GLOSSARY

Understanding
Quantum Computers

English Version

© Keio University
GLOSSARY

We have included this glossary for your reference. You are not expected to
remember all the new terms but feel free to come back to this list as many
times as you need. If you come across other words that you would like us to
add to the glossary, please tell us in the comments section.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A
 AIST : The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology (JAPAN)
 ARPANET : The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET) was an early packet switching network and the first
network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP. Considered the most
important precursor to today’s Internet.
 Aspect, Alan : French physicist.

B
 Bacon, Dave : Staff Software Engineer at Google. Prior to Google he was
a research assistant professor at the University of Washington.
 beam splitters : An optical device that splits a beam of light in two.
 beating : The beating of a signal is the low‐frequency increase and
decrease in amplitude caused by constructive and destructive
interference of two waves with slightly different frequencies.
 Bell pairs : A Bell pair is a maximally entangled pair of qubits, useful
for quantum teleportation or testing Bell’s inequality.
 Bell, John : Northern Irish physicist, and the originator of Bell’s
theorem, an important theorem in quantum physics regarding hidden
variable theories.
 Bell’s inequality : Bell’s theorem is a “no‐go theorem” that draws an
important distinction between quantum mechanics (QM) and the
world as described by classical mechanics.

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 Bell’s theory : Bell’s theorem is a “no‐go theorem” that draws an

important distinction between quantum mechanics (QM) and the
world as described by classical mechanics.
 Benioff, Paul : Paul Benioff is credited with first applying quantum
theory to computers in 1981 (Argonne National Laboratory, US).
 Bennett, Charles : One of the founders of the field of quantum
information and computation (IBM, US)
 big data : Term for data sets that are so large or complex that
traditional data processing application software is inadequate to deal
with them.
 binary : Relating to, using, or denoting a system of numerical notation
that has 2 rather than 10 as a base.
 bit : A unit of information in a computer that must be either 0 or 1.
 bit flip gate : A bit flip is the change of a bit from 0 to 1, or 1 to 0.
 Bloch Sphere : Geometrical representation of the pure state space of a
two‐level quantum mechanical system (qubit), named after the
physicist Felix Bloch.
 Bloch, Felix : Swiss‐born American physicist who shared (with E.M.
Purcell) the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1952 for developing the nuclear
magnetic resonance method of measuring the magnetic field of atomic
nuclei.

C
 Caltech : California Institute of Technology.
 CNOT gate : Controlled NOT gate.the controlled NOT gate is a quantum
gate that is an essential component in the construction of a quantum
computer.
 code words : In error correction, a code word is a set of bits that
represents a correctly‐encoded message. The code word usually
consists of more bits than the original message, with reduncancy
added for error recovery.
 Cooper pair : A pair of electrons, of opposite spin, that are thought to
be the basis of superconductivity according to BCS theory.

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 CREST : CREST is a funding program for team‐oriented research with

the aim of achieving the strategic goals set forth by the govermment.
 cryostat : A cryostat is a device used to maintain low cryogenic
temperatures of samples or devices mounted within the cryostat.

D
 D‐Wave : D‐Wave Systems, Inc. is a quantum computing company,
based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.
 decoherence : Quantum decoherence is the degradation of a state over
time, reducing the fidelity (quality) of a system, leading to errors in
quantum computation.
 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency : DARPA (Defense
Advanced Research Projects Agency) is the independent research
branch of the U.S. Department of Defense that funded a project
(ARPANET) that in time was to lead to the creation of the Internet.
 Deutsch‐Jozsa algorithm : The Deutsch‐Jozsa algorithm can determine
whether a function mapping all bitstrings to a single bit is constant or
balanced, provided that it is one of the two.
 Deutsch, David : Physicist at the University of Oxford.
 Dirac’s ket notation : Bra–ket notation, developed by Paul Dirac, is a
standard notation for describing quantum states.
 dopant atoms : A dopant, also called a doping agent, is a trace impurity
element that is inserted into a substance (in very low concentrations)
to alter the electrical or optical properties of the substance.

E
 Einstein, Albert : Theoretical physicist.Einstein developed the theory
of relativity, one of the two pillars of modern physics (alongside
quantum mechanics).
 Entropy : Entropy is a mathematical measure of the amount of
disorder in a system, originally introduced to explain why part of a
thermodynamic system’s total energy is unavailable to do useful work.

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 Euler’s equation : Euler’s identity. Euler’s identity is an equality found

in mathematics that has been compared to a Shakespearean sonnet
and described as “the most beautiful equation.”

F
 Feynman, Richard : American theoretical physicist, Nobel Prize winner,
Caltech professor, safecracker, drummer, and author of “There’s Plenty
of Room at the Bottom” (commonly cited as the inspiration for
nanotechnology) and one of the first to suggest the idea of quantum
computation.

G
 general number field sieve : In number theory, the general number
field sieve (GNFS) is the most efficient classical algorithm known for
factoring integers larger than 10^100.
 GPU (graphics processing unit) : A graphics processing unit (GPU) is a
specialized electronic circuit designed to rapidly manipulate and alter
memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer
intended for output to a display device.
 GV : GV, formerly Google Ventures, is the venture capital investment
arm of Alphabet Inc.

H
 Hadamard gate : The Hadamard gate is a 180 degree rotation around
the diagonal X+Z axis of the Bloch sphere.
 Hamming distance : Hamming distance between two bit strings is the
number of bits that would have to be changed to transform one string
into the other.
 Hamming Richard : American mathematician who invented important
concepts in (classical) error correction, and for whom the Hamming
distance is named.
 Haroche, Serge : French physicist who was awarded the 2012 Nobel
Prize.
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 Hilbert space : The mathematical concept. A Hilbert space is an

abstract vector space possessing the structure of an inner product that
allows length and angle to be measured.
 Hilbert, David : German mathematician.

