We are pleased to announce the first QBronze Quantum Programming Workshop in the Republic of South Africa!
Join us for the introductory workshop “Quantum Computing and Programming” and learn the basics of quantum computing and how to write simple quantum programs.
Workshop Schedule:
Day 1 | Monday, July 3 – 18:30 (CEST)
Day 2 | Tuesday, July 4 – 18:30 (CEST)
Day 3 | Thursday, July 6 – 18:30 (CEST)
Day 4 | Friday, July 7 – 18:30 (CEST)
For further information and registration:
At today’s Group Meeting Chanelle will speak about
Qunatum Logistic Regression.
Her presentation will be based on the paper
Title of talk: Structural crossovers in trapped ions dispersively coupled to optical cavities.
Speaker: Alan Kahan.
Abstract:
We consider an optomechanical system composed of a trapped ion dispersively coupled to a single mode of a pumped optical cavity. We focus on a parameter range that exhibits bistability of different configurations in the semiclassical description. This semiclassical description, however, is not valid in close proximity to the system transitions or when the mean photon number is low. Here, we provide a numerical analysis of the fully quantum state in the few-photon regime, exploring the features of the asymptotic state across the transition and analyzing possible markers of semiclassical bistability. For larger mean photon numbers, we resort to an approach based on a truncated evolution in phase space. We compare the results of our techniques with the ones from numerical diagonalization of the quantum evolution and find that although the treatment leads to a smoothening and a slight shift of the transitions in the system, it still provides a clear improvement over localized semiclassical approximations.
Title of talk: Quantum work statistics at strong reservoir coupling.
Speaker: Dr Ahsan Nazir (University of Manchester, United Kingdom).
Abstract:
Calculating the stochastic work done on a quantum system while strongly coupled to a reservoir is a formidable task, requiring the calculation of the full eigenspectrum of the combined system and reservoir. In this talk I will show that this issue can be circumvented by using a polaron transformation that maps the system into a new frame where weak-coupling theory can be applied. It is shown that the work probability distribution is invariant under this transformation, allowing one to compute the full counting statistics of work at strong reservoir coupling. Crucially this polaron approach reproduces the Jarzynski fluctuation theorem, thus ensuring consistency with the laws of stochastic thermodynamics. I will apply the formalism to a system driven across the Landau-Zener transition, where clear signatures in the work distribution arising from a non-negligible coupling to the environment are identified. These results provide a new method for studying the stochastic thermodynamics of driven quantum systems beyond Markovian, weak-coupling regimes.
Bio:
Ahsan Nazir is the Head of Theoretical Physics and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Lead within the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester. His group works on the theory of open quantum systems, quantum thermodynamics, solid-state quantum optics, and quantum electrodynamics, with a focus on the role of correlations, non-Markovianity, and strong coupling phenomena.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://nithecs-ac-za.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0pdu2hpz0oGNGcsJaDrwZJG5cuV5K12XEc
The announcement can be found here
Prof. Francesco Petruccione was recently awarded the title of Cavaliere della Stella d’Italia, a prestigious Italian honour.. The accolade, presented by the Italian ambassador on Italy’s Republic Day, recognizes Petruccione’s significant global contributions to theoretical physics.
For the full press release, please follow this link.
One of the Ph.D. students of the Quantum Research Group of Stellenbosch University, Abbas (Omid) Hassasfar, recently attended the Eleventh Annual NYUAD International Hackathon for Social Good focusing on Quantum Computing held at the New York University Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirate.
The quantum hackathon took place on April 27th – April 30th, 2023, and in partnership with IBM, NYUAD Center for Quantum and Topological Systems, Technology Innovation Institute (TII), Geneva Science and Diplomacy Anticipator (GESDA), qBraid, QWorld, NiEW, the MIT’s iQuHACK, and others.
This event was in person at the NYUAD campus over 3 days with nearly 200 students representing 56 universities from 24 countries. Professors around the world nominated their top students and Abbas was the only participant from a South African university in this event.
This exciting program was a collaboration aimed at bringing together students from different fields such as computer science, physics, and electrical engineering, and also technology experts, from different countries to foster a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship to solve a real-world problem and focus on the useful advantage (supremacy) of Quantum computer.
During the three days, participants worked in 15 different teams to suggest a problem and solution related to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using a quantum computer and showing a quantum advantage.
We are proud to report that Abbas Hassasfar (who participated as a student/mentor in this hackathon) and his team won third prize for their project “Focus on Good Health & Wellbeing” which helps medical professionals with the early detection of malignant tumors in patients using quantum machine learning.
The experience was extremely motivating, allowing the students to cooperate with other specialists in the area, learn about the most recent breakthroughs in quantum computing, and work on projects with real-world implications. They also made long-lasting friendships with other participants and had a great time visiting Abu Dhabi.
The student expresses his gratitude to NiTheCS and New York University Abu Dhabi for providing him with this opportunity and looks forward to attending similar events in the future.
The event wraps up with a prize-giving: https://sites.nyuad.nyu.edu/hackathon/index.php/previous-hackathons/the-annual-nyuad-hackathon-for-social-good-in-the-arab-world-2023/2023-teams/
The Stellenbosch University students, Dean Brand, Abbas (Omid) Hassasfar, Matt Lourens, Amy Rouillard, Donovan Slabbert, and Gerhard Woithe, recently attended the ICTP – Quantinuum Quantum Hackathon held at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP) in Trieste, Italy. This event brought together 90 students from 23 different countries, with the aim of collaborating and creating novel solutions to real-world problems using quantum computing. The event was co-organized by ICTP and Quantinuum, a quantum computing company behind the open-source software TKET.
The first four days of the workshop comprised lectures and tutorials given by various experts on quantum computing, quantum error correction, quantum chemistry, and one of the highlights, ZX-calculus. During the final two days, participants were tasked with working in teams to create solutions for 18 projects supplied by Quantinuum and industry partners such as Merck, Eni, and BMW, covering areas such as chemistry, natural language processing, and error correction. We are proud to report that Abbas (Omid) Hassasfar and his team won second prize for their project titled “Quantum Krylov Method” which was related to the application of quantum computing for quantum chemistry. Event wraps up with a prize-giving.
The experience was incredibly enriching and inspiring, providing the students with an opportunity to collaborate with other experts in the field, learn about the latest developments in quantum computing, and work on projects with real-world impact. They also formed lasting connections with other participants and enjoyed exploring the beautiful city of Trieste. The students express their gratitude to NiTheCS and ICTP for providing them with this opportunity and look forward to attending similar events in the future.
