Robert Joynt(Department of Physics, UW-Madison):
Technological Challenges of Quantum Computing
Quantum computing breaks through the standard paradigms
of computing by manipulation of bits in "on and "off" states.
This opens the possibility of solving certain crucial problems,
such as the factorization of large numbers, in polynomial time.
However, the hardware to do this does not yet exist. I will
examine some of the central challenges in constructing such
hardware, and discuss some of the proposed solutions. Particular
emphasis will be given to a device, the quantum dot computer,
that is under development by a group on campus.