Knots, World-Lines, and Quantum Computation

Abstract:  From the speaker: "What do knots have to do with quantum mechanics? What do elementary particles have to do with quantum computers? In this talk, I will discuss an exciting approach to developing a quantum computer based on dragging elementary particles around each other to form knots. While this may sound rather bizarre, substantial steps towards this goal have already been achieved." Presenter Steven H. Simon has been a theoretical physics professor at Oxford University since 2009. From 2000 to 2008, he was the director of theoretical physics research at Bell Laboratories. He is known for his work on topological phases of matter, topological quantum computing, and the fractional quantum Hall effect. He is also the author of a popular introductory book on solid-state physics-"guaranteed to be the funniest book on solid-state physics you will ever read."