The Quantum Pontiff

This Blog Has Moved

This is not the blog you are looking for. Or, well as of Nov 5, 2007 it is not the blog you are looking for. That’s right, the Quantum Pontiff is moving. Because change is good, life is short, and bad puns are a good reason for doing things, this blog is moving to Scienceblogs.com. The new web address is http://scienceblogs.com/ponitff. RSS will appear here.

Oh, I forgot to tell you what the bad pun is. Shame on me. Scienceblogs.com is under the umbrella of Seed Media Group. Thus I can say that in moving the pontiff, “I’m going to Seed.”

So grab your beer and come on over. For now I’m leaving the archives live for the pontiff here as there is still at least one thread are people are still commenting.

States in the Morning, States in the Evening, States in the Afternoon

0711.0047: “Tunable quantum interference: How to make morning, noon, and afternoon states” by Holger F. Hofmann, Takafumi Ono. We can blame Jonathan Dowling?

Teleportation

While we quantum informationistas have not achieved teleportation, apparently the job market now allows for such a transform: TeleportMyJob.com (I wonder where they get their high quality Bell Pairs.)

Arxiv API

The arxiv has added an API. Funny I was just complaining about the lack of an API.

Break

From an article in the Seattle Times on a local UW student competing in the 2007 TopCoder Collegiate Championship:

TopCoder is a private company that makes money by selling some of the finished code and matching employers with contestants. The competition is also sponsored by pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, Deutsche Bank and the National Security Agency — which states on the competition Web site that it wants to employ U.S. citizens to help break.

Yes, I copied that over correctly. “to help break.” Ah perfect fodder for paranoid interpreations: (1) NSA is in Seattle Times computers and didn’t want a mention of breaking cryptosystems. (2) The Seattle Times is part of the liberal media establishment and therefore “break” is a political slip of the tongue to remind us that the U.S. intelligence community is behind torture (that the NSA is not the CIA can not stop the conspiracy minded who will immediately note that the head of the CIA was previously the head of the NSA.) (3) “Break” is a code name for the NSA’s quantum computer. They need programmers for it’s quantum computer. Nuf said.

QIP 2008 Talks

The list of contributed talks for QIP 2008 is now available:

Invited talks

Dorit Aharonov, Hebrew University
Andris Ambainis, University of Waterloo and University of Latvia
Avraham Ben-Aroya, Tel-Aviv university
Patrick Hayden, McGill University
Oded Regev, Tel-Aviv University
Ben Reichardt, California Institute of Technology
Renato Renner, Cambridge
Falk Unger, CWI, Amsterdam
Michael Wolf, Max-Planck-Institute for Quantumoptics, Garching

Contributed talks

30-minute talks

Oded Regev and Ben Toner. Simulating Quantum Correlations with Finite Communication.
Graeme Smith. The private classical capacity with a symmetric side channel
Julia Kempe, Hirotada Kobayashi, Keiji Matsumoto and Thomas Vidick. Using Entanglement in Quantum Multi-Prover Interactive Proofs
Gabor Ivanyos, Luc Sanselme and Miklos Santha. An efficient quantum algorithm for the hidden subgroup problem in nil-2 groups
Andrew Cross, Graeme Smith, John Smolin and Bei Zeng. Codeword Stabilized Quantum Codes
Toby Cubitt, Aram Harrow, Debbie Leung, Ashley Montanaro and Andreas Winter. Counterexamples to additivity of minimum output p-Renyi entropy for p close to 0
Nikhil Bansal, Sergey Bravyi and Barbara Terhal. Classical approximation schemes for the ground-state energy of quantum and classical Ising spin glasses on planar graphs
Simon-Pierre Desrosiers and Frederic Dupuis. Quantum entropic security and approximate quantum encryption
Julia Kempe, Oded Regev and Ben Toner. The Unique Games Conjecture with Entangled Provers is False
Gilles Brassard, Anne Broadbent, Joseph Fitzsimons, Sebastien Gambs and Alain Tapp Anonymous quantum communication

