Abstract. The theory of quantum computation can be constructed from the abstract study of anyonic systems. In mathematical terms, these are unitary topological modular functors. They underlie the Jones polynomial and arise in Witten-Chern-Simons theory. The braiding and fusion of anyonic excitations in quantum Hall electron liquids and 2D-magnets are modeled by modular functors, opening a new possibility for the realization of quantum computers. The chief advantage of anyonic computation would be physical error correction: An error rate scaling like e−αℓ, where ℓ is a length scale, and α is some positive constant. In contrast, the “presumptive ” qubit-model of quantum computation, which repairs errors combinatorically, requires a fantastically low initial error rate (about 10−4) before computation can be stabilized. Quantum computation is a catch-all for several models of computation based on a theoretical ability to manufacture, manipulate and measure quantum states. In this context, there are three areas where remarkable algorithms have been found: searching a data base [15], abelian groups (factoring and discrete logarithm) [19],

Abstract: Quantum computers will work by evolving a high tensor power of a small (e.g. two) dimensional Hilbert space by local gates, which can be implemented by applying a local Hamiltonian H for a time t. In contrast to this quantum engineering, the most abstract reaches of theoretical physics has spawned “topological models ” having a finite dimensional internal state space with no natural tensor product structure and in which the evolution of the state is discrete, H ≡ 0. These are called topological quantum field theories (TQFTs). These exotic physical systems are proved to be efficiently simulated on a quantum computer. The conclusion is two-fold: 1. TQFTs cannot be used to define a model of computation stronger than the usual quantum model “BQP”. 2. TQFTs provide a radically different way of looking at quantum computation. The rich mathematical structure of TQFTs might suggest a new quantum algorithm. 1.

Abstract: We show that the topological modular functor from Witten–Chern–Simons theory is universal for quantum computation in the sense that a quantum circuit computation can be efficiently approximated by an intertwining action of a braid on the functor’s state space. A computational model based on Chern–Simons theory at a fifth root of unity is defined and shown to be polynomially equivalent to the quantum circuit model. The chief technical advance: the density of the irreducible sectors of the Jones representation has topological implications which will be considered elsewhere. 1.

Kevin Walker, and Zhenghan Wang. Their work has been the inspiration for this lecture. The mathematical problem of localizing modular functors to neighborhoods of points is shown to be closely related to the physical problem of engineering a local Hamiltonian for a computationally universal quantum medium. For genus = 0 surfaces, such a local Hamiltonian is mathematically defined. Braiding defects of this medium implements a representation associated to the Jones polynomial and this representation is known to be universal for quantum computation. 1 The Picture Principle Reality has the habit of intruding on the prodigies of purest thought and encumbering them with unpleasant embellishments. So it is astonishing when the chthonian hammer of the engineer resonates precisely to the gossamer fluttering of theory. Such a moment may soon be at hand in the practice and theory of quantum computation. The most compelling theoretical question, “localization, ” is yielding an answer which points the way to a solution of Based on lectures prepared for the joint Microsoft/University of Washington celebration

A rather elementary family of local Hamiltonians H◦,ℓ,ℓ = 1,2,3,..., is described for a 2−dimensional quantum mechanical system of spin = 1 2 particles. On the torus, the ground state space G◦,ℓ is essentially infinite dimensional but may collapse under “perturbation ” to an anyonic system with a complete mathematical description: the quantum double of the SO(3)−Chern-Simons modular functor at q = e 2πi/ℓ+2 which we call DEℓ. The Hamiltonian H◦,ℓ defines a quantum loop gas. We argue that for ℓ = 1 and 2, G◦,ℓ is unstable and the collapse to Gǫ,ℓ ∼ = DEℓ can occur truly by perturbation. For ℓ ≥ 3 G◦,ℓ is stable and in this case finding Gǫ,ℓ ∼ = DEℓ must require either ǫ> ǫℓ> 0, help from finite system size, surface roughening (see section 3), or some other trick, hence the initial use of quotes “ ”. A hypothetical phase diagram is included in the introduction. The effect of perturbation is studied algebraically: the ground state G◦,ℓ of H◦,ℓ is described as a surface algebra and our ansatz is that perturbation should respect this structure yielding a perturbed ground state Gǫ,ℓ described by a quotient algebra. By classification, this implies Gǫ,ℓ ∼ = DEℓ. The fundamental point is that nonlinear structures