I
 I/O rates : Input/Output rates; the rate at which a computer reads or
writes data.
 IARPA : The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA)
is an organization within the Office of the Director of National
Intelligence responsible for leading research to overcome difficult
challenges relevant to the United States Intelligence Community.
 id Quantique : ID Quantique (IDQ) is a Swiss company based in
Geneva, Switzerland, which provides quantum key distribution (QKD)
systems, quantum safe network encryption, single photon counters,
and hardware random number generators.

J
 Josephson junction : A Josephson junction is a tiny gap in a
superconductor across which superconducting pairs of electrons can
tunnel.
 JSPS : The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) is Japan’s
leading funding agency and is largely funded through annual subsidies
from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and
Technology.

L
 Lazaridis, Mike : Greek‐Canadian businessman, investor in quantum
computing technologies, and founder of BlackBerry.

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 Machine Learning : Machine learning is the science of getting

computers to act without being explicitly programmed.
 MagiQ Technologies : MagiQ Technologies, Inc is an American
technology development company headquartered in Somerville,
Massachusetts.
 modulo arithmetic : Arithmetic keeping results between 0 and N‐1
(inclusive) by subtracting N as necessary is said to be modulo N
arithmetic. It corresponds to arithmetic done in base N and discarding
all digits except the lowest‐order digit.
 Moore’s Law : Moore’s law is the observation that the number of
transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles approximately every
two years. Created by Gordon Moore, founder of Intel, it is an
industrial economic imperative rather than a law of physics.

N
 NEA : New Enterprise Associates, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.
 NICT : National Institute of Information and Communications
Technology (JAPAN)
 NII : National Institute of Informatics (JAPAN)
 no‐cloning theorem : The no cloning theorem is a result of quantum
mechanics which forbids the creation of identical copies of an
arbitrary unknown quantum state.
 Non‐volatile Storage : computer memory that is able to hold saved
data even if there is no power, and does not require periodic refreshes
of its memory data. Hard disks and flash memory are both non‐volatile
storage.
 NSF : National Science Foundation (US)

O
 Ortigoso, Juan : Spanish quantum researcher.
 Oxford Instruments : Oxford Instruments leading provider of high
technology tools and systems for research and industry.

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P
 Podolsky, Boris : American physicist.
 probability amplitudes : The quantum probability amplitude is a
complex number representing the size and phase of a particular basis
vector in a quantum state.
 pulses : A short period of energy that is repeated regularly, such as a
short, loud sound or a short flash of light.

Q
 Quantum Valley : Quantum Valley Investments operates as a venture
capital investment firm.
 Qubitekk : Qubitekk is the world’s first company dedicated to
commercialize Quantum Entanglement Sources required to speed the
adoption of quantum computing and cryptography technologies and
applications.
 Quintessence Labs : Cyber Security Company.

R
 RAM : Random access memory.
 Raussendorf, Robert : physicist at University of British Columbia
 Research in Motion : Research in Motion, or RIM, is a Canadian
multinational telecommunications company based in Waterloo,
Ontario, Canada.
 reversible computing : Reversible computing is a model of computing
where the computational process to some extent is reversible, i.e.,
time‐invertible. Reversible computing reduces waste energy for
classical systems, and is the logical description of the unitary evolution
of quantum systems.
 Rigetti Computing : Rigetti Computing is a quantum computing
company focusing on building a superconducting quantum computer.

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 Rigetti, Chad : Quantum computing physicist and the founder and CEO
of Rigetti Computing.
 RIKEN : Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (JAPAN)
 Rosen, Nathan : American‐Israeli physicist.
 RSA : Rivest, Shamir and Adelman. RSA can refer to either the company
of the same name or the public‐key cryptography scheme developed
by the three researchers.

S
 Schrodinger’s equation : In quantum mechanics, the Schrö dinger
equation is a mathematical equation that describes the changes over
time of a physical system in which quantum effects, such as wave–
particle duality, are significant.
 SeQureNet : SeQureNet is a start‐up company in Paris.
 Shor, Peter : Peter Williston Shor (born August 14, 1959) is an
American professor of applied mathematics at MIT.
 Steane, Andrew : Andrew Steane, professor at University of Oxford
with expertise in Quantum Physics.
 supercomputer : A supercomputer is a computer with a high level of
computing performance compared to a general‐purpose computer.
 superconducting devices : Superconducting devices are electronic
devices that harness the zero‐resistance properties of
superconductors. Electrical current in a superconductor can flow
forever, with no dissipation.
 superconducting qubit : Superconducting qubits are electronic circuits
comprising lithographically defined Josephson tunnel junctions,
inductors, capacitors, and interconnects.

T
 time domain multiplexing : Time‐division multiplexing (TDM) is a
method of transmitting and receiving independent signals over a
common signal path by means of synchronized switches at each end of

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the transmission line so that each signal appears on the line only a
fraction of time in an alternating pattern.

V
 Volatile Storage : Volatile storage is a type of computer memory that
needs power to preserve stored data. RAM is volatile storage.

W
 wave function : The quantum wave function is the state of a quantum
mechanical system, and can be written down using the state vector in
ket notation.
 Wineland, David : American Nobel‐laureate physicist at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) physics laboratory.

X
 XOR (exclusive OR) : Exclusive Or (XOR) is a logical operation that
outputs true only when inputs differ (one is true, the other is false).

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