20-minute talks
Ivan Damgaard, Serge Fehr, Louis Salvail and Christian Schaffner. Secure Identification and QKD in the Bounded-Quantum-Storage Model
Jean Christian Boileau, Lana Sheridan, Martin Laforest and Stephen Bartlett. Quantum Reference Frames and the Classification of Rotationally-Invariant Maps
Ivan Damgaard, Serge Fehr, Renato Renner, Louis Salvail and Christian Schaffner. A Tight High-Order Entropic Quantum Uncertainty Relation With Applications
Stefano Pironio, Antonio Acin, Nicolas Brunner, Nicolas Gisin, Serge Massar and Valerio Scarani. Device-independent security of Quantum Key Distribution
Stephanie Wehner and Andreas Winter. Higher entropic uncertainty relations for anti-commuting observables
Stefano Pironio, Miguel Navascues and Antonio Acin. Quantum probabilities, semidefinite programming, and optimization over Hilbert spaces
Zhengfeng Ji, Jianxin Chen, Zhaohui Wei and Mingsheng Ying. The LU-LC conjecture is false
Scott Aaronson. Quantum Copy-Protection
Julia Kempe, Hirotada Kobayashi, Keiji Matsumoto, Ben Toner and Thomas Vidick. On the Power of Entangled Provers: Immunizing games against entanglement
Daniel E. Browne, Elham Kashefi, Mehdi Mhalla and Simon Perdrix. Determinism in Measurement based quantum computation
Dan Browne, Matthew Elliot, Steven Flammia, Seth Merkel, Akimasa Miyake and Anthony Short. Phase transition of computational power in the resource states for one-way quantum computation
Aram Harrow. Quantum expanders from any classical Cayley graph expander
Tsuyoshi Ito, Hirotada Kobayashi, Daniel Preda, Xiaoming Sun and Andrew C.-C. Yao. Generalized Tsirelson Inequalities, Commuting-Operator Provers, and Multi-Prover Interactive Proof Systems
Keiji Matsumoto. Self-teleportation and its application on LOCC estimation and other tasks
Kazuo Iwama, Harumichi Nishimura, Rudy Raymond and Shigeru Yamashita. Unbounded-Error Classical and Quantum Communication Complexity
Robert Koenig and Renato Renner. Sampling of min-entropy relative to quantum knowledge
Matthias Christandl and Ben Toner. De Finetti theorems for finitely exchangeable conditional probability=20 distributions
Yi Zhao, Fred Fung, Bing Qi, Christine Chen and Hoi-Kwong Lo. Quantum hacking: experimental demonstration of time-shift attack
Julien Degorre, Marc Kaplan, Sophie Laplante and Jeremie Roland. The complexity of simulating non-signaling distributions
Jonathan Walgate and Andrew Scott. Completely Entangled Random Subspaces

Comet Holmes

Comet Holmes went from seventeenth magnitude to 2.8 magnitude on October 24th. Okay Seattle time to clear up your skies so I can get a view of the sucker.

Dr. StrangeArmitage

Am I the only one who thinks Richard Armitage (watch the whole thing at your own sanity’s sake)

sounds just like General ‘Buck’ Turgidson from “Dr. Strangeloveor: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb”:

? “Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap!”

Fourth Time a Charm?

Three strikes…

Dear Dr. Bacon,

We regret the delay in obtaining a review on your manuscript.
The paper has been sent to three referees who have not provided
reports. We are now sending to a fourth referee asking that he/she
expedite review. As soon as we have additional information, we
will advise and thank you for your patience.

But, wait, who is out?

NSF Power

NSF loses power. No, not politcal power silly: electrical power!

Speaking of which, this is what writing a grant proposal looks like to me:

OQIS? Oh, yes.

Optical quantum information science position in Bristol:

Based in the Departments of Physics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering, you will work in the Centre for Quantum Photonics in the area of optical quantum information science. We have a world-leading Centre for Quantum Photonics spanning Physics and Electrical Engineering. This group is active in several EU, US, Australian and UK programs. Areas being studied include: single photon sources from quantum dots and diamond, pair photon sources from photonic crystal fibres, multi-photon quantum interference, quantum communication, optical quantum computing, quantum measurement, and quantum metrology.

We currently have an opening for a Postdoctoral Researcher in the area of optical quantum measurement and quantum information. This project will involve generalised quantum measurements with single photons and quantum information processing. It will use photons generated via nonlinear crystals, as well as the photonic crystal fibres sources developed by Prof. John Rarity at Bristol. You will have postgraduate experience in experimental physics or related discipline. You may also have experience in single photon quantum optics or experimental quantum information science. General laboratory experience in interfacing equipment and data processing, and a willingness to supervise graduate students will also be necessary.

This position is offered for two years in the first instance, with possible extension to four years. If successful, you may be appointed either on a fixed term or a permanent contract depending on the extent of your previous relevant research experience. Further information can be found at http://www.bristol.ac.uk/personnel/ftc/

I was once kicked into a club with Jeremey O’Brien.

Beautiful Spoken Prose

What would you say if you’d just been award a Nobel Prize in Literature:

359 is the new 555

359.33.9.234.

Absolutely Cheating

Oops. If you cheat, it’s probably smart not to absolutely cheat.

Mundane!

