Overview

Quantum computing and quantum communication is currently at the stage of turning fundamental science into applications. Recently, news were aired about having achieved quantum advantage in experiments. Usefulness of this quantum advantage is, however, still disputed, which clearly shows that quantum processors with increasing numbers of qubits are still merely proofs of the concept because of the high noise level. Competing architectures (superconducting nanocircuits, trapped ions, optically integrated, adiabatic quantum computers etc.) all have their advantages and disadvantages. Our aim is to develop protocols and detection methods in evaluating and benchmarking these NISQ quantum computing resources. We plan to adapt and implement quantum algorithms on available architectures, which can be used to solve problems of industrial relevance. The development of quantum computing also affects classical information technology. It is inspiring new classical and hybrid solutions and algorithms, which we plan to investigate. Concerning quantum communication, the development of communication protocols which are efficient in noisy channels is a fundamental task, which we will explore. Finally, we search for new methods of classical cryptography that help resist possible attacks by high-performance quantum computers (post-quantum cryptography).