Research Involves

Developing the mathematical foundation behind quantum information theory.

Research Relevance

This research will advance important aspects in quantum information theory, including quantum state transfer within quantum computers and private quantum communication.

The Mathematics Behind Quantum Computing

Quantum information theory is a rapidly growing research area in today’s technology-driven society. The advancement of quantum information science promises far-reaching implications on human activities both in terms of high level research activities as well as daily life activities; measuring and exploiting quantum resources—namely coherence and entanglement, and the assurance of secure transmission of personal information (quantum cryptography) are just two examples of areas of development that would have massive implications to ordinary daily life computing. To reach these goals, there are many open theoretical questions and experimental challenges that must be overcome.

Dr. Sarah Plosker, Canada Research Chair in Quantum Information Theory, employs tools from the broad mathematical fields of operator theory and matrix analysis to make practical advancements in quantum information theory. Her work is at the forefront of private quantum communication, quantum state transfer, and the manipulation of quantum resources, among other things.

Plosker’s research involves building up the mathematical foundations of fundamentally important concepts in quantum information theory through combining techniques from different areas of pure mathematics. This provides new insights and discoveries in majorization theory, optimization techniques, convex analysis, perturbation theory, linear and multilinear algebra, matrix theory, and approximation theory. The results of Plosker’s work have direct applications to quantum computing, in particular in developing methods to transfer quantum states in quantum computers, harnessing the full potential of quantum resources, and ensuring that private transmissions stay private.