Formal Methods for Quantum Information Science

13^th November 2012, 16:00 Ashton Lecture Theatre
Prof. Rajagopal Nagarajan
School of Science and Technology
Middlesex University London

Abstract

Abstract: The novel field of quantum computation and quantum
information has gathered significant impetus in the last few
years, and it has the potential to radically impact the future of
information technology. While the successful construction of a
large-scale quantum computer may be some years away, secure
communication involving quantum cryptography has already been
implemented, and equipment for quantum cryptography is
commercially available. The major selling point of quantum
cryptography is unconditional security. But can this be guaranteed
in practice? Even when protocols have been mathematically proved
to be secure, it is notoriously difficult to achieve robust and
reliable implementations of secure systems. Techniques based on
formal verification are now widely used by industry to ensure that
(classical) systems meet their specifications. In this talk, I
will give an overview of our ongoing work in using such techniques
for the modelling and analysis of quantum protocols and,
eventually, their implementations.