Recent years have seen a remarkable synergy between quantum physics and information processing. It has been demonstrated that the rules of quantum physics can protect the distribution of secret cryptographic keys, allowing for unconditionally secure communication between distant parties. Also, there is strong evidence that a quantum computer operating according to quantum physics could change the rules of computer science, solving problems that are intractable on any current computing device. These observations, which promise great future technological advances based on quantum information processing, have gone hand-in-hand with remarkable scientific breakthroughs in our understanding of quantum physics.

What then are the physical limits on transmitting, storing, and processing quantum information? The answer will have implications for both future technologies and fundamental quantum physics and is the topic of the exciting new interdisciplinary field of quantum information theory.

At Sydney, we explore these questions and more, developing insights into quantum physics and the laws of the universe. We have close collaborative links with the Quantum Information Science Initiative and the Quantum Technology Lab at the University of Queensland, the Quantum Information Theory group at Imperial College London, and the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Canada.