•   When: Friday, April 16, 2021 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
•   Speakers: Michael Jarret
•   Location: ZOOM
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Abstract:

 How powerful is a physically-realizable quantum computer? As we rapidly develop new quantum technology, this question is more important than ever. In this talk, I will give a brief overview of the state of the art and review the underlying computational assumptions that existing devices satisfy. Then, I will present recent results that show both separations between and limitations of recent models, highlighting "hidden symmetries" as a potentially powerful resource. I will then prove that while these symmetries can be exploited to craft classically challenging problems, near-term (and possibly long-term) constraints limit this resource to at most a quasipolynomial separation. Finally, I will discuss the implications of these results in real-world problems and the prospect of extending these methods to tackle presently intractable problems in scientific computation.

Bio: 

Michael leads the quantum research group at Booz Allen Hamilton. His research focuses on finding the boundary between quantum and classical computation by exploring novel quantum algorithms, creating classical competitors, and developing new analytic methods. Before his current position, Michael was the first graduate student to receive a PhD from the newly formed Joint Center for Quantum Information and Computer Science at the University of Maryland. After this, he was a postdoctoral scholar at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.