Patrick points me to Working for the Revolution by Freeman Dyson, which is a review of
Faust in Copenhagen: A Struggle for the Soul of Physics by Gino Segrè which contains this gem:

Theoretical physicists are now divided into two main factions. Those who
look forward to another revolution mostly believe that it will grow out of
a grand mathematical scheme known as string theory. Those who are content
with the outcome of the old revolution are mostly studying more mundane
subjects such as high-temperature superconductors and quantum computers.
String theory may be considered to be the counterattack of those who lost
the debate over complementarity in physics in Copenhagen in 1932. It is
the revenge of the heirs of Einstein against the heirs of Bohr. The new
discipline of systems biology, describing living creatures as emergent
dynamic organizations rather than as collections of molecules, is the
counterattack of those who lost the debate over complementarity in biology
in 1953. It is the revenge of the heirs of Bohr against the heirs of
Einstein.

You heard that correctly. Quantum computing is mundane.

Only 20 Light Years? Lets Go!

New Planet. Closer to it’s star than Earth, but the star is cooler. Gliese 581c here we come!

Elevator Buttons

Is there a simple reason why elevator floor buttons cannot be reset by a second push of the button?

Update: A comment reminded me of the first time I remember being able to ride on an elevator (at the time there was no elevators in Yreka.) It was at a Little People of America convention in Reno, Nevada (my sister is a little person.) They had installed these nice ramps so that the little people could reach all of the buttons. But for a little tyrant like myself, what this meant was that I could get into the elevator, run up the ramp, quickly press all the buttons and then get off at the next floor. Proceed to the next elevator and repeat. Ah, such fun.

PI Postdocs

Yes, it’s that time of year. The leaves are turning orange, sending a color coded signal to your head that it is, once again, time to apply for jobs. Here’s one from the center of the quantum computing universe (the existence of a prefered reference frame does not imply that the laws of physics aren’t Lorentz invariant in all (*ahem* intertial *ahem*) reference frames):

Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics is accepting applications for postdoctoral positions in the areas of quantum gravity, string theory, quantum information, cosmology, quantum foundations and particle physics. Applicants in related areas, such as condensed matter physics, are also encouraged to apply. The postdoctoral positions are normally for a period of three years. Outstanding candidates may also be considered for a senior postdoctoral position with a five-year term.

The deadline for applications is November 5, 2007, but applications will be considered until all positions are filled.

Further information and an online application can be found here: http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/postdoctoralresearcher

If the Santa Fe Institute is the Ivory Tower, the Perimeter Institute is its Canadian sister (blessed be the Canadian dollar which is bring dollars Seattle’s way.)

SFI Postdocs

Postdocs at the Santa Fe Institute:

Postdoctoral Fellowship Opportunities at the Santa Fe Institute

The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is selectively seeking applications for Postdoctoral Fellows for appointments beginning Fall 2008.

Fellows are appointed for up to three years during which they pursue research questions of their own design and are encouraged to transcend disciplinary lines. SFI’s unique structure and resources enable Fellows to collaborate with members of the SFI faculty, other Fellows, and researchers from around the world.

As the leader in multidisciplinary research, SFI has no formal programs or departments and we accept applications from any field. Research topics span the full range of natural and social sciences and often make connections with the humanities. Most research at SFI is theoretical and/or computational in nature, although some research includes an empirical component in collaboration with other institutions.

The compensation package includes a competitive salary and excellent health and retirement benefits. As full participants in the SFI community, Fellows are encouraged to invite speakers, organize workshops and working groups and engage in research outside their field. Funds are available to support this full range of research activities. Applications are welcome from candidates in any country. Successful foreign applicants must acquire an acceptable visa (usually a J-1) as a condition of employment. Women and minorities are especially encouraged to apply.

For complete information and application instructions, please follow the link to http://www.santafe.edu/postdocapp08. The online application process opens October 15, 2007. Application deadline is November 15, 2007.

I recently heard someone describe the SFI as “the academic tower” which is a spot on description. A great place to do research. (Damn I miss green chiles.)

The Ghost in the Quantum Machine

Ack, 0710.2537:

Title: Spookytechnology and Society
Authors: Charles Tahan

New technologies based on the exploitation of so-called “second order” quantum phenomena - such as quantum entanglement - deserve a public-friendly, rational, and sexy name. Spookytechnology is that unifying term. From historical and motivational perspectives, this name has greater value than the many variations of quantum this and quantum that presently used. As many already believe, the pursuit of spookytechnology has profound implications for the development of the physical and information sciences and ultimately for society at large. Spookytechnology will find its place in the increasingly dense line of major technological revolutions of our time: quantum, info, bio, nano, spooky.

Okay, my first reaction is negative. Man I’m getting to be a grouch. Is “spooky” really “rational”? It certainly is sexy, except that it somehow reminds me of sex with ghosts. Is it “public friendly?” Only if we want the public to believe we are in the business of pseudoscience? On the other hand, I’m sure we could get a show on the SciFi channel if we adopt spookytechnology