的实现在很大程度上依赖于有效的纠错方法，我已经成为这一领域的领先专家。我开发的量子纠错方法也可以用于普通的无线通信，在即将到来的5G网络中有潜在的应用。 除了这些技术动机，量子信息科学为研究基本的物理问题提供了一个强大的视角。我开发的技术知识和数学工具正在被越来越多的研究人员使用，他们试图了解如何协调量子力学和广义相对论，特别是在黑洞的背景下。因此，在追求技术驱动的研究计划的同时，我将越来越多地参与这项引人入胜的基础研究工作。

Microscopic particles, such as electrons, atoms, and certain microfabricated devices, do not behave as common sense would dictate. Instead, they obey the strange laws of quantum mechanics. These mathematical laws predict for instance that a microscopic particle can be at two places at the same time. While it is hard, if not impossible, to get an intuitive sense about these laws, they are mathematically well understood, they have lead to many scientific predictions, and they have never been contradicted by an experiment. It is by studying the laws of quantum mechanics that devices such as the laser and the transistor were theoretically discovered, before being fabricated. These two devices led to the information revolution, which has transformed the way we live and pursue knowledge. While quantum mechanics is at the heart of the information age, the information itself remains classical: the bits processed by a smartphone do not take two different values at a given time, or behave in any of the counter-intuitive ways enabled by quantum mechanics. Quantum information science is an interdisciplinary research field that aims at harnessing quantum mechanical effects to enhance information technologies. The potential technological impact of quantum computation has attracted major investment by government agencies and large corporations, and in recent years a raft of start-up companies have appeared with the support of speculative investors. The potential applications of QIS range from both cryptography and code-breaking, to the design and simulation of materials and chemicals, to fast optimization and machine learning techniques. In the next five years, my NSERC-supported research will combine ideas and techniques from theoretical computer science and physics in innovative ways with the objective of enabling new technologies. This includes the discovery of new applications of quantum information processing and of new methods to facilitate their implementation. The realization of quantum technologies largely relies on efficient error correction methods, and I have become a leading expert in that area. The methods I develop for quantum error correction can also serve in ordinary wireless communication, with potential applications for the upcoming 5G network. Beyond these technological motivation, quantum information science provides a powerful lens to investigate fundamental physical questions. The technical knowledge and mathematical tools that I have developed is being used by a growing community of researchers trying to understand how to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity, particularly in the context of black holes. So in parallel to pursuing a technologically-driven research program, I will take an increasing part in this fascinating fundamental research endeavour.