Abstract. We discuss ways that the ring of coefficients for a TQFT can be reduced if one restricts somewhat the allowed cobordisms. When we apply these methods to a TQFT associated to SO(3) at an odd prime p, we obtain a functor from a somewhat restricted cobordism category to the category of free finitely generated modules over a ring of cyclotomic integers: Z[ζ2p], if p ≡ −1 (mod 4), and Z[ζ4p], if p ≡ 1 (mod 4), where ζk is a primitive kth root of unity. We study the quantum invariants of prime power order simple cyclic covers of 3-manifolds. We define new invariants arising from strong shift equivalence and integrality. Similar results are obtained for some other TQFTs but the modules are only guaranteed to be projective.

A spin 1/2 system on a honeycomb lattice is studied. The interactions between nearest neighbors are of XX, YY or ZZ type, depending on the direction of the link; different types of interactions may differ in strength. The model is solved exactly by a reduction to free fermions in a static Z2 gauge field. A phase diagram in the parameter space is obtained. One of the phases has an energy gap and carries excitations that are Abelian anyons. The other phase is gapless, but acquires a gap in the presence of magnetic field. In the latter case excitations are non-Abelian anyons whose braiding rules coincide with those of conformal blocks for the Ising model. We also consider a general theory of free fermions with a gapped spectrum, which is characterized by a spectral Chern number ν. The Abelian and non-Abelian phases of the original model correspond to ν = 0 and ν = ±1, respectively. The anyonic properties of excitation depend on ν mod 16, whereas ν itself governs edge thermal transport. The paper also provides mathematical background on anyons as well as an elementary theory of Chern number for quasidiagonal matrices.

Abstract. An example of a finite dimensional factorizable ribbon Hopf C-algebra is given by a quotient H = uq(g) of the quantized universal enveloping algebra Uq(g) at a root of unity q of odd degree. The mapping class group Mg,1 of a surface of genus g with one hole projectively acts by automorphisms in the H-module H ∗⊗g, if H ∗ is endowed with the coadjoint H-module structure. There exists a projective representation of the mapping class group Mg,n of a surface of genus g with n holes labelled by finite dimensional H-modules X1,..., Xn in the vector space HomH(X1 ⊗ · · · ⊗ Xn, H ∗⊗g). An invariant of closed oriented 3-manifolds is constructed. Modifications of these constructions for a class of ribbon Hopf algebras satisfying weaker conditions than factorizability (including most of uq(g) at roots of unity q of even degree) are described. After works of Moore and Seiberg [44], Witten [62], Reshetikhin and Turaev [51], Walker [61], Kohno [22, 23] and Turaev [59] it became clear that any semisimple abelian ribbon category with finite number of simple objects satisfying some nondegeneracy condition gives rise to projective representations of mapping class groups

Abstract: We study the relations between the invariants τRT, τHKR, and τL of Reshetikhin-Turaev, Hennings-Kauffman-Radford, and Lyubashenko, respectively. In particular, we discuss explicitly how τL specializes to τRT for semisimple categories and to τHKR for Tannakian categories. We give arguments for that τL is the most general invariant that stems from an extended TQFT. We introduce a canonical, central element, Q, for a quasi-triangular Hopf algebra, A, that allows us to apply the Hennings algorithm directly, in order to compute τRT, which is originally obtained from the semisimple trace-subquotient of A − mod. Moreover, we generalize Hennings ’ rules to the context of cobordisms, in order to obtain a TQFT for connected surfaces compatible with τHKR. As an application we show that, for lens spaces and A = Uq(sl2), the ratio of τHKR and τRT is the order of the first homology group. In the course of this paper we also outline the topology and the algebra that enter invariance proofs, which contain no reference to 2-handle slides, but to other moves that are local. Finally, we give a list of open questions regarding cellular invariants, as defined by Turaev-Viro, Kuperberg, and others, their relations among

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