Computation & Simulations
Quantum computers are expected to solve many of the hard problems that are challenging for today’s classical supercomputers. We are developing techniques to build scalable quantum computers using various physical qubits. We also work on developing new algorithms for real-world applications, fault-tolerant quantum computing and error correction codes.
A quantum computer will be able to simulate quantum-mechanical interactions efficiently. Since chemical bonds are quantum-mechanical in nature, quantum mechanics is required to understand many of the functionally important properties of molecules and materials, as well as their structure and dynamics, with applications spanning molecular biology, pharmacology, geology and materials science.
Researchers at Imperial are working on photonic and superconducting qubits to demonstrate quantum advantages in some quantum simulation problems. Using cold molecules, we can simulate quantum effects in chemical reactions and open quantum systems. We can also trap tens of ionic qubits to realise basic quantum gate operations and highly accurate measurements of qubit states. In all these aspects of quantum hardware and software development, we work closely with industry partners.
Our researchers:
Daan Arroo
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Daan Arroo
Department of Materials
Dr Ryan Barnett
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Dr Ryan Barnett
Department of Mathematics
Professor Michael Bearpark
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Professor Michael Bearpark
Department of Chemistry
Dr Mario Berta
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Dr Mario Berta
Department of Computing
Roberto Bondesan
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Roberto Bondesan
Department of Computing
Prof Fernando Bresme
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Prof Fernando Bresme
Department of Chemistry
Dr Chris Cantwell
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Dr Chris Cantwell
Department of Aeronautics
Dr Malcolm Connolly
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Dr Malcolm Connolly
Department of Physics
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Dr Thomas Elliott
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Dr Thomas Elliott
Department of Mathematics
Professor Matthew Foulkes
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Professor Matthew Foulkes
Department of Physics
Dr Alex Ganose
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Dr Alex Ganose
Department of Chemistry
Dr Liam (Jianliang) Gao
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Dr Liam (Jianliang) Gao
Graduate School and Business School
Dr Gerard Gorman
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Dr Gerard Gorman
Department of Earth Science and Engineering
Dr Kevin Gouder
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Dr Kevin Gouder
Department of Aeronautics
Professor Geoffrey Hall FRS
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Professor Geoffrey Hall FRS
Department of Physics
Professor Nicholas Harrison
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Professor Nicholas Harrison
Department of Chemistry
Professor Peter Haynes FREng
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Professor Peter Haynes FREng
Department of Materials
Professor Lorenzo Iannucci
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Professor Lorenzo Iannucci
Department of Aeronautics
Dr Antoine Jack Jacquier
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Dr Antoine Jack Jacquier
Department of Mathematics
Dr Johannes Knolle
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Dr Johannes Knolle
Department of Physics
Dr Sylvain Laizet
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Dr Sylvain Laizet
Department of Aeronautics
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Dr Luca Magri
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Dr Luca Magri
Department of Aeronautics
Professor Jon Marangos
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Professor Jon Marangos
Department of Physics
Dr Cecilia Mattevi
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Dr Cecilia Mattevi
Department of Materials
Professor Francesco Montomoli
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Professor Francesco Montomoli
Department of Aeronautics
Professor Arash Mostofi
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Professor Arash Mostofi
Department of Materials
Professor Ramana Nanda
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Professor Ramana Nanda
Business School, Finance
Dr Raj Patel
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Dr Raj Patel
Department of Physics
Professor Terry Rudolph
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Professor Terry Rudolph
Department of Physics
Professor Riccardo Sapienza
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Professor Riccardo Sapienza
Department of Physics
Dr Mansour Taghavi Azar Sharabiani
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Dr Mansour Taghavi Azar Sharabiani
School of Public Health
Professor Michael Tarbutt
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Professor Michael Tarbutt
Department of Physics
Professor Richard Thompson
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Professor Richard Thompson
Department of Physics
Professor Ian Walmsley FRS
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Professor Ian Walmsley FRS
Department of Physics
Professor Wolfram Wiesemann
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Professor Wolfram Wiesemann
Analytics, Marketing and Operations (Business School)
Dr Herbert Wiklicky
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Dr Herbert Wiklicky
Department of Computing